There have always been shoot ‘em up movies. We grew up watching western and cop shoes. We played cops and robbers. None of us ever thought about shooting up our schools.
Yes, cowboys and Indians.....cops and robbers. But you didn’t see all the blood and the violence was somewhat contained to just a portion of the story. Today violence IS the story, the more blood and guts the better.
We also had real families, and teachers that taught right from wrong. We started the first class of the day with the Pledge and a prayer.
I don't think I'm trying to "say anything" in particular, but I do think the style of entertainment has changed over the years.
John Wayne would occasionally face off against a bad guy. He shot the bad guy that deserved getting shot.
TV westerns were like that too. Lucas McCain shot a lot of people on "The Rifleman", but they all clearly deserved it, and it was generally 1-on-1, or 1-on-3 confrontations.
Today, our heroes often have to face a platoon or a battalion of guys who are working for the wrong team. Our hero tends to burst into a room and kill 20 or 50 "bad guys" and then move on to a new location and do the same thing again.
That's an interesting change in mind-set. It's not realistic. And it's not healthy. I would be happier if Hollywood went back to having Gary Cooper go up against someone in a nail-biter of a confrontation. Maybe that's not truly realistic either, but at least it shows that this stuff is gritty and scary. There is value in that.