In the wake of the unspeakable horror from which a Connecticut town and the world is in the process of recovering, a Hollywood talent speaks his peace. Jamie Foxx is well known for his Academy Award-winning performance in Ray as well as his stand-up comedy and singing prowess. Recently, he stood up to let his voice be heard about the gun violence that is becoming all too common, reported the Huffington Post. On Saturday as he promoted Quentin Tarantino’s upcoming ultra-violent spaghetti Western-style film about slavery, Django Unchained, he said that actors can’t ignore the fact that movie violence can influence people.

This shouldn’t be as surprise to anyone as the entertainment industry as a whole has always been touted as promoting a corrupt image for our youth.

“We cannot turn our back and say that violence in films or anything that we do doesn’t have a sort of influence,” Foxx said in an interview on Saturday. “It does.”

Foxx’s co-star Kerry Washington said she believes the film’s explicit brutality serves an important purpose in educating audiences about the atrocities of slavery. “I do think that it’s important when we have the opportunity to talk about violence and not just kind of have it as entertainment, but connect it to the wrongs, the injustices, the social ills,” she said.

In response to the massacre that occurred in Newtown, Connecticut last week, premieres for Tom Cruise’s new action movie, Jack Reacher, in Pittsburgh and the family comedy Parental Guidance in Los Angeles were postponed. Also, Fox pulled new episodes of “Family Guy” and “American Dad” that were to air Sunday to avoid potentially sensitive content.

It’s good to see that the big dogs in L.A. are acting responsibility in view of what has happened in Connecticut, but in the public’s opinion it may be too little too late. The time to sensor and filter content is when scripts are being revised and the cameras are rolling. Films and music will continue to influence our society and the youth heavily, so as parents our only choice may be the censorship we implement in our own homes.

Words by Sid Powell
Source: Huffingtonpost.com