Dear executives at ABC Daytime,
I am a 20+ year fan of your (now lone) daytime property General Hospital. Three weeks ago I took a break from the show because I was disheartened by the change in status of one of your long time actors whose storyline got dropped ABRUPTLY in favour of a storyline that keeps perpetuating America’s culture of gun violence.
Yes I am calling it like it is, almost every episode I have been catching up with there is someone with a GUN. They’re usually handguns, but a gun is a gun is a gun. The time is now to transform storytelling in daytime, stop with the guns being used to hurt/intimidate/terroize/write off characters in stories of “good vs evil”. It’s bad enough that no one has a vision to transform Sonny Corinthos and Co. away from violence. I also understand that it was the “mob” that saved the show in the 1970s but using guns as a prop to intimidate characters should not be tolerated anymore. ESPECIALLY now where many people are being terrorized by people with unbelievable access to more powerful guns in the same country where you produce and brodcast this show.
I challenge your producers and writers to stop using this “prop” as a crutch when telling story, especially during daytime. Falling back on this crutch time and again does not move the show forward in a direction that is smart and thoughtful. A show that respects character history while still being an escape for the audience. Now is the time to take a positive direction and evolve.
As a division of an entertainment company that prides itself on family values through your Disney properties I would hope that you could be a leader of change.
Sincerely,
Brandi Wilson
CANADA
Motivating Mom 