Comments on: When Entertainment Isn’t Violent Enough

By: Travis

Travis — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 18:20:05 +0000

I have an idea. Make video games based on some of the most brutally violent Stephen King books. That’ll give gamers something to think about. Whoever’s read any of the graphical books he has written, will most definitely understand.

By: NoAnswerIsFinal

NoAnswerIsFinal — Fri, 30 May 2008 16:42:13 +0000

The answer depends on the child. You can feed hundreds of children the
same content but each one will respond differently.

- Some children absorb the content and it slowly becomes accepted as a
societal norm.

- Some children repel against the content, understanding how horrible it
really is and realizing the content’s concequences.

- Some children find the content ridiculous because it is an incident that
they have never witnessed and don’t believe it will happen to them or
affect them if it did happen.

+ In all cases, the children think of such behavior as a means to express
themselves in a utterly negative manner.

By: Graham

Graham — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 05:33:01 +0000

I think it is worth pointing out that depictions of sanatized violence have often been used actually as a means to encourage the viewer/recipient of that message to perpatrate or support similar actions (if you dont believe me take a look at piantings of battles on wiki) or generally to glorify violent conduct. i\’m certianly no expert, but it seems to me fairly plausible that the desensitization effect that accrues from playing violent video games or watching violent movies may be due to the fact that the violence is sanatized and does not accurately relfect those actions

By: Max

Max — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 20:56:31 +0000

What about the History of Violence by David Cronenberg?

I don\’t think its about avoiding the realities of violence. Let me put to you this way – Do you know of any cartoon without violence? Kids have very impressionable and very fragile minds. Its about protecting their development mentally.Anyway its a very interesting point and one open to endless discussion.

By: G B SINGH

G B SINGH — Sun, 16 Sep 2007 08:25:35 +0000

Aren’t violence and sex the two sides of the same coin… ration the first and

the second starts raising its head?

By: Teresa

Teresa — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 07:48:34 +0000

I didn’t see Saving Private Ryan for exactly that reason. I’m also one of the few people I know who’s made an honest attempt to play a MUD (think textual, small-scale WOW) character who would not kill people (animals, fair game. People, no). For me, the movie that made me seriously re-think violence was The Passion of the Christ—I’d never quite realized how -violent- something like that was, and people used to watch that as -entertainment-?!?

We still get the violence part, but at least they got the real sights and sounds and smells… and maybe we need those too.

By: LunarDuality

LunarDuality — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 17:52:40 +0000

I was also struck by the same point made in This Film Is Not Yet Rated. I strongly believe that we\’ve done a great disservice to our children in America by demonizing sex while simultaneously glorifying violence.

Ultimately I think the point made in the movie is correct. Violence without consequences is a horrible thing to teach a child. I agree with acmalms that supervision and an attempt to understand and learn from violent material is a large part of what is missing. Ultimately there are too few parents/teachers/guides in this world that will truly help us face these issues on a personal *and* societal level. I\’m glad to hear that your wife is doing such important work.

And yes, Bioshock is still just a start to the kind of ethical/moral dilemmas we can experience in games.

By: acmalms

acmalms — Sat, 08 Sep 2007 05:30:34 +0000

I have several children. I do not sensor violence in movies or on television per se. I feel if it helps show an underlying message, with adult supervision to reinforce that message, it\’s not always a bad thing. The problem is when there is no supervision to support understanding and the importance of the issue, the only thing accomplished is the desensitization of our youth to violence and suffering.

By: Kat Ingersoll

Kat Ingersoll — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 21:00:51 +0000

I’ll add American History X, Schindler’s List, and Amistad to that list.
Those are some brutal movies that make you seriously think about race relations
and hate crimes.

By: Measure

Measure — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 13:54:10 +0000

I had much the same reaction when I first saw Saving Private Ryan. I think anybody who is enthusiastic about going to war should see it.

Not that I don\’t understand some wars are necessary, but man that movie was brutal.