‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ And ‘Stranger Things 4’ Open With Scenes Of Violence Against Kids That Jar In Wake Of Uvalde Shooting

Topline

Opening scenes of two highly anticipated shows, Netflix’s Stranger Things 4 and Disney+’s Obi-Wan Kenobi, struck a sour note this week, featuring violence against children, as the nation grapples with the shocking mass shooting at an elementary in Uvalde, Texas, that left 19 children and two teachers dead.

Key Facts

Before the first episode of Stranger Things plays, a warning pops up that says it was filmed a year ago, but “given the recent tragic shooting at a school in Texas, viewers may find the opening scene of episode 1 distressing.”

Minutes into the episode, dozens of children are found bloodied and dead.

In the first scene of Obi-Wan,Storm Troopers open fire on a Jedi teacher and her students, with the teacher dying protecting them.

Key Background

CBS pulled the season finale of its show FBI on Tuesday, because the episode featured a student participating in a deadly robbery, as well as automatic weapons. Some fans of the ABC sitcom Abbott Elementary took to Twitter in the wake of the tragedy to request that a school-shooting episode be written, which was quickly shut down by the show’s creator and lead Quinta Brunson. “people are that deeply removed from demanding more from the politicians they’ve elected and are instead demanding ‘entertainment,’” she tweeted. “I can’t ask ‘are yall ok”’ anymore because the answer is ‘no.’ ”

Tangent

During the eighth season of Friends in 2001, a plot in the third episode, which aired in October, was changed after the September 11 attacks. In deleted scenes that have since been leaked online, Monica and Chandler get detained at an airport after Chandler makes a joke about a bomb on the plane.

Further Reading

More Canceled NRA Convention Appearances — Here’s Who’s Going And What To Know (Forbes)

Uvalde Shooting: Husband Of Teacher Killed Dies Of ‘Grief’ Days Later, Family Says (Forbes)

Police Change Uvalde Timeline: Shooter Walked Into School ‘Unobstructed’ (Forbes)

Here’s What We Know About The Victims Identified In The Texas School Shooting (Forbes)

No Gun Vote Soon, Schumer Signals — Here’s Where Gun Legislation Stands In The Senate (Forbes)

19 Children Killed In Texas Elementary School Shooting As Biden Urges Americans To ‘Stand Up’ To Gun Industry (Forbes)