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Post by hannechalk on Feb 14, 2024 13:23:55 GMT
It's a tricky one, because you cannot predict every single reaction to every possible situation within a production. At Blood Brothers, many theatres have a warning that it contains gun shots. If you haven't seen the show before and go in completely blank, combined with how it starts, it doesn't take a genius to work out the how (just the why and who remains). A warning such as 'has loud noises, smoke and flashing lights' I find understandable. But taking Blood Brothers as an example again {Spoiler - click to view}
People might be traumatised because
- they have been adopted, or had to give up a child for adoption.
- they grew up in poverty.
- they were attacked with a knife.
- they lost their job and can't find a new one.
- they have mental health issues themselves, or care for someone who does.
Where do you draw the line? |
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Post by zahidf on Feb 14, 2024 14:22:34 GMT
If its behind a specific link, you go into much detail as possible.
If your putting posters up, you can be more general but still should be conscious
The loud bangs/smoking/flashing and strobe lights warnings are presumably for Health and Safety reasons, in case people have relevant medical issues which may be effected by that. Is Voldermot also annoyed at those warnings?
It does feel like some weird culture war stuff over something which is perfectly reasonable to me. As i said before, most trigger warnings are behind a separate website link if you need it
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Post by jojo on Feb 29, 2024 9:44:46 GMT
He specifically said he thought it was right to have warnings for strobe effects and (I paraphrase) stuff like that, and not just because it's a legal requirement. I saw criticism of him for defending those warnings, saying he was treating physical health more seriously than mental health, and not appreciating the challenges of those who have panic attacks.
From a very personal point of view, I don't like trigger warnings, and too often they act as spoilers. I like being surprised and shocked. HOWEVER, I understand that comes from a point of privilege and that they are important to some other people. Finding a way to let those who need to protect themselves do so, whilst not ruining the entertainment for others, is key. I'm sure lots of places get it right and we don't even think about those times, whereas the times where they didn't get that balance right are the ones that stick in our minds.
I don't agree with the view that trigger warnings are not in any way 'harmful' for those who don't want to see them. It might depend on how your brain works, and presumably some people can read a trigger warning and immediately forget them, but I'm not one of them. It's like being told to 'watch out for the twist at the end' of a film. I spend the whole time wondering what the twist will be and cursing the person who told me about it.
Apart from anything else, if people are paying money and travelling to see a show, they shouldn't be waiting until the last minute to find out if it's for them. I'd put production based warnings, such as lighting effects, smoke and general noise, into a separate category worth prominence, as they might not have been present the last time you saw that play and are not plot related.
Having the recommended minimum age more prominent may help, along with general warnings about nudity, swearing or violence, while ensuring it's easy for those who do want to know more to get that information.
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Post by kathryn on Feb 29, 2024 10:57:41 GMT
There’s some research that shows trigger warnings are actually detrimental for the mental health of people who respond to those triggers.
This is separate from effects that trigger physical illnesses, like strobe lighting.
The theory is that trigger warning help people avoid things that trigger an anxiety response or to prepare themselves for them.
But the research showed that the trigger warning increased the duration and intensity of the anxiety, because it led to the person anticipating the trigger and building up anxiety about their response to it, compared to people who were not forewarned, whose anxiety response had a shorter duration and therefore recovered quicker from the impact of it.
As for the issue of avoiding triggers entirely, the problem is that avoidance is a maladaptive response that actually increases anxiety overall. Every effective PTSD and anxiety treatment involves exposure to the trigger and processing the anxiety experienced to reduce the impact of it.
It’s like someone who has an obsessive compulsive fixation on germs who engages in hand washing rituals - if the whole family adopts those rituals to soothe their anxiety, it actually reinforces that the ritual is necessary and makes the overall anxiety worse.
The correct treatment is not to reinforce the anxiety but to disrupt it, so that the behaviour can be reduced and eventually stopped.
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Post by fiyero on Feb 29, 2024 11:35:47 GMT
I’ve been thinking about this and there is no easy answer. Even myself I kind of want it both ways.
I watched a tv show a while back that had a trigger warning for suicide flash up on screen. There was only one character at risk of that so quite the spoiler and meant I was waiting for it.
I’ve lost a young and an old relative in the last year and need to prepare myself for that being a topic. A trailer came on before the last film I watched where a little boy fell to his death. Shook me. Even if I’d have researched the film I wouldn’t have known that was coming!
My preference would be easy to access trigger warnings. Click here to load in a new page on a website for example, not forced on people who don’t want to know. But as I said, no easy answers or catch alls
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Post by max on Feb 29, 2024 20:49:37 GMT
Someone of Ralph Fiennes family background is likely to be more aware what they're in for if attending 'King Lear' (for example) - eyes gouged out, and not done offstage - than many general audience, particularly new audiences. Saying other people aren't tough enough is a bit of self-flattery I think, from someone who's been well prepared in life for...well...just about everything.
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