Abstract
Mass school shootings in Russia have become a symbol of deep social and cultural dysfunctions, reflecting a crisis of identity and youth alienation. The paper emphasizes the importance of exploring how the media constructs the image of a school shooter, influencing public perception and the perception of the perpetrators themselves. The media’s role in intensifying the alienation and marginalization of shooters through the ritualization and narrativization of acts of violence requires in-depth analysis. The aim of the study is to analyze the phenomenon of school shootings through the lens of the ritual of chiral initiation and to identify the sociocultural factors contributing to the construction of the shooter’s image.
The analysis shows that media coverage of school shootings follows a ritualized script that reinforces the perception of the shooter as an alienated and dangerous individual, cementing his marginal status. The “Non-Return” stage in the chiral initiation ritual illustrates the shooter’s irreversible break from society and self-identity. The study underscores the need for a comprehensive analysis of the media and cultural factors shaping public opinion about school shooters.
The target audience of this study includes scholars in sociology, cultural studies, and anthropology, as well as professionals involved in media studies and public safety.
References
Alexander, B. A., & Harris, H. (2020). Public School Preparedness for School Shootings: A Phenomenological Overview of School Staff Perspectives. School Mental Health, 12(3), 595‑609. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12310-020-09369-8
Aliev, R. T. (2023). Crossing the Threshold: School Shooting as a “Ritual of Chiral Initiation.” Galactica Media: Journal of Media Studies, 5(3), 221–245. https://doi.org/10.46539/gmd.v5i3.431
Baeva, L. V. (2024). Mediatization of School Shooting (Сolumbine) in Fan Literature. Galactica Media: Journal of Media Studies, 6(2), 177–204. https://doi.org/10.46539/gmd.v6i2.419 (In Russian).
Baird, A. A., Roellke, E. V., & Zeifman, D. M. (2017). Alone and adrift: The association between mass school shootings, school size, and student support. The Social Science Journal, 54(3), 261–270. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soscij.2017.01.009
Borisova, N. F. (2021). Schoolshooting – A New Criminal Threat to Society. Russian Legal Journal, 1, 125–129. (In Russian).
de Apodaca, R. F., Brighton, L. M., Perkins, A. N., Jackson, K. N., & Steege, J. R. (2012). Characteristics of Schools in Which Fatal Shootings Occur. Psychological Reports, 110(2), 363–377. https://doi.org/10.2466/13.16.PR0.110.2.363-377
Gennep, A. van. (2002). The Rites of Passage (Yu. V. Ivanova, Ed.; Yu. V. Ivanova & L. V. Pokrovskaya, Trans.). Vostochnaja literatura. (In Russian).
Golikhin, I. S. (2021). Skulshuting v obrazovatel'nykh uchrezhdeniyakh: Motivy, prichiny, profilaktika v usloviyakh sovremennykh realiy. E-Scio, 11, 710–718. (In Russian).
Goncharov, L. A. (2019). “Kolumbayn” i skulshuting v strukture molodezhnogo ekstremizma i terrorizma. Vestnik Voronezhskogo instituta ekonomiki i sotsialnogo upravleniya, 2, 29–31. (In Russian).
Grinenko, U. B., & Romero Reyes, I.V. (2021). Semantic Analysis of Digital Destructive Content of School Shooting in the Social Network ‘VKontakte’. Psychology and Law, 11(4), 180–195. https://doi.org/10.17759/psylaw.2021110413 (In Russian).
Highberger, J., Wang, W., & Brittingham, R. (2022). Differences in Perception of Safety Before and After School Shootings: A Multi-Event Analysis. Journal of School Violence, 21(3), 312–326. https://doi.org/10.1080/15388220.2022.2098500
Hong, J. S., & Espelage, D. L. (2020). An Introduction to the Special Issue: Firearms Homicide and Perceptions of Safety in American Schools Post-Columbine. Journal of School Violence, 19(1), 1–5. https://doi.org/10.1080/15388220.2019.1703721
Karpova, A. Yu., & Maksimova, N. G. (2021). School Shooting in Russia: what Matters? Vlast’ (The Authority), 29(1), 93–108. https://doi.org/10.31171/vlast.v29i1.7920 (In Russian).
Katsiyannis, A., Rapa, L. J., Whitford, D. K., & Scott, S. N. (2023). An Examination of US School Mass Shootings, 2017–2022: Findings and Implications. Advances in Neurodevelopmental Disorders, 7(1), 66–76. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41252-022-00277-3
Keatley, D. A., Mcgurk, S., & Allely, C. S. (2020). Understanding School Shootings with Crime Script Analysis. Deviant Behavior, 41(9), 1084–1096. https://doi.org/10.1080/01639625.2019.1596543
Larkin, R. W. (2009). The Columbine Legacy: Rampage Shootings as Political Acts. American Behavioral Scientist, 52(9), 1309–1326. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764209332548
Markey, P. M., Ivory, J. D., Slotter, E. B., Oliver, M. B., & Maglalang, O. (2020). He does not look like video games made him do it: Racial stereotypes and school shootings. Psychology of Popular Media, 9(4), 493–498. https://doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000255
Nikishin, V. D. (2021). The Columbine (School Shooting): Essence, Legal Qualifications, Forensic Diagnostics2. Lex Russica, 11, 62–76. https://doi.org/10.17803/1729-5920.2021.180.11.062-076 (In Russian).
Orlov, V. V. (2022). On criteria for recognizing armed attack on educational institution as act of “schoolshooting”. Vestnik Kaluzhskogo universiteta. Seriya 1. Psikhologicheskie nauki. Pedagogicheskie nauki, 5(2), 32–38. https://doi.org/10.54072/26586568_2022_5_2_32 (In Russian).
Osipov, D. V. (2024). Communicative Behavior of Mass Culture Icon Villain and the Influence on Destructive Behavior in Youth. Joker’s Case. Galactica Media: Journal of Media Studies, 6(1), 156–171. https://doi.org/10.46539/gmd.v6i1.418
Paez, G. R., Capellan, J. A., & Johnson, M. G. (2021). Contextualising mass school shootings in the United States. Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, 18(3), 170–184. https://doi.org/10.1002/jip.1577
Sharifzyanova, K. Sh. (2020). Current trends in teenage deviation. Subculture school-shooting «school shooting»: the nature and causes of manifestation. Problemy upravleniya kachestvom obrazovaniya: sbornik izbrannykh statey mezhdunarodnoy nauchno-metodicheskoy konferentsii. Sankt-Peterburg, 2020, 117–120. (In Russian).
Sukhodolskaya, Yu. V. (2020). Schoolshooting as an independent criminological phenomenon. Vestnik universiteta prokuratury Rossiyskoy Federatsii, 3, 117–120. (In Russian).
Sukhodolskaya, Yu. V. (2019). Massovoe ubiystvo v obrazovatel'nykh organizatsiyakh kak obyekt kriminologicheskogo issledovaniya. Vestnik Nauki i Obrazovaniya, 6(1), 51–53. (In Russian).
Turner, V. (1983). Symbol and ritual. Nauka. (In Russian).
Zavyalova, N. Yu., & Lunkashu, Yu. V. (2021). School shooting as a moral and legal problem in Russian society. Society and Law, 3, 117–122. (In Russian).
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.