Let us not forget 2 prominent Republicans have their own violent action movies coming out. Former Gov Arnold Schwarzannegger in Last Stand opens Friday. Sylvester Stallone has Bullett To The Head opening on Feb 1st. This is clearly not so black & white as the NRA would like to make it appear.
When I was in high school, I was the outcast (long hair, metal guitarist, only wore black) but I was also an AP honor student. Since I had the opportunity to do a semester of career shasowing, I chose the county coroner. I spent every Friday night and weekend going to crime scenes, nursing homes, fires, morgues, and got to assist with autopsies. Seeing death close up Is what gave me the best perspective on the reality of violence. Seeing what guns actually did to people, understanding the pain involved in how people must have died, dealing with the families of those we had to take away, all of those things and more created a healthy respect for all of the things my peers thought were “cool”. My end project was getting the school board to approve a plan for any student who was charged with possession of drugs, weapons charges, assault, drunk driving or alcohol use, had the option to follow the coroner for community service instead of jail time or highway cleaning project. It was very successful, reducing the number of repeat offenders by 60% in the first two years. In short, I think exposing kids to actual death, allowing them to see the difference between reality and entertainment, would do them good. US soldier suicides are at an all time high, perhaps because of the current generation of soldier that has been raised on Call Of Duty is finding the reality is not as much fun as the fantasy.
Well that’s a bit over simplified. If people didn’t want violence in their movies, they wouldn’t go to violent movies and Hollywood would quit making violent movies because they couldn’t make money off of it.
Focusing on guns and death is too far along in the cycle of violence. Can we educate people early in life to understand why watching (and for some, doing) violence is so gratifying?
In a late 1940’s, early 50’s movie, Richard Widmark plays a hitman. In one scene, with a maniacal look in his eye, he pushes an old woman in a wheelchair down a flight of stairs. I found that much more disturbing than the bullets he fired in other parts of the movie. My daughter had gerbils in a very large habitrail set up. But once the second batch of gerbils was born, the adults killed the young. We found two males or females could live peacefully, but once the population hit 10, they killed their own. It was a very big set up. We were surprised.We are overpopulated, underemployed, underpaid, and lacking in compassion or sympathy for our neighbors. Teens no longer have the resources or freedom many of us over the age of 40 remember. Schools that used to have summer recreation opportunities can’t afford it. Teens can’t go anywhere without having to pay for it. My city does give bus passes to students in the summer allowing them to travel for free, but once they arrive, without money they can do nothing. Money is too important to be wasted on empowering or employing teens so they turn to video games, sex, drugs, and worse. Parents are overworked and too often not home to stop bad behaviors.Teens are not the only problem. Adults, feeling hopeless and angry, become self destructive at best, or decide to commit "Suicide by third party, aka, death by cop. In this effort, they kill innocent people to make their statement and bring the guns of the law.This comment is nuanced, but not inaccurate. There are many other factors and, if we are willing to make the effort, solutions.Respectfully,C.
Chillbilly over 11 years ago
That’s not his father. That’s the head of the NRA.
Dapperdan61 Premium Member over 11 years ago
Let us not forget 2 prominent Republicans have their own violent action movies coming out. Former Gov Arnold Schwarzannegger in Last Stand opens Friday. Sylvester Stallone has Bullett To The Head opening on Feb 1st. This is clearly not so black & white as the NRA would like to make it appear.
Odon Premium Member over 11 years ago
Or the new NRA app for shooting coffins with an assault rifle.(Recommended for four year olds and up)
Fourcrows over 11 years ago
When I was in high school, I was the outcast (long hair, metal guitarist, only wore black) but I was also an AP honor student. Since I had the opportunity to do a semester of career shasowing, I chose the county coroner. I spent every Friday night and weekend going to crime scenes, nursing homes, fires, morgues, and got to assist with autopsies. Seeing death close up Is what gave me the best perspective on the reality of violence. Seeing what guns actually did to people, understanding the pain involved in how people must have died, dealing with the families of those we had to take away, all of those things and more created a healthy respect for all of the things my peers thought were “cool”. My end project was getting the school board to approve a plan for any student who was charged with possession of drugs, weapons charges, assault, drunk driving or alcohol use, had the option to follow the coroner for community service instead of jail time or highway cleaning project. It was very successful, reducing the number of repeat offenders by 60% in the first two years. In short, I think exposing kids to actual death, allowing them to see the difference between reality and entertainment, would do them good. US soldier suicides are at an all time high, perhaps because of the current generation of soldier that has been raised on Call Of Duty is finding the reality is not as much fun as the fantasy.
Rottiluv over 11 years ago
Well that’s a bit over simplified. If people didn’t want violence in their movies, they wouldn’t go to violent movies and Hollywood would quit making violent movies because they couldn’t make money off of it.
lonecat over 11 years ago
Don’t blame Freud, the idea of catharsis goes back to Aristotle.
lonecat over 11 years ago
Yeah, who ever heard of Aristotle?
Ellen Gwynne over 11 years ago
Focusing on guns and death is too far along in the cycle of violence. Can we educate people early in life to understand why watching (and for some, doing) violence is so gratifying?
Donaldo Premium Member over 11 years ago
back to blaming the entertainment industry
chazandru over 11 years ago
In a late 1940’s, early 50’s movie, Richard Widmark plays a hitman. In one scene, with a maniacal look in his eye, he pushes an old woman in a wheelchair down a flight of stairs. I found that much more disturbing than the bullets he fired in other parts of the movie. My daughter had gerbils in a very large habitrail set up. But once the second batch of gerbils was born, the adults killed the young. We found two males or females could live peacefully, but once the population hit 10, they killed their own. It was a very big set up. We were surprised.We are overpopulated, underemployed, underpaid, and lacking in compassion or sympathy for our neighbors. Teens no longer have the resources or freedom many of us over the age of 40 remember. Schools that used to have summer recreation opportunities can’t afford it. Teens can’t go anywhere without having to pay for it. My city does give bus passes to students in the summer allowing them to travel for free, but once they arrive, without money they can do nothing. Money is too important to be wasted on empowering or employing teens so they turn to video games, sex, drugs, and worse. Parents are overworked and too often not home to stop bad behaviors.Teens are not the only problem. Adults, feeling hopeless and angry, become self destructive at best, or decide to commit "Suicide by third party, aka, death by cop. In this effort, they kill innocent people to make their statement and bring the guns of the law.This comment is nuanced, but not inaccurate. There are many other factors and, if we are willing to make the effort, solutions.Respectfully,C.
charliekane over 11 years ago
Guns don’t kill people.
Movies kill people!