Most Trigger Warnings Are Inadequate Tv And Film Need To Do Better Uni

Bonisiwe Shabane

-Nov 18, 2025, 9:24 PM

most trigger warnings are inadequate tv and film need to do better uni

Zoë Kravitz’s directoral debut film, the psychological thriller “Blink Twice,” released a trigger warning via social media on Thursday, just days before the film releases in theaters. The trigger warning, a type of alert that lets viewers know that a project includes sensitive content, such as a depiction or discussion of domestic violence, comes after Blake Lively’s latest movie, “It Ends... “‘Blink Twice is a psychological thriller about the abuse of power. While this is a fictionalized movie, it contains mature themes and depictions of violence — including sexual violence. This may be upsetting or triggering for some viewers,” reads this week’s statement, which was joint-posted by “Blink Twice” and Amazon Studios. The warning ends by offering support to those seeking it through the site, BlinkTwiceResources.com.

With the warning, “Blink Twice” may have been aiming not just to protect potential viewers, but to avoid the backlash “It Ends With Us” has been facing for not warning audiences of the domestic... These warnings in film are meant to empower viewers, not censor creators By Leah Cromarty — Published September 15, 2024 Content warning: This article discusses domestic violence, sexual violence, and self-harm. The debate about whether to put trigger warnings at the beginning of films is nothing new. However, the discussions have lately resurfaced with the promotion of It Ends With Us, a film adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s bestselling young adult novel of the same name.

With themes of domestic violence and emotional abuse at the film’s core, fans were divided over the necessity of warning audiences about these sensitive topics. One side of the trigger warning discourse claims that trigger warnings could diminish a film’s emotional impact, while the other argues that providing context empowers viewers to make informed decisions about engaging with emotionally... In recent years, trigger warnings have become an increasingly integral part of much of the media that audiences interact with on a daily basis. Social media content, podcasts, and television episodes commonly feature warnings before their content begins, offering a simple way to inform audiences about potentially harmful or distressing content. Despite this, trigger warnings have yet to become common practice in the cinematic world. In the wake of recently released films like It Ends With Us and Blink Twice, which both offer explorations into the horrors of domestic abuse and sexual violence, discussions about these types of warnings...

While some may argue that the presence of trigger warnings may lead to parts of stories being "spoiled" for audiences, the controversy surrounding ambiguously marketed films like It Ends With Us proves that the... When audiences are unknowingly brought into a triggering scenario, it can lead to the viewer feeling blindsided. A lack of trigger warnings can also be a great disservice to the movie and its potential for success. As the discussion around the presence of trigger warnings continues, it is important to stress how they are almost always a harmless yet meaningful way to ensure that the moviegoing experience remains safe and... Much of the online discussion around the 2024 film It Ends With Us has centered around its leading actors' rather trivial and mostly hypothetical drama on set. In fact, the film has garnered so much attention that it has become one of the highest-grossing films of the year.

While this style of controversy may prove beneficial in terms of box office success, it ultimately pushed discussions about what the film is actually about to the side. This, alongside a rather ambiguous and romanticized marketing campaign, ultimately led many unsuspecting viewers to witness a rather traumatizing story about domestic abuse with no sort of warning beforehand. Although the film does feature an end credits notice that offers resources to real-life victims of domestic abuse, its placement in the film made it so that many viewers never got to see it. In the weeks that followed, audiences saw Zoë Kravitz’s directorial debut Blink Twice prefaced by a trigger warning regarding the film's sexual violence content, which many suspected to be a direct response to It... While it is impossible to know whether the team behind Blink Twice inserted the trigger warning after witnessing the backlash of other similarly themed films, it is safe to say that some audiences would... When comparing how the two films handled their potentially unnerving content, audiences have celebrated Blink Twice for allowing room for those viewers who wish to be informed of anxiety-inducing scenes beforehand.

Both television and film have an immense power to immerse audiences into the world of the stories they tell, including the traumatic and unnerving events that are oftentimes so important to share on screen. For viewers who suffer from PTSD, anxiety, or various other mental health conditions, these scenes can oftentimes be an overwhelming viewing experience that reminds them of traumas from their past or trigger distressed feelings... Television networks have become particularly aware of the potential risks of not including trigger warnings in their content, as evidenced by major shows like Industry, Euphoria, and Baby Reindeer all including content notices ahead... This trend becoming the industry standard for popular television shows makes TV viewing a much safer space. Streaming services seek to avoid 'trauma' when shows depict sexual or violent scenes. Despite trigger warnings increasingly spoiling the stories of shows and movies, entertainment and streaming companies only seem to be widening the net of themes that require advanced warning.

The industry seemingly reached maximum parody with the latest trigger warning for 1990 crime classic "Goodfellas." The message warned viewers that there were Italian mobsters in a movie about the Italian mob. "This film includes language and/or cultural stereotypes that are inconsistent with today's standards of inclusion and tolerance and may offend some viewers," the message read. Warnings about stereotypes or offensive material are ever-present, but notifications about trauma-related triggers for TV shows have become even more detrimental to the user experience. In effort to prevent a sensitive viewer from experiencing any form of slight discomfort, trauma warnings have actually ruined the plots of many episodes. We all know what these are, at this point. They’re everywhere — on YouTube and TikTok videos, on Netflix movies and series’, on almost every content streaming service we use.

We use them to guage whether a series or show or movie is appropriate, or if we even want to watch it at all. But with them being so common, it’s easy for us to become numb to the fact we rely on them far too much — and blind to the fact they shape how we experience... When we’re fully reliant on trigger warnings, we stop examining why we care about them. We don’t stop to think about why we use them. In theory, trigger warnings and content warnings are supposed to act as just that: a warning. Not a barrier.

Not a wall. Not a locked gate. Not a sign saying ‘Turn back now’ or a locked doorway with ‘Abandon hope all ye who enter here’ written above it. They’re just supposed to be a warning of what we’re about to voluntarily experience. But in reality, we use them as a map to follow exactly. We use them as a reason to not watch something, or to avoid a certain series or movie.

From this, we quickly become too reliant on them to tell us whether something is safe. And today, we equate “safe” with “good” far too often. This is why trigger warnings and content warnings make us more likely to avoid watching something, rather than simply being aware of it and watching it anyway.

Most Trigger Warnings Are Inadequate Tv And Film Need To Do Better Uni

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