Trigger warnings on screen spark dissent

Trigger warnings crop up in social media posts, TV episodes, literature and now at the movie theater. On the surface, these messages are merely intended to inform audiences when content is potentially distressing, giving people the chance to emotionally prepare. But not everyone believes these advance notices are helpful — and some even claim they are harming entertainment.

'Safe and inclusive for all types of audiences'

Film and television are visceral, absorbing media forms. In recent years, TV shows with scenes of sexual assault, drug abuse or violence — like Netflix's "Baby Reindeer" or HBO's "Euphoria" — have included trigger warnings that preceded certain episodes. The presence of these warnings at the cinema, though, is less common. Zoë Kravitz's new film "Blink Twice" is among the first to be prefaced by a trigger warning (about sexual violence) on the big screen.

"Many suspected" this to be a "direct response" to the "missteps" of the recent Colleen Hoover book-to-screen adaptation, "It Ends With Us," said Jake Fittipaldi at Collider. Both projects feature depictions of domestic abuse and sexual violence, but "It Ends With Us" was widely criticized for its handling of the material. The Hoover project was "ambiguously marketed," forcing "many unsuspecting viewers to witness a rather traumatizing story about domestic abuse with no sort of warning beforehand," and "Blink Twice" likely did not want to make the same mistake.

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In an editorial for The Hollywood Reporter, Bridgette Stumpf noted that the number of audience members who have been impacted by domestic violence is statistically high. "By not providing any content warnings prior to the start of the film, 'It Ends With Us' ultimately fails the survivors it is supposed to advocate for," she said. It may seem low-stakes to some, she argued, but it's different for people with PTSD. "When we have survived a traumatic experience like domestic violence, and we see similar stimuli in the future, we don't just remember our own experience, we relive it," she added.

Trigger warnings are a "harmless yet meaningful way to ensure that the moviegoing experience remains safe and inclusive for all types of audiences," said Fittipaldi. "Attempting to ensure just a single viewer's safe viewing experience is enough reason to push for their presence." As more viewing options become available every day, trigger warnings "are applied on a case-by-case basis by distributors," Variety said. "It's the Wild West when it comes to streaming," television showrunner Melissa Carter told the outlet. "Kids can watch whatever they want, whenever they want," but a trigger warning "could at least prepare them for something that's personally upsetting."

'It's OK to feel uncomfortable or provoked'

While some consider trigger warnings to be a measure of sensitivity, others see them as evidence of censorship or unnecessary posturing. For example, a "2021 rendition of Romeo and Juliet in London's West End warned viewers of scenes of 'suicide and drug use,'" said Kimberly Bond at Harper's Bazaar.

Another chief complaint about content disclaimers is that they are "spoilers," inevitably providing accidental hints about what is to come. This issue is especially pointed in long-running series with surprising and long-anticipated plot points. "We're telling audiences they're going to be scared before they've watched something," said Matt Smith, star of HBO's "House of the Dragon," to The Times. "It's OK to feel uncomfortable or provoked while looking at a painting or watching a play, but I worry everything's being dialed and dumbed down."

Smith's worries are not isolated. "Trauma and discomfort have started to become conflated, and I think that's where people pull away from the idea of a trigger warning," Colleen Clemens, the director of women's, gender and sexuality studies at Kutztown University, said to Variety.

The jury is also out on whether trigger warnings work. "Some research suggests trigger warnings don't dissuade vulnerable people from continuing to watch, instead creating a 'forbidden fruit effect,'" Deryn Strange, a psychology professor at John Jay College, said to Variety.

Critics of this practice want to avoid "coddling" audiences who then "refuse to view or engage with culture that may challenge or confront, leaving us more fragile overall," Bond said. Viewers do, after all, have the freedom to conduct their own research on a film before buying a ticket; the MPA rating can be a help, too. However, "ditching content warnings about triggering material entirely may be too hasty," Bond added.