A Gendered Understanding of School Shootings on Screen

Defined as an attack against the institution itself (see Newman et al.2004), school shootings have increased in prevalence since the 1990s. In line with this, films and television shows have sought to further understandings about this type of mass violence. Reflecting real life trends about school shooters, representations in Excursion,One Tree Hill and Run, Hide, Fight have positioned disgruntled male students as the attackers. In direct contrast to this, female students have been represented as the heroes fighting backagainst school attacks in Buffy theVampire Slayer and Run, Hide, Fight. Since it has been argued that ‘any approach to understanding school shootings must take gender seriously’ (Kimmel &Mahler 2003: 1440), this paper will critically assess the portrayal of perpetrators, heroes and victims in film and television through a gendered lens.