There are plenty of people that are bound to dig into the subject of the Rust movie with Alec Baldwin and Travis Fimmel, but given that that’s being covered in a lot of different ways, we here at Radass wanted to take the time to dial it down just a little bit in order to take a look at something that feels to be one of the dumbest things that could have happened simply because someone thought that checking a potentially deadly weapon wasn’t that big of a deal. It’s not a matter of opinion in this matter, especially when dealing with implements that can actually cause harm to others.
Check, double-check, and triple-check if needed when it comes to guns.
Movie sets that use firearms, and there are a lot of them, are known for making things look as realistic as possible, and fans are usually very appreciative since it makes for a better cinematic experience as well as the fact that there are plenty of people watching movies these days that can tell the real thing from a fake, and when it comes to guns, plenty of people want to see something that adds to the realism. But the danger is fairly obvious when it comes to actually loading a gun and then pointing it at someone. Many people don’t fully understand what a prop gun is, or how a blank can still cause damage. So here are a few ways just to keep you in the loop.
- A loaded weapon is a loaded weapon. Even prop guns, which are essentially guns that are non-functioning but look real and can add to the movie in a way that allows people to feel a certain threat level that’s desired. The sight of a gun usually creates an emotional response of some sort in the audience since the prescence of such weapons tends to mean that something is bound to happen at some point. Bringing a gun into a movie can be done in many ways, but typically the idea is that something serious is about to go down. The point is that bringing any gun to a set, be it a prop gun or a real gun, safety needs to be observed in a very serious and responsible manner.
- Just because a gun is loaded with blanks doesn’t mean it can’t kill. It’s true that from a distance, blanks can’t kill since there isn’t enough mass there to do much of anything. Wads of lighter material can only travel so far before they lose their momentum and become a non-threat. But at short range, that initial explose is enough to grant a tremendous amount of momentum to any projectile that happens to be in the gun, and it will come out with enough force to do damage. Sadly, Alec Baldwin’s proximity to cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was simply too close, which allowed the projecticle, which apparently was stuck in the barrel, to penetrate her body and end her life. Being loaded with blanks doesn’t mean that a gun is safe.
- Every time a gun is handled, before and after, it’s necessary to make sure that safety is being practiced in every step. It might take time, it might be tedious, but it is insanely important to recognize that it’s meant to keep everyone as safe and secure as possible. When it leaves a person’s hand it should be checked, after being laid down it should be checked, before it’s being used it should be checked. Get the idea? There should be no moment when someone has to guess or should simply assume that a gun is unloaded and safe. One of the only times this is possible is when the gun is in pieces for cleaning or for other purposes.
This is how conspiracies start, or are at least formed.
- There’s been no word yet on how live ammunition found its way into the gun that Alec Baldwin used, but one can easily guess that there are already some folks out there that are willing to say that Halyna Hutchins was targeted instead of killed by random happenstance. The conspiracy angle is actually kind of hard to substiate at the moment since anone looking at Halyna’s bio makes it kind of clear that her intention to strike might have been one reason for someone to have something against her. But that’s still pretty thin since not only would it require a good deal of planning, it would mean that someone was in on it and was looking to either target Halyna, or didn’t care who was in front of the gun when it went off. With all respect to Halyna’s family, this is one of the outlier options since until finding out who put the live ammunition in the gun, and why, it stands to reason that people will come up with the most ridiculous theories imaginable.
- Recall what happened to Brandon Lee on the set of The Crow, and what’s happened to others on other various sets over the years. There are easy explanations to some, and less than satisfactory explanations to others. Oftentimes something like this will be listed as an accident, a horrible tragedy, which it definitely is, but often it will be seen that answers aren’t forthcoming to the public quickly enough. The unfortunate result is that people will begin to come up with conspiracies that can be seen as tame or so outlandish that it might actually appear that the individuals were targeted for one reason or another. The hope is that this will not happen with Halyna, as it would appear that Baldwin is shaken up over her accidental death, and her family now has to deal with this in the best way they can.
- In addition, it was made clear by a couple of individuals working on the set of Rust that people had left and did have complaints over the safety of their working environment and the lack of confidence they had in the overal precautions that were being taken. In other words, the morale of those on the set was mixed in a big way, meaning that something wasn’t right and there were those who felt that the overall safety, theirs and everyone elses, wasn’t being taken into account. Feelings often aren’t enough to effect the kind of change that is needed, but after accidents such as this, the intuition that others feel at times should be given a littler more attention in the workplace. Sometimes it’s a feeling that things aren’t right that doesn’t pan out, but sometims those feelings are accurate, and need the facts that have exacerbated them to back up the reality of what’s going on.
A few other points, serious and insensitive alike.
- Some folks are no doubt going to wonder why so much press is given to an accidental shooting like this when every day to every other day we see shooting in the news that aren’t accidental, but absolutely purposeful, in which the fate of the shooter is uncertain but the name of the victim goes unknown. One main line of thought is that most of them aren’t movie stars and famed cinematographers, whose lives are still important, but are put on the front page due to their status and influence. No death from a gun is ever something to gawk at or be amazed over, as such deaths are tragic and worth noting, accidental or not. Fame and status tend to get noticed and scrutinized in a much more public manner. Despite not being blamed for the incident, Baldwin will still carry the mark of this day for a long time no doubt. The worst thing he could ever do, what ANYONE could ever do, is forget that it happened. Too many issues have arisen due to the forgetful nature of humanity.
- So many people talk about gun control, but what happened to talks about gun safety? It would be so easy to instill people with an idea of how to handle guns, to drill it into them over and over until it became automatic. Granted, if a person isn’t planning on handling a gun, then it might not be a needed method, but for those that do handle guns as part of their job, or as a recreational hobby, such habits should be ingrained into them without fail. Human error can be used as an explanation, but it doesn’t help much.
- Will this be covered up, or will someone dig into it as hard as they can in order to find out why the gun was loaded and what was meant by it? Those questions are still fairly hard to answer apparently since like it or not, there are people out there that do some strange things at times, and they do happen to exist at every possible level in society. It’s not a desire to see this drag on for the sake of Halyna’s family and for Alec Baldwin, but knowing would be balm no doubt.
At the end of the day, this is a terrible and unfortunate event that has happened, and anyone crying for gun control needs to stifle that noise and call for greater gun safety. Any and all conspiracy theorists need to cool it and allow the family to grieve and sort out what happened, while Mr. Baldwin will hopefully remember this moment and perhaps take a little more active stance when it comes to handling weapons. While he is faultless, he too can practice the same safety that others have to use.
