Violence in Literature “I’m taking you to the bank, Senator Trent. To the blood bank.” This line is spoken by a character played by Steven Segal in the movie Hard to Kill, a movie remarkably similar to every other motion picture Segal has ever touched, and depressingly reflective of a larger cultural trend. In Segal’s movies, characters with names like “Orin Boyd” and “Nico Toscani” boast body counts and a shared insatiable thirst for vengeance. Death becomes a prop employed to dispatch central characters, and a cycle of one-upmanship ensues – we saw Segal rip someone’s throat out in Under Siege, so the next movie has to be more ridiculous in its sheer level of violence to be marketable. In 1999, it came as no real shock to viewers when Segal’s character stabbed a Nazi sympathizer in the neck with a broken wine glass. The reality is that technology gives us the means to transmit images and messages of unparalleled intensity, and as we do that, reality is recursively recreated. As artists and media moguls say less, they attempt to compensate through force, resulting in a constant barrage of deafening sound that amounts to nothing more than noise or visuals so gaudy and exaggerated that the thin shreds of meaning behind them are utterly lost. In this context, death is watered down until it becomes comfortably palpable. Theatres full of families cheer when the hero shoots the bad guy in an action movie, but it never crosses a single mind that a murder has taken place. Viewers wear expressions of smug satisfaction when a crooked lawyer is double-crossed, but the underlying web of lies fazes nobody. In this context, authors have to shout over the noise to communicate the true evils that float between humans. There is no longer ... ... middle of paper ... ...organization in which individually is sacrificed for the sake of an ideal (Nazism, in this case), it’s easy for a smaller group to become victimized. That group is doubly under attack from without and within, and even after the battle is apparently over, they are still losing. The inherent threat in such organizational bodies has to be recognized by humanity and ingrained into the memories of future generations to ensure that these mistakes aren’t repeated. Bringing distressing images and situations the forefront of art isn’t gimmicky, and it isn’t entertaining. It’s indispensable. When punches are held the point is only half-made. Vividly bringing to life the tragedies of the world is the only way in which we can come to understand them with any validity, and understanding these heartrending circumstances is the only means through which we can learn from them.
2. According to Sobchack, contemporary screen violence greatly differs than portrayals of violence in years past. Today, violent scenes are careless and lack significance because we as audiences have become calloused and desensitized to any acts of violence. She states that there is “no grace or benediction attached to violence. Indeed, its very intensity seems diminished” (Sobchack 432). Senseless violence, gruesome acts, and profound amounts of gore are prevalent in movies today, and because even this is not enough, it must be accompanied by loud blasts and noise, constantly moving scenes to keep audiences stimulated and large quantities of violence for viewers to enjoy what they are watching. Decades ago, it was the story that was engaging to audiences and filmmaking was an art.
This book was also one of my first encounters with an important truth of art: that your work is powerful not because you convey a new emotion to the audience, but because you tap into an emotion the audience already feels but can't express.
In her book, On Violence, Hannah Arendt studies violence as it relates to war, science, power, aggression, and the like. In this paper, I will speak on the topic of violence as it pertains to aggression. I argue that we, as human beings, possess at least a basic level of aggression that is explainable through animalistic research and characteristics. This argument is one that contradicts the overarching ideas of Arendt’s thoughts on the topic. Through an explicative and then disputatious discourse, I hope to bring validity to my viewpoint.
Humans use many different types of coping mechanisms when in tough situations and environments. William Golding’s, Lord of the Flies, demonstrates several of these and their ultimate outcomes. From the Lord of the Flies one can draw that the more cruel and savage a person is betters their likelihood of survival in a harsh environment or world. This is exemplified through Simon and his non-violent acts, Piggy who vacillates his morals, and Jack who fully embraces his own savagery.
Violent video games and violent adolescent behavior, is there a connection? Millions of violent video games are sold around the United States, millions more are sold overseas, but the numbers of violent crimes, that could be associated with violent video games is low. Assault, robbery, burglary, rape and murder occur daily. The drug industry accounts for the majority of these crimes. The cases not related to drugs, fall into a number of categories, including Psychological Disorders. Disorders that can cause violent behavior are psychotic or anti-social behavior, depression, schizophrenia, delusion, disassociation, and any others recognized by a Psychologist.
