Briefly, a “Trigger Warning” is a statement at the start of a movie, play, TV show etc. alerting the viewer to the fact that it contains potentially distressing material. It’s being used on older movies (“Blazing Saddles”) and theater productions (“King Lear”) that, the claim is, haven’t aged well due to today’s cultural sensitivities.
Recently, Cate Blanchett, Quentin Tarantino, Ian McKellen and Ralph Fiennes all railed against the usage of “trigger warnings.” The latest personality to slam “trigger warnings” is Judi Dench. The Oscar-winning actress expressed puzzlement to learn that audiences were being warned.
“Do they do that?” Dench told the UK’s Radio Times: “It must be a pretty long trigger warning before King Lear or Titus Andronicus.” She added: “I can see why they exist, but if you’re that sensitive, don’t go to the theatre, because you could be very shocked. Where is the surprise of seeing and understanding it in your own way?”
A few months ago, Ralph Fiennes echoed Dench’s feelings by implying that theatregoers had “gone soft,” in an interview with the BBC. “The impact of theatre should be that you’re shocked, and should be that you’re disturbed, I don’t think you should be prepared for these things,” Fiennes said. “It’s the shock, it’s the unexpected, that’s what makes an act of theatre so exciting.”
They’re all correct. Trigger Warnings comes out as a lecture, as if being told you’re too stupid to process a film, or work of art, on your own. You basically need to be talked down to. It amounts to an absolute insult to our intelligence.
With the already mentioned “Blazing Saddles,” there have been countless examples of studios placing trigger warnings before classic films, including “Dumbo” and “Peter Pan.” The BFI also stamped trigger warnings on James Bond films they were screening, their excuse, like most of these cases, was that the 007 films featured outdated cultural mores.
I watch a lot of old movies, weekly— they ALL have outdated behavior and speech. Cultures and standards evolve, it's how people learn. Having these blanket warnings is treating the general public like children.