Orsdxy

This is a question about the real-world factors that have influenced the development of science fiction and television for children.

In children's television (as well as movies), especially animation, there is a strong tendency toward using science fiction (or sometimes fantasy) energy weapons instead of more realistic weapons that fire projectiles. The leads to things like DC superhero cartoons, such as Superman (1988), featuring villains with laster pistols, even when the rest of the shows' technology is quite realistic; or Hank the ranger of the Dungeons & Dragons cartoon shooting yellow energy bolts from his bow, rather than arrows. (The fact that He-Man never seems to actually attack anybody with his magical sword, instead using it to deflect enemies' energy beams, is probably related.)

I know that this the energy weapons appear because they were considered less violent or disturbing than realistic slug-throwing weapons. But I would like to have a clearer picture of how it was decided that guns with bullets were worse. Was it because there would be more blood and body wounds with guns? Was it because there were worries that children would imitate characters they saw using guns? And how was the decision made that these were important concerns?

The Comics Code Authority restricted the amount of blood and gore that could be depicted, starting in the mid-1950s:

(7) Scenes of excessive violence shall be prohibited. Scenes of brutal torture, excessive and unnecessary knife and gunplay, physical agony, gory and gruesome crime shall be eliminated. (CCA 1954; CODE FOR EDITORIAL MATTER)

Thus, it was simpler in comics to have an energy weapon that vaporized enemies than a kinetic one that splattered or maimed them. And remember, this was also the dawn of the atomic age when we thought we’d all be flying personal atomic airplanes to work.

Merchandising also played a role, there are more possibilities for selling fancy energy weapon toys than boring old pistol replicas and the CCA prohibited "realistic gun facsimile" toy sales:

(4) Advertising for the sale of knives or realistic gun facsimiles is prohibited. (CCA 1954; CODE FOR ADVERTISING MATTER)

There were similar codes for other media; in film, the Hays Code or MPCC forbade the "use of firearms"; and on TV the Code of Practices for Television Broadcasters (1954) also limited "brutality or physical agony by sight or by sound" as well as the "presentation of murder."

The aftereffects continue to this day. Well after the heyday of the MPCC and CCA and other codes, we still feel energy weapons are superior to slug throwers due to their extensive use in the media we grew up with.