La Confidential Analysis

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Stephanie Braithwaite PACS 003 Dr. Becker 29 September 2015 Film Analysis: LA Confidential Over the past few years, there has been a growing debate around the potential harm of trigger warnings. Indeed, the argument that trigger warnings are destructive to critical thinking has circulated amongst many within higher education institutions. Yet, when the argument against the use of trigger warnings is examined, it’s evident that the foundation upon which this argument is laid is quite problematic in the first place. Not only does the disregard, or flat-out refusal to utilize trigger warnings in the classrooms show ignorance and disrespect on many levels, it also takes away from the potentially beneficial viewing of such films, like LA Confidential--…show more content…
Yet, more and more I see the utilization of such protections dwindling away in the classroom, especially as people claim that trigger warnings cause students to be, “hypersensitive” and unable to think critically, in an undistorted fashion, and in a way that ensures their success in the future (Lukianoff and Haidt, 2015). Indeed, much of the critique of trigger warnings relies on the notion that they foster an atmosphere in which we are teaching students that they can, and should be, protected from anything and everything that makes them uncomfortable, thereby forcing them to fall victim to imaginated versions of reality (Lukianoff and Haidt, 2015). Thus, what most believe to be beneficial to students, others argue that it is instead doing more harm than…show more content…
Providing a warning to those in a college classroom as to what types of content will be involved in the class enables them the opportunity to choose to engage with that material when, and if they are able to. However, when you oppose those trigger warnings, it implies that the students’ experiences (which may make viewing certain mediums at times difficult) are not legitimate enough to warrant an accommodation in the classroom- a classroom which is supposed to create an open and safe learning environment in the first place. Seemingly, the educator does not care. Or, perhaps they think that they really do care, and that by not providing trigger warnings to people what you’re really doing is preparing them for the real world. Because, after all, the “real world doesn’t provide us with trigger warnings.” While this statement is true, it once again sends a message to those who are trying to heal from trauma that you don’t think their experiences are deserving of protection. Also, the reality that someone who is triggered by particular content may experience flashbacks and severe panic attacks (simply because the educator failed to give a trigger warning), brings into question what really acts as a detriment to the ability to critically think, or the overall learning environment they strive to create: allowing someone the privilege over their

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