Violent, disturbing films...is it "just a movie"?

I feel you OP.

Nevermind the naysayers.

We have about 80 to a 100 years of movies/TV/media. To substantiate your intuitions/observations think about what else we have had in that same duration - almost perpetual war and/or cultural clashes, several generations of citizens walking around looking like refugees or extras from a Mad Max movie, have rampant and hyper sexualization of everything/everyone, people injuring themselves or others because they are so addicted to the media screens.

So no, not just a movie, not just media. They don't call it programming for nothing.....

a reply to: ColeYounger

Great post, it's something which has been troubling me for a while now the slow desensitisation/re-programming of our society by violent/sexualised/lifestyle imagery from the entertainment industry. In the UK when I was growing up there used to be a woman called Mary Whitehouse who used to campaign for tv and film to be cleaned up. I like most people laughed at her, sure why should the rest of us 'well balanced' people suffer because some nut job watches a video nasty and goes out and re-enacts it. I missed her point though it was not the one image which damages but the repeated, over and over again. Not just the violent image but also the images of the life we should be living(take your pick of numerous reality shows).
They say we are what we eat..well we definitely are what we view. Just wonder if they were to go through the viewing habits of some of the LEO's involved in dubious shootings, how many had been regular viewers of violent Cop shows!!!!

a reply to: ColeYounger

Hear no evil, See no Evil, (and you will) Speak no Evil.

We have known this for a while. The great philosophers agree, there is a place for tragedy, but where that place is lies a fine line.

I don't think one person can draw that line, but I think collectively we may want to rethink the current lines.

To draw lines in free speech, we must do so democratically and with great care.

The same argument arises with "Hate Speach"

Do we protect someone's right to say God hates certain people? Because this is real it is more damaging then the movie.

Personally I don't think we should have the freedom to spread Hate towards any group of people.

Except elected officials. It is our right to disagree with the government, and we should not be limited in what we can say about it.

Free Speech is a gift, we must be careful if and when we give it away.

a reply to: Fin13

Mary Whitehouse
At the begining of this thread I thought of her, and just like you I remember laughing at her. She was a little over the top, or at least thats the way she was presented to us, but now I'm older and hopefully a little wiser, I know she was right.
That lady must surely be worthy of a thread, will look into it.

a reply to: ColeYounger

The difference is that kids have a harder time distinguishing reality and have nighmares and such. If you have nightmares after seeing horror films, you should stop watching them.