Why is USA TV full of violence?
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Interesting observation and question Mike.
A lot of good reasons given so far - and I for one am hoping to see 2 or 3 good spin-off theads from some of the issues raised. I have a couple theories of my own - but I must confess that 90+% of my TV viewing is done on the pc. The other 10% is mostly live sports, or an occasional movie. These all tie together a little - but here is what I think are the main reasons.
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Money - which is driven by advertising fees - which are driven by ratings. This IMHO is the only reason so many of the crap reality(yeah right)shows are so popular. The networks know that they need to compete with these shows for the current ADHD generation of viewers limited attention span - so the old sex / drugs / violence approach is their fallback. Sex (thanks to the infamous wardrobe malfunction) has been capped somewhat as Chris mentioned. Drugs have gained somewhat of a who-cares status since so many of the current stars (sports or media) are rehab alumni that we as a nation have become rather desensitized. Violence is what is left then - and it is an easy and relatively cheap thing to do. So they use violence to get our attention, and the more they use or the more they push the limit - the longer they keep us watching.
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911 - I know saying this may be taboo - but I will risk it here. Since that fatefull day less than a decade ago - the US as a society has become (in genral terms) more attuned to the moral position that it is acceptable to escalate our response to any perceived threats to our personal and collective welfare. Not wanting to go down any political roads here - but if Americans were to respond honestly - I feel most would say that they are more likely to respond aggresively (or be accepting of an official agressive response - ie. authorities)to a threat than they might have been 10 years ago. Like Solo - I don't mind a bit of violence. But I must admit that this last season of 24 (while entertaining) was really pushing the limits to try and keep on top of it's game with all of the competition out there in that vast TV wasteland.
This has gone long - so I will leave it at those two!
Bytor
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Hope this makes you feel a little better but I do watch a lot of the BBC, PBS, NGeo, Travel, home repair and even cooking channel...No NEWS allowed....I love the Hornblower series and oh gosh, the one with Sean Bean as one of the Queens rifle soldiers...
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Gotta go with Khai and Chris on this one...
Solo, thanks for confirming that Bill O'Reilly is considered a comedian over there as well
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Repressed sexuality causes violence? Tell someone on Capitol Hill that a naked (man/woman) on TV during commercial breaks could save millions in damages from school and workplace violence.
I'm all for it.I must disagree. I don't think our issues are caused or resolved by nudity or the lack thereof.
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I think you'll find that the majority of violent entertainment, including TV, games, and movies, is geared toward a select demographic - teen and young adult males, who thrive on the diet of "testosterone action".
There's also the desire amongst directors and producers (expected by the public?) to make TV and movies more realistic. Criminals don't always surrender without resisting to the police, and if TV shows didn't show the gritty side of being a cop, there'd be an awful lot of police complaining that Hollywood was "sugar-coating" their lives. The movie "Saving Private Ryan" has a realistic depiction (as realistic as Hollywood can probably get) of D-Day (very bloody and gory); I don't remember hearing any complaints from my male friends, but all the women in the office complained about it being too bloody.
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I honestly heard no complaints about the intro to SPR, in fact many of the people I talked to thought it should be required viewing for a history class simply because it was so realistic and shocking. It certainly takes some of the shine and glory off of war. What a great movie BTW; the only movie I've ever walked out of at the end where the entire crowd was completely silent.
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No problem, glad to see chat going on
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It all started in the War of Independence and was exacerbated by the attempted British invasion during the War of 1812. If we weren't violent by nature we would still be saying "pip pip,tallyho, and all that tommyrot."
Remember the Battle of New Orleans? January 8th, 1815 the Americans had 71 casualties and the British had 2,042. So it seems we started out with a high level of violence.
STOP THE VIOLENS!
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Daniel - you bring up 2 really good points. While the movie / video game etc. violence is primarily aimed at the young male demographic you identify, I sense that is changing with each generation. The realism of movies and even video games has taken the biggest leap forward in the past 5-10 years, and I fear with the younger and younger ages that the current and future generations are exposed to this sense of "realism" could become dangerous.
I am still I guess in the middle-aged male demographic - but I love an occasional round (or two or seven) of many of the popular FPS games out. The realistic "Call of Duty" and "Medal of Honor" variety is my preference - though I am not opposed to killing some Aliens (outer space variety)for entertainment. I also like some of the driving / racing games as well. The one thing I have noticed that disturbs me a little is that when I leave the house and get into my car to drive somewhere after having played one of the driving games for a while - I have the overwhelming urge to punch it and go ripping down the road at a rediculous rate of speed and try to drift my way around a corner. Now I am old enough to have had quite a few years of driving and paying auto insurance under my belt before I ever played one of the video games. So automatically these urges are suppressed by a subconscious knowledge that this would be "wrong". I don't have a corresponding experience on the gun side as I don't have the occasion to walk around with or handle weapons on a common basis.
