why do we glorify violence?

This is really interestng. I can see myself doing exactly this when watching movies with my younger siblings. And I really have no answer to this question other than the fact that children realise that violence isn't something you should do. Whereas they may become obsessed with sex.

 

And just to be clear, usually in these movies where people are being mutilated, the people aren't making love - they're fucking. But that's a whole other discussion. Or is it? Would you allow kids to watch people make love or fuck? Which one Mr. Consciousness?

 

I agree, to a certain extent, that various outlets of media, such as films, have a propensity towards the glorification of violence However, there is also a great number of films that portray nothing more than stark reflections of our own violent reality.

I do, however, have absolutely no doubt that the media goes out of its way to glorify war. The various forms of media; film, tv, newspapers etc... are just cogs in the manipulative western war machine. It is the job of the media to persuade us (the people) that they (the rich and the powerful) are fighting wars for a just cause. Never forget that these wars are fought in our name, with our money and with our blood but for their cause and to put right their fatal errors of the past.

Through the media, these people find it easy to sway our opinion to their side, while also desensitising us from violence and distancing us from their crimes.

 

We have become de-sensitised to violence on screen so much, that what was considered graphic and extreme not too long ago, is now accepted as normal, necessary, and if not present, often seen as missing.

De-sensitisation is a gradual process, as is the free use of language and sexually explicit images on TV. We all notice unreality, as it's all about suspending disbelief, so the realer things seem the more we like it. But, like any drug, we need more and more of it to satisfy the need for realism, and things have become very real now that were previously unacceptable only a short time ago.

Compare this to the news media, and so much is censored from us. Real or otherwise, the media control so much of what we see, and with judicial editing anyway, much of what actually happens isn't shown.

There's a difference between seeing something that's real, whether on TV or in life, and fiction, no matter how real they make it seem. Whether we think about it at the time or not, we always know what we're watching is not real. In the same way that we like to scare ourselves going on rides that seem dangerous but are not, we're happy to see violence in a safe environment, and preferably where it's not actually real.

I have come across documentaries, you can probably find them on YouTube, where images of real events in war or in life have been captured. They are not easy to watch. Most are only there to glorify violence and give people something harder core to watch. I wonder how much more de-sensitising occurs after getting into these?

 

It's because the tendency towards extreme violence is heavily muted outside of entertainment media, whereas tendency towards sex is heavily ingrained in us + porn exists and ugghhhh watch that seed spray everywhere!

 

Because deep down our animalistic nature enjoys the violence and death we see in movies, but our conscience and morals and religion(if you need it) tell us it's bad. Thats why people without a conscience can commit unspeakable acts against other people, and people with one can commit murder and such in the heat of the moment.

As for shielding kids from sex it's probably because parents know their kids will be doing it soon enough and don't want to think about there kids that way, same as kids dont want to believe that parents have sex. Or kids will ask their parents what the people are doing and force the parents to talk about sex when the kids are too young.

But thats just what I think.

 

We don't innately glorify violence. But what ur talking about has to do with Will and its incessant drive for power; the Will to Power as Nietzsche referred to it. The modern power system simply exploits and manipulates the animal in Man, the raw Will, so that there will be violence; and also so that we believe and act as if humans are innately bad; because, after all, "we", the people, perpetuate, tolerate, and glorify, as u say, all this violence, so the implementation of political and social institutions are needed, in order to "tame" and "civilize" Man. YEAAAAAAAAA RIGHT!!!!!! FCUK THE POWER SYSTEM!!! AND THEIR MALIGNANT LIES!!!! LOVE UR BROTHERS AND SISTERS!!! WE ARE ALL ONE!!! WE ALL WE GOT!!!!!!!!

 

ive thought about the same thing before OP. But i find violence in media acceptable if the storyline is good, then i consider it to be just part of the art.
Although theres some disturbing things like that new texas chainsaw massacre movie, its coming out in 3D, lol how fucked up do you have to be to want to see the texas chainsaw massacre in 3D.

 

Because it's awesome.

I'm not, personally. I think violence is part of nature and this whole idea of it being disgusting is a social construct.

Because your parents are weird, I'll give you the tip mate. Jk, jk... My parents were the exact opposite, I was never allowed to watch violence but sex was okay. My parents are european though and I'm guessing yours are american, take from it what you will.

