The prolonged
exposure to violence in the media and the effects it has on its audience has
always been questionable. Horror films are as popular as ever and generate
billions in revenue for the entertainment industry, however are they
to blame for having a negative impact on society? I am going to
investigate whether the portrayal of violence desensitises us by analysing my 2
chosen texts, the well known “Scream” [1] and the more contemporary
“SAW” [2]. I will be investigating my chosen texts with use of the
Genre, Audience, Postmodernism and Cultivation theory.
The many genres of
film have different purposes. E.g. Comedies are for entertainment and pleasure
where as Documentaries are to inform and educate the audience etc. Horror films
are designed to terrify, panic, frighten and bring out our worst fears by
captivating its audience through a series of alarming and unsettling events.
However these unsettling events can lead to the viewers becoming desensitized
or cultivated which may result in a violent response which I discovered from an
article written by Sally Harris on 'Research.vt.edu' that
states ‘prolonged exposure to gratuitous violence in the media can
escalate subsequent hostile behaviors and, among some viewers, foster greater
acceptance of violence as a means of conflict resolution.’ [3] The
article talks about an experiment that was conducted in which a number of
college students were selected to view 5 films on each evening over 5 days,
some non violent and other films were extremely violent. The study showed
that prolonged exposure to gratuitously violent films can escalate hostile
behavior in both men and women and instigate such behavior in unprovoked
research participants. They determined that the effect is not short lived, but remains
for some time after the viewing of the films. [4] This shows
that violence in films can spark a violent reaction which wears off after
sometime. Weaver, one of the conductors of the experiment concluded that
personality traits play a key role in the effects on violence in films and need
to be taken into consideration. The Cultivation theory [5] linked into
the investigation as repeated exposure to violence in films lead to violent
behavior however the theory can be criticised as the effects wore off eventually
and the experiment lasted 5 days which may suggest that the viewer would need
to be exposed to violence over a longer period of time in order to become
desensitised.
Scream [1]
1996 is classified as an 18 by the British Board Film classification [6]
due to the violence and offensive language it contains. This film
introduced a more 'post-modern' approach to horror which reproduced in other
films following its release. [7] Scream [1] applies to post
modernism [8] as the audiences is aware of the typical conventions from
previous horror films and thereby ironically use their knowledge to predict
what is going to happen.
The film uses a range of genre conventions to portray
violence and to represent the horror genre along with Uses & Gratifications
[9] which suggests the ways in which media texts suit the needs of the
audience. In the opening scene Uses & Gratifications [9] are used
widely so that the audience can personally identify with the characters. The
scene takes place in the quiet neighborhood of ‘Woodsboro’ and presents a
teenage female who is home alone. She receives phone calls from an anonymous
male who appears to be being friendly and flirtatious. Although this may not be
perceived as a typical horror setting the audience can relate to the character
as they too live in a neighborhood, also the film is aimed at teenagers who
most likely would have experienced being home alone so they can relate to how
the characters are feeling and this is also a way they are targeted as the
audience. Diagetic sound is used where the girl is talking on the phone and
also when the infamous ringtone is played. The audience would come to the
conclusion of the anonymous caller being nice and flirtations from the body
language of the girl, she is relaxed and close ups show her smiling which shows
she is comfortable with the conversation. This can also be linked into
Todorov’s theory [10] of equilibrium as everything is okay. As the
audience come to the conclusion that everything is okay they may look for
something to go wrong as this is what they would expect from a horror film and
so when the caller asks for the name of the female saying "I want to know
who I'm looking at" the audience is cued that something in un ordinary
which causes a disequilibrium according to Todorov [10]. The girl now
scared hangs up the phone but the caller rings again stating "I'll cut you
like a fish." The girl then has to remain on the phone and play a game
where she must answer questions to keep her boyfriend alive. The next sequence
reflects the film’s 18 rating as the girl gets a question wrong and her
boyfriend’s abdomen is cut open revealing his intestines. This is shown through
a series of fast paced shots and close ups of blood are included which is
something that would be associated/expected within the horror genre. As well as
being conventions of a horror genre the fast paced shots and editing provide
entertainment for the audience as it gives a sense of action. In the next scene
the killer stabs the female resulting in her death, the knife is shown with
blood on it but however the stabbing is not depicted and so it could be argued
that the film is violent but to an extent that the viewer does not become
desensitised. The victim is then shown suspended from a tree by a rope; her intestines
can clearly be seen hanging from her abdomen. This is presented by a long
shot which may be used to reduce the impact.
