Faculty Sponsor: Professor Gooyabadi
Spencer Lee
Hello, I am the Class of 2025 and will graduate with an Economics major along with an Art History minor and a Data Analysis minor. I entered the QAC Apprenticeship under Professor Gooyabadi and have continued her work on the representation of firearms in media. I was born and raised in Northern Virginia alongside my older brother and sister. I am a member of the club volleyball team and Multi-media Manager of the Korean Student Association. Other interests of mine include bowling and cooking.
Abstract: Studying firearms in media is crucial for understanding their impact on public perceptions, cultural norms, and behaviors related to violence and gun ownership. The representation of firearms in American cinema offers a compelling lens through which to understand broader societal attitudes, historical contexts, and cultural narratives. The project aims to analyze the representation of firearms in film. The project adopts a historical and interdisciplinary approach to analyze gun representation by integrating data from firearm-specific databases and broader media databases. Findings suggest that a small number of firearms account for the highest number of appearances in media. Firearms are concentrated in certain genres, and films featuring guns generally have higher budgets than those without. Further research into societal impacts on gun representation could examine variables showing racial or gender biases. For instance, analyzing if certain races are depicted with specific types of guns more frequently than others could provide deeper insights into cultural stereotypes and biases in film.
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