what’s happening
As a series taking place entirely on Instagram, diaries of violence presents as an account run by four high school seniors as a project for their AP Gov. class, in which they each keep a record of every time they think about or are affected by gun violence and then post an entry each week reflecting on their findings. While conducting this project, a student at their school goes missing. It is soon revealed that a video on @diariesofviolence captured the last known sighting of this student, where he is caught leaving a store with a gun. As the mystery unfolds, these four students are left to traverse their last semester of high school in the precarious uncertainty of his wake.
what’s real
The students in this series are fictional characters, and their entries are scripted. However, the fear students face is very real.
what kind of show is this
It is something between a tv show and a video diary, where the series actually is the instagram account itself. The entries, posts, stories, and comments are all a part of the series. You can still watch this series if you don’t have instagram, and you can find more about how to watch diaries of violence here.
what can I do
This series revolves around the experiences of those who are growing up in the American gun violence era, and how the ever-present threat of gun violence leaves its mark on a generation. This was what our generation experienced, but it doesn’t have to be this way for generations to come. If you’re interested in ending gun violence in America, check out organizations like March For Our Lives, Everytown for Gun Safety, and Moms Demand Action to see how you can help. It’s important to note that while this series focuses mainly on the threat of mass school shootings, American gun violence is so much more than that, including suicides, police shootings, domestic violence, and accidental deaths, so in addition to the above organizations, also consider checking out the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, Black Lives Matter, and the National Network to End Domestic Violence.
what happened in march
This series was initially going to be published within a single high school semester, where certain events would occur in the series at the same time they would occur for actual high schoolers. However, in March it became clear that we needed to take whatever time was necessary in order for our cast and crew to find safe places to quarantine and resettle our lives. Since then, the series has in many ways transformed as a series set in an alternate, covid-less reality. Issues of gun violence still persist and in many ways have gotten worse since lockdown, but now this series also serves as a reminder for what awaits students upon their return to schools.