An opinion article on ‘Fanpop.com’ focuses on
whether horror films cause violence. It claims that horror films do not have such
a big impact as to cause violence it ‘takes a sick mind and susceptibility
for that to happen.’ [11] The article also points out a line
from Scream [1] to back up this view, "Don't you blame the
movies! Movies don't create psychos! Movies make psychos more
creative!" [12] Blame is put on society and the world
growing worse for any increase of violence in the modern age and not due to
such films. The writer then goes on to talk about how most horror fans remain
stable which links to the Cultivation theory [5] as they may have become
desensitized as a result of viewing horror films over a long period of time
however the writer does state that as opposed to become violent they do however
have effects from the horror films as the article states that ‘The
worst they've done to me, is given nightmares and sometimes maybe some traumas,
and there are things I've seen I'd gladly erase from my memory.’ [13] This
shows that although consumers of the horror genre may become desensitized to
violence in horror films in the sense that they will no longer be shocked they
do however still do get a sense of enjoyment and any shock which they do get is
temporary. It also comes to the conclusion that ‘there has to be
susceptibility in a person, to fall into violence’ [14] this quote
also links to the ‘Weaver’ experiment mentioned above as they stated that
personality traits play a part in the effects of violence and also the killer
from Scream [1] portrays this as the opinion article on ‘fanpop.com’
points out the following, ‘the killer in the first Scream, had
psychological issues in his real life, which issues …were utterly significant
to him and hurting him bad. Those were the trigger to him turning into a
psychopathic killer … not even nearly everyone who have experienced the same as
he had … turn into killers …The movies only made him creative.’ [15]
As well as violence portrayed in Scream [1]
there is a more contemporary film which is well known for its violence, Saw [2].
Any of the films in the ‘Saw’ franchise are popular for the violence included
in them and I found that the most violent in my opinion is Saw [2]. Saw [2]
like Scream [1] has a high classification which is 15+ due to strong
horror violence, blood and gore as well as strong coarse language. Also like
Scream [1], Saw [2] uses Uses & Gratifications [9],
and genre conventions that contribute to the portrayal of violence. There are
many scenes throughout the film that include blood and gore which is what the
audience would expect from the Saw [2] franchise. The viewers are
made to watch in anticipation as victims of Jigsaw, who is the subject of
horror in the Saw [2] franchise are put through brutal tests involving a
lot of blood and gore which is shown through close ups and point of view shots
are used to put the audience in the victims position. The lighting is often dim
and sometimes it is hard to see what is going on which adds to the
mysteriousness and suspense. The extreme level of violence in Saw [2]
has caused a lot of controversy and has mixed opinions. An article on 'as.com'
includes a discussion on Saw [2] with people giving their views and
opinions. One of the comments focuses on the aspect of violence in Saw [2]
and states that 'Movies like Saw, or Hostel, for example, that sport
intense violence both physical and emotional are I think a total new and
disturbing phenomena.' [16] The comment then develops further and
the writer then goes on to talk about their view on its effect on society which
is that 'the main connection between violent films and violent crime is that violent
crime goes down when violent films are playing - probably because violent
people are in the movies watching them. So who's to say what the ultimate
effect is? But I think it's undeniable that the level and intensity of
violence has increased.' [17] I agree with their view that
violence has undeniably increased and it is unknown what the overall effect of
violence in films are as it does depend on the viewer. However as I said
earlier there are mixed views about Saw [2], a post on
'writing.wikinut.com' about violence in film states that films such as Saw [2]
should be censored, it says 'I think censorship should be slightly
stricter, with the emphasis … at the script stage, before footage has a
chance to be leaked ... I don’t understand how Saw could ever be as popular as
it is … And violence that is created to educate and caution can be far more
hard hitting than manufactured gore – even if, by definition, it isn’t as
gory.' [18] A comment from the post supports this as they say
that 'You're right. Especially the scenes in films like 'The Saw' are
uncensored and cause mental disturbances in many viewers.' [19]
In conclusion
both Scream [1] and Saw [2] have sparked a lot of controversy
however the impact, if any may only desensitize us to violence to an extent. It
can be argued that those critical of these films take an oppositional reading
and so the genre is not for them whereas the intended audience would still be
provided with entertainment and enjoyment as they like to be scared and with
the constant evolution the horror genre still appeals to them.
