OCD1, That kind of gun control was actually quite common in the old west. I remember watching an episode of "The Rifleman" where the sheriff had left town and his deputy replacement banned the carry of firearms while in town. It turned into a disaster when several bad men came in, I don't remember exactly what all happened, but it was not anything like you'd see on TV now days. It was all about why everyone should carry a gun and was very politically based.
WR Moore, I'm not saying they don't look for authenticity when making movies now. They have gotten better about it then before when everyone carried a Colt SAA, even in the Civil War. But movies aren't intended to be documentaries of past history, even if they are supposed to be, they are intended to draw a crowd. While the old movies would try to teach morals, ethics, good over evil, honesty is the best policy, etc, etc. Now they appeal to what people really want to see, "bad boys" and "bad girls" behaving like they want to behave. Look at all the movies that portray the protagonist as someone that is just as dark and evil as the antagonist, just like in the movie "Unforgiven". People don't want to be honest, loyal, brave or etc, they want to be popular and that is what's popular now. Look at all the athletes and celebrities that are getting all the media attention because of their antics and disgusting behavior, then look at all the people that are drawn to them. I don't think it's cute and I don't think movies about it are worth watching, we have enough problems the wa it is.
DC Wilson, thank you. I understand people like movies for different reasons and not everyone will look at a certain movie the same way as others may. But, like in the movie "Silence of the Lambs", the way certain characters are portrayed they seem to be idolized by people that watch them. This can be a nightmare for the millions of people out in movie land that have no real personality and depend on "becoming" what they see on film.