Photographer's Book Inspired Controversial Film Twist

The Drama explores themes of gun violence and relationships through a fictional photography book.

Apr. 13, 2026 at 7:21pm

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An extreme close-up photograph of a woman's hand delicately holding a rifle, with the gun's metal surface reflecting dramatic highlights and shadows to create a high-fashion, glamorous aesthetic.The provocative imagery in the fictional 'Brainrot' photobook reflects the complex societal projections that can be placed on visual depictions of armed women.Stamford Today

The new film The Drama features a plot twist where the character Emma reveals she planned a school shooting as a child. This leads her fiancé Charlie to become obsessed with a fictional photography book called Brainrot, which seems inspired by the real 2011 book Chicks with Guns by Lindsay McCrum. While the books have different tones, both explore complex societal issues around women and guns.

Why it matters

The Drama's use of a fictional photography book to explore its controversial twist highlights how art can be used to examine difficult topics like gun violence and the nature of relationships. The real-life Chicks with Guns book also sparked conversations around women's roles with firearms, making it an interesting source of inspiration.

The details

In The Drama, the character Charlie becomes fixated on the fictional Brainrot photography book, which features young women posed suggestively with guns. This seems loosely inspired by the real 2011 book Chicks with Guns by Lindsay McCrum, which documented American women gun owners. While Chicks with Guns had a more sober, documentary-style approach, Brainrot is described as having a sleek, sensual aesthetic reminiscent of provocative photographers like Torbjørn Rødland and Heji Shin.

  • The Drama is currently playing in theaters.
  • Chicks with Guns was published in 2011.

The players

The Drama

A new film by director Kristoffer Borgli that explores themes of gun violence and relationships through a controversial plot twist.

Lindsay McCrum

The photographer behind the 2011 book Chicks with Guns, which documented American women gun owners.

Brainrot

A fictional photography book featured in The Drama that seems inspired by Chicks with Guns, but with a more provocative, sensual aesthetic.

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What they’re saying

“When anyone looks at a portrait, whether it's a painting or a photograph, they project onto that picture. Now you add a gun into the picture, and a woman, and there's even more projection.”

— Lindsay McCrum, Photographer

What’s next

The Drama continues its theatrical run, and the real-life Chicks with Guns book remains a topic of discussion around the intersection of women, guns, and societal perceptions.

The takeaway

The Drama's use of a fictional photography book to explore its controversial twist highlights how art can be a powerful tool for examining complex social issues. The real-life Chicks with Guns book, which inspired this fictional work, also sparked important conversations around women's roles with firearms and the meaning we project onto such images.