While movies and TV shows can offer an escape from the drudgery of day-to-day life, when tragedies strike, on-screen events sometimes hit a little too close to home.
That being said, in light of the deplorable acts of terror that took place in Paris on Friday night, many are now finding themselves turned off by the depictions of murder and mayhem that pervade their favorite forms of entertainment. At times like this, even laughing at comedies can make us feel callous or insensitive, if we don’t first acknowledge the more serious elephant(s) in the room.
Saturday Night Live was sensitive to that reality over the weekend, and the show had Cecily Strong lead off its latest episode with a touching, bi-lingual message for the city of Paris and the victims of the attacks. While laughter can be the best medicine, even fictional violence can sometimes further fray already strained nerves. That’s why several TV shows and even a couple of movies have chosen to shuffle their schedules, with some even pulling content entirely for the sake of sensitivity.
Deadline Hollywood reports that Studiocanal has cancelled the French premiere of Legend, the Tom Hardy gangster flick, which was due to debut in Paris’ 9th arrondissement, not far from both the Place de la Madelaine and the Opéra Garnier. The outlet also notes that the UK’s ITV has cancelled content, pulling an episode of Jekyll & Hyde that was originally set to air on Sunday night. Creator Charlie Higson revealed on Twitter that the episode had been postponed due to “shocking events in Paris.”
We’ve postponed #JekyllandHyde tonight due to shocking events in Paris
— charlie higson (@monstroso) November 15, 2015
TV Line reports that Supergirl and NCIS: Los Angeles are making changes as well, rescheduling episodes that were meant to air on Monday due to their similarities to certain aspects of Friday’s attacks.
These actions seem to reflect the entertainment industry’s recognition that, while the show must always go on, it should also respond to what its audience is and isn’t in the mood to see. We support the decision to delay, cancel, and alter these events and programs, and we hope that we can all soon return to some semblance of normalcy.
