I was thinking today about some peoples aversion to the fictional portrayal of violence, and the possible causes. They'll rarely explain to you This is why I don't watch violence when in its fictional form. Many just seem to have this vague notion that 'violence is bad'. Which, vaguely speaking, is vaguely correct. Vaguely. Having violence done to one person by another is never an ideal situation. And it's usually harmful. (That's the point, I think.) Sometimes it's far worse than 'not ideal'. It can be very bad indeed, atrocious and at times plain sick. However there are times and places for violent deeds. Almost everyone agrees on this whether they say so or not; it's a question of where one draws the line. There are many who wouldn't think twice about physically disciplining their children. There are few who would (in actual practice) object to defending themselves by violence when necessary.
Viewing it when portrayed for dramatic purposes is admittedly a different issue. But why are they objecting? Maybe they just don't like to see disturbing things. Fair enough, but I hope I don't have to depend on them in an emergency. Is it that they don't wish to expose themselves to anything that is 'not ideal'? If so, they need to find another planet posthaste. Or a very deep hole. Do they fear that they will become more violent themselves by watching it? In reality this rarely occurs, and certainly won't if the viewer is worrying about it occuring. Perhaps they don't want to become callous to the gravity of similar situations in real life. This at last is a real possibility. But still, I'm afraid, not a very high one. It is possible, after watching miscellaneous bad guys blown up or shredded or whatever, and a few sympathetic characters bite the dust, to walk away with the general impression that life is cheap and suffering is shallow - but probable? No. If someone is already under that illusion, then the portrayal will perhaps reenforce that idea. But if you know the price of pain and acknowledge the sanctity of each individual life, there's not much chance of that changing.
We live in a hard world. Let us realise it, adapt to it, and move on.
1 comment:
Whooee. I should write entries like that more often. Let's see, how about "Why The Greens Have Got It Right" or "Christianity & Wicca: A Happy Medium?".
Move onto accepting that people being blown up is a normal and 'acceptable' part of daily life? Accept that thrusting my knife in your gut is unfortunate but really just part of this hard world we live in?
Well yes, tragically, for some people it is a part of daily life. Thank God it's not the same for us. And if you thrust a knife in my gut that certainly would be unfortunate for me, you, and others around us. Yes unfortunate to say the least, (even if I deserved it, which is possible) but in some worlds hardly more than commonplace.
The problem is that you have been raised in a loving home that taught you you have a future, and hope. What about the people that don't accept the "sanctity of each individual life"? How do violent movies influence them?
I always wondered what my problem was. Now I know. Seriously though, I doubt that, by and large, watching movies degrades a persons value of life. If they bring that to the table, as you say many do, then that's the way they'll view it - perhaps. It depends on the portrayal. The type of film violence I referred to in passing (cf. Mission Impossible, James Bond, etc) is maybe the worst sort - it plays suffering and death for thrills. But there are also films in which it is a natural part of the story, and serves to strengthen the dichotomy between good and evil, right and wrong (cf. Lord of the Rings, Gladiator). And there are films which show atrocities and say - May you never forget, lest it happen again (Saving Private Ryan, Amistad, The Passion of the Christ).
*remembers your father singing* Hmm. Yes. And would you care to wager what types of movies my dad likes best? Let's just say that if at least half a dozen bad guys don't get smashed, slashed or blown up then it'll be very lucky indeed to make it into his 'good film' books. I certainly don't go that far. (In fact at least three of my favourite movies lack any violence: Finding Neverland, Chariots of Fire, and Whale Rider.) But there's nothing wrong with him. He (and many others)merely have a strong sense of justice and the struggle between right and wrong.
I am being increasingly desensitized - ha, probably to the point that I'll be able to watch Lord of the Rings one day soon.
LOL. If you liked The Last Samurai, LoTR is nothing. They even changed the colour of Orc blood to make it less human-looking. (Very disappointed there. It looked very fake.)
Well, so what. I'm not adjusting my standards of decency to meet theirs.
Absolutely. Warn me if you do, so I can check you for Samurai swords. But there's a distinct difference between acknowledging a thing, and imbibing or imitating it. To hide our head in the sand is never a wise move. The writers of the Bible certainly didn't. Oh yes, there's that lovely Phillipians verse - but if you read cover to cover there's a lot of really ugly stuff there too. We may mourn, we may try to aid, we may protect others - but we may not ignore.
In the end though, if you don't like to watch things like that, that's totally your call. I don't have a problem with that. As long as it's for the right reasons.
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