BUT.....my fear is that as generations more kids are being desensitized by playing or watching this type of reality at younger and younger ages - they don't have the benefit of life experiences that develop the level of subconscious sense of right vs. wrong. I know it is up to the parents to teach these types of things to their children, and to make sure there is a moderation to the exposure they have to these influences..............that is why it scares me. When they were in their early teens - I made my kids watch "Saving Pivate Ryan", and "Band of Brothers" with me in a hope that they would gain a more realistic understanding of what WAR is as compared to the history books and typical movies / tv shows. My daughter that just graduated HS has made several school trips to DC, and has visited the Holocaust museum. She said she had a better respect for what the people in the concentration camps went through based on having watched the BOB episodes that dealt with the same.
Sorry Mike if we have gotten of the track of your original topic!
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“Nobody ever went broke underestimating the taste of the American public.”
Henry Louis MenckenOr anyone else either!
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I remember years ago when I first introduced 'Coupling' to my American wife she was amazed at what the BBC allowed as far as sexual innuendo and promiscuity.
I have been watching 'Spooks' (MI5 in the USA) and there is a whole lot of violence, on par with 24 IMO, so I do not believe this trend is exclusive to America.I'd rather have my kids watch a violent show on TV than any reality show actually, at least the violent show has an entertainment value.
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You bring up some good points, bytor, especially the part about parents teaching their kids how to deal with all these influences. I'm not a parent, but at 45yo I've noticed a lot and have experienced attitude changes through the years, and it seems to me there are a lot of parents these days who are asleep at the wheel.
Also, when I was a kid in the movies and on TV it was always clear who was "bad" and who was "good", and you always rooted for the good guys. When playing, we were always the good guys. That's not always the case these days. In many video games and TV shows, the viewer/player identifies with the criminal. Is it any wonder that kids are shooting each other in schools when they are learning that guns are the answer to their problems? (this isn't limited to kids; here in Tennessee they've seem to have gone gun crazy, and have passed laws allowing citizens to carry guns just about anywhere. Recently, a man in his 60s shot and killed a man in his 70s 'cause he claimed the guy lunged into his car to do him harm - good thing he had his gun sitting on the seat next to him, huh?)
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Solo, I agree on the reality shows, except Amazing Race, which I watch religiously. I tried watching an episode of Big Brother once - it was boring as an intern's first SketchUp model (oh, look, a cube. How quaint). But to each his/her own, I guess. (there are worse things on TV, but I won't mention Fox News Channel
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@solo said:
I remember years ago when I first introduced 'Coupling' to my American wife she was amazed at what the BBC allowed as far as sexual innuendo and promiscuity.
I have been watching 'Spooks' (MI5 in the USA) and there is a whole lot of violence, on par with 24 IMO, so I do not believe this trend is exclusive to America.actually the Beeb have been showing one of the most violent shows on TV for nearly 50 years now...
try calculating the body count in Doctor Who sometime....(nout counting mass bombings by various races)
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@khai said:
try calculating the body count in Doctor Who sometime....(nout counting mass bombings by various races)
Then there's Midsomer Murders on ITV, total carnage..... but all done in such nice settings.
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Ah, I don't mind a good murder mystery even if there are a load of murders in it but I really don't need to see slashing and blood flying all over the place. Okay, I'll make an exception for Hallibal Lecter
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Mike
I think the Hannibal reference is interesting. While an excellent movie and definitely a greusome tale - it would be considered relatively tame compared to many of the new releases in the Horror genre. Another good movie example is the godfather series. The early ones were considered extreme depictions of violence in their day. They pale in comparison to some of the current TV shows dientified in this thread.
Another big difference though is the direction / production / writing with the movie examples above and many others from the old school. The talent level of the writers / directors / producers of a lot of today's tv / movies / entertainment media isn't even close to what it was before - of course it could be they are just playing to the audience. We seem to have lost the ability to stimulate the imagination with suggestion and perception. I will dare to compare it to growing up in the 70's when a young lad in social situations could often enjoy where his imaginination might take him. Nowadays - the way the lasses dress - there is nothing much left to the imagination!
Dean
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@bytor said:
The talent level of the writers / directors / producers of a lot of today's tv / movies / entertainment media isn't even close to what it was before - of course it could be they are just playing to the audience.
The latter is true. Like all business endevours, tv is about making money. Hence most stuff we see on the tube, is run-off-the-mill junk.
There's still splendid stuff being aired, though. Though apparently only by HBO.
Deadwood, Six Feet Under, The Wire - all prime examples of what tv can be. -
I thinks a lot of the 'problem' is that it is now too easy to create gruesome special effects whereas in Hitchcock's time he had to stimulate our imagination. The Psycho Shower Stabbing Scene is a great example http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6mau9_psycho-shower-stabbing-scene_shortfilms
Yep Dean, many young ladies these days don't leave much to the imagination.
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