Consuming Violence

This summer I continued to work at a movie theater, add in my thesis which is about society’s desensitization to violence against women through the visualization on TV shows aimed at teenage audiences and I couldn’t help but notice how society keeps on consuming violence, especially over the last few years.

As far as the movie business goes, the summer was once again filled with bloody and gruesome movies that were very pro-violence (ex: "My Bloody Valentine") and more than a few that centered on some sort of violence towards its female character(s). Working at the theater made me become aware of just what lengths people will go to in order to see the latest R-rated film, the more horrific and violent the film is the more desperate the attempts seem. Even with precautions put in place, such as security guards and checking IDs, people still do what they can to get into these films versus sneaking into a PG-13 film. Which leads me to wonder: what exactly is the appeal? Is it the age-old theory that if you make something unattainable/taboo that it becomes that more interesting? Or is it some weird rebellion against authority? Or is it just plain old curiosity?

I suppose my real interest in why society is so hungry for violence, more so the visualization of it, centers on my confusion around why on one hand we tell citizens that any ‘normal’ person should be opposed to violence of any sort, however on the other hand we popularize violence with films such as the “Saw” movies, the torture-centric “Hostel” movies and even in television with shows like “Dexter” that manages to put a serial killer into the role of the ‘hero’ in the story, his redeeming quality being that he only kills other murderers and criminals, never an innocent. But can these depictions be redeeming, especially if there’s only a small shred of blurred decency?

What does that say about us, as a society? Clearly we are capable of forgiving even some of the more absurd aspects of human behavior, but are we being too forgiving when it comes to violence as entertainment?

Has violent behavior become the norm? Is that why we see so much of it? Is this just another instance of art imitating life? Or should all the arguments in favor and against the visualization of violence in various aspects of the media be erased? Is it better to have these multiple avenues (ex: movies, television shows, games, etc.) as a tool instead of having these heinous acts be taken out in real-life?

*sits back*

The table's all yours folks.