What makes the Roadrunner and Coyote cartoons so funny and memorable? Of course, the explosions, hits and falls the Coyote takes while in pursuit of the Roadrunner. Pediatrics, a pediatrician read magazine, wrote an article on the influence violence, such as that in cartoons and other forms of media, has on children from ages 2-18 titled “Media Violence.” “Although recent school shootings have prompted politicians and the general public to focus their attention on the influence of media violence, the medical community has been concerned with this issue since the 1950s,” says American Academy of Pediatrics, the author of the article in November of 2001. The article calls for a need for all pediatricians to take a stand on violence in the media and help to make sure their patients are not influenced negatively mentally or physically by violence in the media, using multiple statistics from many publications. “Media Violence” fails to be persuasive, however, due to its failure to show any evidence that its statistics are true.
In today's world, photographs are the most form of media to deliver news and messages. They depict the mere fact, but are censored to hide violence. Such an act conceals the reality of life and is unfair. Graphic images must always be exposed to the public as they present the blatant reality and educate people about world crisis.
These authors want us also to see the little girl as the main focus point of the picture and see the amount of pain she is showing us emotionally.
The story takes place in a little house outside of Herat in Afghanistan, in Kabul and in Pakistan. It takes place from the early 1960’s to the early 2000’s. The novel is set during a time where Afghanistan is in turmoil. However, the situation in Afghanistan is not what the novel centers around. Instead, it focuses on the women in an oppressive culture. The daily violence in the Afghan society is merely a dull mirror that reflects the violence and suffering that occurs behind closed doors.
History always finds a way of repeating itself. A Tale of Two Cities, depicts the French Revolution and the citizens living through it. Many citizens go along with the leaders want, in order to avoid being executed, this is taking part in mob mentality because although they might not be doing what they want, they are doing what everybody else is doing, so they can fit in. Some people can participate in something so vulgar even when they do not mean to. In “Top 10 Instances of Mob Mentality”, author S.Grant says that, “Looking back on Nazi Germany, it’s difficult to comprehend how ordinary people acted so ruthless and inhumane. Even if you assume the average German citizen didn’t know what was happening in the concentration camps, there were still 24,000 members in the “Death’s Head Unit,” a special section of the Schutzstaffel (SS) that was in charge of the concentration camps. These Death’s Head
“Violence is one of the most personal and even intimate acts between human beings...It can be symbolic, thematic, biblical…(pg 88).” As always, Foster reverts back to the idea that an act is not simply just an act in chapter eleven of ‘How to Read Literature Like a Professor. Already being established as a symbol for evil and greed, the pearl in hand leads to acts of violence in Steinbeck’s novel. One act taking place during the middle of the night as Kino awakes to see his wife fleeing---He realizes that she has the “pearl of the world” (pg 28) in hand. It is clear that she is prepared to throw the pearl into the ocean. And thus, “He struck her in the face with his clenched fist and she fell among the boulders (pg 73).” Now, this most closely
The first thing a person would notice when he or she meets someone for the first time is physical appearance. If a girl seems to have expensive belongings or more possessions, one might think, “Wow. This person must be enjoying life. She has everything she wants and needs. What is there not to be happy about?” After a few months of getting to know her, one might then get to know a deeper side of her, and come to understand that she, too, has struggles. One would learn that those initial assumptions about her were inaccurate in a sense that even though she seemed privileged, she still wasn’t satisfied and might not have a perfect life.
The setting of “ Lord of the Flies “ is important because it takes Ralph, Piggy, and the other boys in that island outside of the very society of which the novel critiques. Only by taking the boys from the imperfect society and placing them in a paradise, like the biblical Eden, can the author assert that such flaws as violence and intolerance are natural, not societally born; however, this does not explain the evidence that they can be and often are societally influenced. The boys had still been raised for several years in that society, and by different parents with certain positive attributes and also imperfections. In order to truly prove the natural quality of violence in them, they would have to be untouched by society from birth, which
Violence in Entertainment Violence has played an important part in entertainment, even in ancient times, like Rome and Egypt. In those countries, mock killings were some sort of entertainment. Even in our time, media violence is ever increasing. Research has shown that media violence did not only increase in violence, but in graphic, sexual and sadistic ways. There have been many concerns that as violent shows and movies go global, people spend more time watching than doing other activities (Media Violence).
Media is something used in our daily lives that we use for entertainment. The media ranges from music, movies, television shows, and video games. However there has been a lot of controversy over whether or not violent media links to violence in real life. Most people believe it is just used for entertainment, nothing else. Others believe, with the recent shootings and bombings, that the violent media links to theses events. Violence in media is just a risk factor that can cause aggressive behavior among observers. So to an extent, violent media does cause violence in real life; however, knowing the difference between reality and fantasy is also a factor.