March For Our Lives member Zion Kelly addresses a crowd of press Monday, Nov. 5, 2018, on the steps of Tallahassee’s Old Capitol building as part of a Vote For Our Lives initiative to urge people to vote ahead of that November’s election. (Photo by CD Davidson-Hiers/Florida Phoenix)
On the eve of the release last week of the Hollywood film “The Drama,” starring Zendaya and Robert Pattinson, the South Florida gun-safety group March for Our Lives provided a content warning to its social media followers.
It concerned the central twist in the film that the producers have deliberately chosen to avoid revealing in their promotional campaign.
The marketing of the film focuses on the telegenic young couple’s anxieties as they prepare for their wedding date. However, the major plot twist is revealed about 25 minutes into the film. That’s when a scene takes place between the characters and another couple to discuss what is “the worst thing you’ve done.” Zendaya’s character reveals to the group that in high school she “almost” engaged in a mass school shooting.
Jackie Corin is executive director and co-founder of March for Our Lives, formed by survivors of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland on Feb. 14, 2018. She says she understands the instinct to keep the central plot twist of the film under wraps, but strongly believes that when it involves such a sensitive issue the approach “becomes complicated.”
“There is a difference between protecting a creative reveal and withholding information that shapes the emotional and psychological experience of the audience, and when the subject matter carries this kind of real-world weight, people aren’t just reacting as viewers of art, but they’re reacting from their lived experience,” she told the Phoenix in a phone interview Wednesday.
“And when gun violence is the No. 1 cause of death for kids in this country, you can bet that many audience members reacted from a place of lived experiences. And we warned the audience of March for Our Lives on our socials on the day the film came out on Friday, and we had hundreds of comments thanking us for warning them, saying that they weren’t going to go watch the film or they appreciated the heads-up so they could go in with an awareness of what that surprise was going to be, because it would have an emotional consequence for them.”
“The Drama” grossed more than $14 million last weekend, the third biggest domestic opening ever for A24, the film distributor.
“The Drama” isn’t the first Hollywood production dealing with a school shooting. In 2003, the film “Elephant,” directed by Gus Van Sant, inspired by the 1999 Columbine High School shooting, was released and won the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival that year.
Tom Mauser, whose son Daniel was murdered in that tragedy, told TMZ last week that he thought it was “awful” that the plot twist centers around a character’s revelation that she seriously contemplated a school shooting.
In its first social media message about the film, March for Our Lives said that “the way that this film has been marketed is deeply misaligned with the reality it engages. We expect better from A24 and the artists behind it.”
Zendaya and Pattinson have engaged in multiple interviews promoting the film but have not discussed the plot twist. Corin calls that a “missed opportunity,” but says she understands why they wouldn’t do so.
“Zendaya and Robert Pattinson are icons among younger generations. Their reach is enormous, especially with younger generations and audiences. That kind of platform can absolutely shape how people can feel about an issue and not just a film, so I think that’s what actually inspired my speaking out about this even more because they’re such distinct cultural actors,” she said.
”There was a very real opportunity for deeper conversation here that goes beyond promotion. I don’t know what their contracts say. I don’t know if they’re able to engage in this kind of advocacy. Who knows? The world of Hollywood is confusing, and there could be constraints by the studio or the campaign and what they’re allowed to say publicly.
“The opportunity lies maybe less about placing the burden on them individually and how the broader campaign is structured. Actors definitely can and should be a part of that, but they obviously shouldn’t have to carry it alone.”