Violence is ever present – on our TV screens and on our cinema screens in particular. This is true particularly in the US, where the accidental sight of a nipple during a Super Bowl halftime show will get a TV network a heavy fine but you can have people shot to death, tortured and more during primetime and no one will care.
Some people believe there is a causative link between violence in the media and real-life violence, with proponents seeing violence on TV as creating an environment that makes violence in real-life acceptable to some, perhaps even encouraging them to do it in real-life or to have ideas.
Evidence for this is largely anecdotal and there are counter-studies that indicate, for example, that screen violence can even reduce violence in those who watch it. A more nuanced argument is put out by others, including DB Weiss, one of the show runners of Game of Thrones, which has been criticised for its gore:
“Violence in the real world is awful to witness. But it’s the sanitized versions of violence on TV that are worse because they’re letting kids watch. On network TV, people die in droves in a way that’s clean and easy to watch and fun. It’s more like an old video game.”
The argument here is that showing violence without consequences is the bad idea since it gives people the idea that there’s no issue with violence. So, after the jump, let’s go watch some Banshee. Warning: it’ll turn your stomach. Hopefully.
Continue reading “Rant of the week: it’s time for more realistic violence on TV”
