Fatal shooting on “Rust” film set shows the ugly in Hollywood

In sad news, actor Alec Baldwin has been involved in an accidental shooting that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchin and injured director Joel Souza on the set of “Rust.” 

It happened on set when Baldwin was handed a prop gun that had one live round in it. Most often these prop guns are just that props with no live ammunition. They’re just for show, so when the unthinkable happens it gets a lot of press.

The Baldwin incident brings light to the union marches that have recently been happing in the film community. According to the LA Times, International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) has asked for pay raises to ensure a living wage for their lowest earners, sustainable benefits, more rest periods and for streaming productions to compensate members at the same rate as traditional productions. Many of those aligned or in agrees with the IATSE were from the “Rust” productions, one of them being Hutchin. Some reports do say that hours before the shooting, some of the crew members attended IATSE gatherings. The “Rust” crew and cast already didn’t feel safe or appreciated, as they had had to work unnaturally long set days only to have to drive to another city hours away to sleep.

With “Rust” being unsafe in the first place, Baldwin unaware of the prop gun holding ammunition and regulations not being met goes to show how negligent the industry really is — not just of gun safety standards, but of reasonable and dignified working conditions in general. This comes at a time when the labor movement in the United States is entering a new phase. Following the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, workers are demanding more from their jobs, including but not limited to: living wage depending on geography, work-from-home flexibility, respect and appreciation for their labor, safe and humane work environments.

Following this incidents, some Congress members are calling for live ammunition to be banned on sets. Gun activists are calling for a total gun reforms to address the gun epidemic in the country. As for The Connector, we would like to submit a request for the culture: Stop glorifying guns in popular culture. Hollywood, if you were looking for a sign, the death of a brilliant artist might very well be one. As long as there is a notion of acceptable violence, of the cool guy’s gun, of the valorous muzzle-at-camera pose, you will instill a mindset that normalizes a weapon. Weapons might be banned on sets, but off-sets, in the hands God-knows-who, they will still be the weapons of heroes. They are not. The 17,000 people who have died this year because of gun violence could have attested to it.