--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Try driving the streets of Los Angeles…" description: "\"Try driving the streets of Los Angeles without seeing a billboard depicting a film with a lead actor holding a gun. It's almost as if guns are harmless..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef5/henry-rollins-170_actor_try-driving-the-streets-of-los-angeles-w_702628.png" --- # Try driving the streets of Los Angeles without seeing a… ![“Try driving the streets of Los Angeles without seeing a billboard depicting a film with a lead actor holding a gun. It's almost as if guns are harmless props used to bring out the cheekbones and jawline of the screen star.” quote by Henry Rollins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef5/henry-rollins-170_actor_try-driving-the-streets-of-los-angeles-w_702628.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef5/henry-rollins-170_actor_try-driving-the-streets-of-los-angeles-w_702628.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef5/henry-rollins-170_actor_try-driving-the-streets-of-los-angeles-w_702628.png) > “Try driving the streets of Los Angeles without seeing a billboard depicting a film with a lead actor holding a gun. It's almost as if guns are harmless props used to bring out the cheekbones and jawline of the screen star.” [Henry Rollins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-rollins/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Billboards in L.A. glorify guns, normalizing violence through celebrity imagery. **In simple terms:** Guns are shown as harmless props on ads. Key Takeaway Question media influence on violence perception. Themes media influence violence normalization celebrity culture Mood critical concerned Type observational critical When to use this quote - urban walking tours - media literacy workshops - advertising regulation - public health campaigns Key Concepts advertising cultural conditioning visual rhetoric Questions to Reflect On - How does celebrity endorsement affect your view of weapons? - What alternatives could replace gun imagery in ads? A Different Perspective Billboards also promote other consumerist values, not just gun imagery. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Actor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actor/) [Cheekbones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cheekbones/) [Cinema](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cinema/) [Driving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/driving/) [Film](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/film/) [Gun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gun/) [Leadership](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leadership/) [Los angeles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/los-angeles/) [Streets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/streets/) ## Related quotes > [I am an actor and this is holding the mirror up to nature, as it were.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-dean-stanton/i-am-an-actor-and-this-is-holding-the-mirror-up-to-nature-as-it-were/) [Harry Dean Stanton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-dean-stanton/) > [It wasn't really that hard to act when you see somebody holding a gun to your partner. 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I already know what you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-thomas/if-you-and-i-were-in-a-life-or-death-situation-the-gun-were-to-be/) [Iris Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-thomas/) > [“If we put a gun to her head she would sing all day. Try it first with a bird, General Benjamin said gently to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/if-we-put-a-gun-to-her-head-she-would-sing-all-day-try-it-first-with/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [You can tell a lot about a person by holding a gun at their head and asking them questions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/you-can-tell-a-lot-about-a-person-by-holding-a-gun-at-their-head-and/) [Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/) > [People started shaking hands with strangers to show that neither was holding a gun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/people-started-shaking-hands-with-strangers-to-show-that-neither-was/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When I held that gun in my hand, I felt a surge of power - like God must feel when he's holding a gun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/when-i-held-that-gun-in-my-hand-i-felt-a-surge-of-power-like-god-must/) [Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/) ## More by Henry Rollins > [I believe that one defines oneself by reinvention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-rollins/i-believe-that-one-defines-oneself-by-reinvention/) [Henry Rollins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-rollins/) > [I think that one of the hardest things in the world to be is a black male. 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