I know it's been like this throughout history but wtf aren't we a little more conscious at this point?

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Bingo. And also cause it's not real.

Movie violence isn't fucked up. It's fucked up that some people equate movie violence with real life. As if they're incapable of telling the difference.

 

Some even think the actors are the same as the characters they play in real life!

Thing is, it's not that they're incapable of telling the difference. The fear is, and what leads to censorship, etc, is that in glorifying violence on screen, some may decide there are solutions to their issues that are available to them that might not have been before they were de-sensitised.

Perhaps it explains why some choose to turn guns on school kids (aside from having easy access to them).

Personally, it depends on how real the violence is intended to be. I've just watched Quentin Tarantino's Django. Very bloody, but it made me laugh. Where as sadistic violence, especially against children, bothers me a lot. There are some who get pleasure from this.

 

Could the fact that some people's eyes dilating when a piece of meat is cooked, not mean that they love the smell of the meat or anticipate eating that succulent piece of meat? Why would it mean that they have this animalistic need to kill? Dilating eyes is not a sign of a desire to kill, but rather a sign of emotional arousal. Now if, upon being aroused by the smell and sight of this piece of meat, the person waiting for it just jumped from across the kitchen and latched his jaw on the cooks neck in a temporary lapse of conscience, then I'd say we are more animal than we'd like to believe. But until then, I believ we are really civilised.

Another thing, those school shootings were never done out of a need for bloodlust. Take Columbine for example, the two perpetrators did that to cement their names in history - it paid off. They wanted to eclipse two previous widely covered massacres that occured on the day they planned to attack the school which was 19 April. But due to their ammunition only arriving the following day 20 April- Hitler's birthday, I might add -hey decided to delay their plans. Even though they enjoyed "violent" video games such as Wolfenstein 3D and Doom, they didn't commit their act out of a bloodlust but rather out of a need for infamy.

 

Good points.

 

They could only possibly arrive at such a conclusion, if they conflated on-screen performances with reality.

Perhaps I can assert almost any other facet of life in a similarly flimsy way? mental health? social anomie? genetic pollution? pick your brand of political agenda and swing away!

Really, if I have to elaborate on this point... then this conversation is a waste of my time.

I disagree entirely.

The fact that you lump together these sorts of depictions of violence may indicate you have some difficulty in meaningfully analyzing them.

Tarantino's splatter-fest has entirely different thematic motivations than say Von Trier's morbid mutilations. If you're having sincere trouble identifying the why and what for, you may be underexposed to cinematic narrative style.

There's also quite a middle ground. This false binary really just makes your contentions look flimsy.

Cronenberg is one of the king auteurs of the body horror genre. His work is complete when he can make you writhe in your seat. When he can toy with your emotional investment like that... truly an art form. but... surprise; NONE OF IT IS REAL. I can watch Videodrome for the 10th time and still feel wrenching dread, but I can finish the film and appreciate it for what it is without going out and shooting a bunch of people.

You clearly have a problem with the audiences, not the subject matter. Don't be a wish-washy pundit. You think it's the people with the problem, but you're reluctant to assign guilt where guilt is due.

 

You are correct in that I may be underexposed to cinematic narrative style, but then I don't profess to being an authority on cinema.

I can only say it as I see it. Just because you're able to watch and not associate doesn't mean someone else will do the same. I have no problem with violence in any situation if that is what is there. I have no problem with violence appearing in any form of creative output if the creator feels it's necessary.

I know what I want to see in drama, and often feel I'm wasting my time when I'm exposed to things designed to shock me or make me squirm. I am rarely shocked and can't remember squirming, and anything in the horror genre leaves me passively passive or just bored. I wasn't always this way, so perhaps I've just been de-sensitised.

 

True; people vicariously live out their Will to power through the events of movies/videogames/music, and become, in a conceptual manner, blood-thirsty and power hungry -- and from this, progressively, the hollow, and conceptually inflated, Will to power may manifest action in actuality; making it seem like "something out of a movie."

 

I understand your confusion.

But don't expect parents or any other grown ups in general, to do the correct thing all the time.

The grown ups are just as confused as the little ones.

 

Violence is seen as the route to obtain power, which is a strong human desire, so it is glorified.

Its obviously much deeper and much more complex although i don't feel like typing a lot.