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Dialogues@RU is published
annually
by the
Writing Program at
Rutgers, The State
University of New Jersey
Volume Two
Spring 2003
"I Want You to Hit Me as Hard
as You Can!":
Screen Violence as a Reflection of Mass Reality - Page 2
by James Nelson
In a sense, consumers are asking for violence, it is a prerequisite for the mass audience to approve of anything. Violence is part of reality, so there is almost a required realism in film that forces its inclusion. This is evident in the way that the same text has been altered on screen to include more graphic and real depictions of violence. Each of Shakespeare's tragedies contains extensive blood and appalling acts of terror, however, early film adaptations shied away from an open display of these moments in the plays. King Lear , considered by many to be Shakespeare's ultimate tragedy, contains a scene in which the eyes of the character Gloucester are plucked out on stage. An early 1970's film adaptation of the play by director Peter Brook shies away from showing the audience the horrific act and instead resorts to a completely dark shot when the moment comes, intended to link the audience to the newly blind Gloucester. In contrast is Richard Eyre's version for the BBC in 1997. In this production the blinding of Gloucester is shown as blatantly as humanly possible. Eyre takes time to show each eye being scooped out of Gloucester's head as he screams in agony (Cartmell 16-17). Although some believe that what is not shown can have a greater impact on the audience, the fact remains that what was once purposely left out due to an overtly graphic nature was later put in. A scene that would have turned audiences away thirty years ago is now a necessity in modern film. Our sense of reality has now been transformed to include and expect such scenes to enhance the realism of a fictional product.
Graphic material fits in our current society. For years the film industry had hesitated to include realistic violence, fearing that such scenes would have to be edited out for the final release and only delay the film's opening. Now it strives to achieve levels of realism considered unacceptable in the years before. Critics argue that such detailed depictions of violence provide the audience with romanticized ideas of it and that these actions will ultimately be attempted. They believe that these films are shaping a malevolent generation devoid of value and ethical restraint. Leading the attack is Republican Robert Bork, former judge and friend of Ronald Reagan. In his book, Slouching Towards Gomorrah , Bork argues that the current state of popular culture is bringing us closer and closer to a complete societal collapse, likening it to God's fiery destruction of the sinful city of Gomorrah in the Old Testament. He writes, "Popular entertainment sells sex, pornography, violence, vulgarity, attacks on traditional forms of authority, and outright perversion more copiously and more insistently than ever before in our history" (Bork 126). What is most interesting about this selection is his use of the word "sells," implying that these elements have become part of our behavior only after popular media has given us the resources. As John Storey pointed out, popular culture is a reflection of our own behaviors or the behaviors that will entertain us. While I believe that, in general, Bork is wrong, I must acknowledge the possibility that, in a select number of cases, life will imitate art. Before someone yells "BOBO- doll" in opposition to my ideas let me agree here that children can be very influenced by what they see and violent media may have a severely detrimental effect on their behavior, yet, this paper does not address what is acceptable for children. I strongly believe that parents should be severely discretionary over what they allow their children to see. However, this is not a common phenomenon amongst the mass audience for which violent films are intended. Films are not selling violence to society, society has sold it to them, demanding its inclusion in entertainment. The elements that Bork is attacking are the elements and behaviors society displays or connects with.
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