TV producers justified violence by appealing to a fabricated frontier myth

Evidence

In the view of William Orr, the executive producer of television films at Warner Brothers, slaying evildoers not only builds character but also instills moral standards that undergird a civil society. Orr was the producer of the hit Western series Cheyenne: “As a matter of fact, I believe that a certain amount of violence, as it is portrayed on ‘Cheyenne,’ has a good moral effect.” Orr justified excess violence in television programming with a historical myth created by Hollywood. “The winning of the West was a victory for law and order. Such violence that is shown occurred because law and order were absent. With the coming of the sheriffs and the marshals and the growth of their influence, the West became a respectable part of our community” Contrary to this mythical frontier ethos, according to historians of the West, “prohibitions against carrying guns were strictly enforced, and there were few homicides” (Spitzer, 1995). — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 829 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Producers shift blame for violence onto the story itself; Hollywood’s Western frontier myth masked TV violence as law-and-order service — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement: How People Do Harm…, 829; Industry claims that plots force violence are a transparent rationalization. — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement: How People Do Harm…, 866

Broader Connections

• Hollywood’s Western frontier myth masked TV violence as law-and-order service #expands (0.93) — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 829