Violence in Films and Killing Sprees: Why it's Time to Say NO to Hollywood's Offerings

Consequential Commentary ^ | 7-21-12 | Mary C. Kirchhoff

[InHisService]

Hollywood consistently churns out movies that are filled with very graphic and gory violence. While I'm not blaming them for what this sick killer did, let's face it: we live in a culture that embraces violence. How do we embrace it? By paying our hard earned money to see movies where people are shot with guns, mutilated, killed and blown up on a regular basis.

[GOYAKLA]

“HORSE HOCKEY!” Quoting the late Col. Potter.
In my life time people have blamed crime and violence on Cars (Bonnie & Clyde); Bikini bathing suits (Rape); TV Intoxication (corrupting youth); Elvis (Promiscuity); Twinkies (teenage murder) Internet (Infidelity), You can name any thing and some nut job will say it contributes to man’s downfall. May I remind you of Ellis Rubin (TV intoxication and others like him.
HORSE HOCKEY, it’s the weakness of mankind!
Ban Duct Tape it has been used to murder people including a sweet little three year old in Florida.

[fr_freak]

I'm actually starting to see this whole "violence in movies and video games" thing this way:

The people that complain about this type of depicted violence only whine when the violence is overt. They never whined and complained when the violence was "sanctioned" violence perpetrated by the State. For example, where was the author of this article when the ATF was incinerating men, women and children at Waco? Where was this author when FBI snipers were executing the Weaver family in Ruby Ridge, Idaho? Where was this author, and all those like her, every time the steroid-addled SWAT teams executed a 3 am no-knock raid on the wrong address and slaughtered a grandma in her own house, or a recently returned combat marine in his own house in front of his wife and small child in Phoenix?

I never see articles spamming the internet about the evils of violence when those things occur. And why? Because, in those cases, the violence was sanctioned by the State, and was therefore OK. We mustn't question it. However, put a shootout in a movie and authors like this go batshit crazy.

Violence, in itself, is a tool. It can be used for good, when employed against bad guys, or it can be used for evil. What people like this author seem to want is a population of completely complacent, passive sheep that would never dream of picking up a weapon, let alone a firearm. Such people would be very easy to rule, and very easy to enslave. These are the same people who go apoplectic when two school kids get in a fist fight. These are the same people who want so badly to ban football, hockey, boxing, and everything else from school sports. They want us fat, lazy, soft, weak, and complacent so that when they come to clap us in chains we won't even have the CONCEPT of resistance.

I say, let violence be taught to every child alive. Let every man teach his kid to be the biggest, baddest, meanest son-of-a-bitch alive, while also teaching him the love of God, so that, when the day comes where Satan throws off his mask, he'll be facing an army, not a grazing herd.

[InHisService]

It certainly sounds like with your experience you would know. I still stand by my opinion that movies and have an influence on some people’s actions. Note, I said in the article I wasn’t blaming Hollywood. I think we would all be better off without all the violence constantly portrayed, but of course, that is an individual choice.

[Kaosinla]

I don’t think that the international distribution had anything to do with trait. It was the fact that more money could be made off a PG-13 movie than an R. Directors/Studios do everything they can to keep movies a step away from an R rating.

However, violence is still as prevalent and Directors still attempt to shock.

See Saw (series, Hostel (series), P2, The Descent, etc...

[InHisService]

Good idea. Children under 18 should not be seeing violence.

[nerdwithagun]

I believe it on insanity, but what about overall values and behavior? I would still think if you have lowlife or screwed up parents, you might be more likely to not have the same attitudes on other’s lives and livelihood

[EEGator]

Good post.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

How about 18 or older to see any films/movies that show any type of gun violence or violence in general. Maybe it would force hollyweird into making more family oriented films.

By all means.

There is no problem so intractable that it cannot be resolved by passing another freaking law.

Every law we have passed so far has not created more problems than it has fixed.

If we pass enough laws, we will eventually live in a Utopia beyond our wildest dreams.

[OneWingedShark]

Good idea. Children under 18 should not be seeing violence.

Hm, then what we need is a "Mandatory Blindness Act" which would state that all children born in the US must be blinded. I'm sure we'll have the technology to regrow eyes in 20 years, so we can use that on them when they reach 18.

[/sarc]

[E. Pluribus Unum]

The actions of one do not “define us all.”

They do if you pass draconian laws in response to the actions of some.

[InHisService]

I did say in my article that I don’t blame Hollywood for this killer’s actions. I agree the violence in movies is a symptom, as you said. But I do think the violence we see, for some people, becomes a part of them and they take actions based on that.

[Vince Ferrer]

The liberals in Hollywood all want gun control yet all they do in the movies is depict completely gratuitous use of guns

Back when there were video stores like Blockbuster, I found myself walking down an aisle and suddenly started focusing on how many DVD movie covers had the main actors posing with their guns. I started counting them all. I don't remember the count, but it was a huge number. Hollywood has a secret gun fetish worse than the worst hoader at a gun show. (But the hoader doesn't condemn others for doing the same thing)

[dfwgator]

There will always be bad seed among us.

[InHisService]

Who said anything about passing laws?

[AnAmericanAbroad]

Well, as to the sanctity of life, the Japanese do respect life, however they do have a fairly rate of abortion, about 30% of all pregnancies, if one measures sanctity of life by that metric. It has gone down a bit.........it was 35% for awhile.

Personally, having lived in Japan for a couple of years, the impression I get is that the Japanese would just think of it as terribly rude to kill somebody.

Yes, they are highly respectful, no doubt about that.

The violence (and quite bluntly, sexually sadistic violence in some cases) in their popular culture is just viewed differently. For a whole host of reasons, it just stays within the realm of fiction/fantasy.

Now that’s not to say there aren’t examples of Japanese behaving badly! There have been some notorious incidents, but in general their crime rate, including violent crime, is significantly lower than almost anywhere on the planet.

Of course, there’s something to the point that in some regards, Japan is somewhat of a benevolent police state. If you’ve had “Omawari-san”, your friendly local beat cop, come to interview you twice a year to keep their files on you current, you know what I mean. They’ll know everything about you. :)

[E. Pluribus Unum]

So how do you propose getting the rest of the world to recognize your brilliance by obeying you and “just saying no?”

[Kaosinla]

[discostu]

Yeah those violent video games have destroyed everything:

[InHisService]

Very good point, and that’s a part of the problem. Nowadays, most families have both parents working. The discipline is not there. Instead, there is gratification and “guilt purchases” with the parent indulging their kids to make up for lost time together. What we have is a generation of spoiled, lazy, undisciplined kids. No wonder some of them go off the deep end.

[InHisService]

I don’t know, I’m too busy basking in the glow of being called brilliant.