What came first; the chicken or the egg? Art imitates life and vise-versa. We are bombarded by films based on true events but how often do we hear that a film has inspired someone to do something awful? It's always a horror or some other violent genre though, isn't it? It never happens with "nice" films like Free Willy or Ace Ventura. I don't know why I picked those films as they are the most likely to make me do Something Awful.In the 1980's and '90's Britain went Video Nasty crazy. The Video Recordings Act came in to force, banning several titles in its path. Good god, they even made a list. It, and the Obscene Publications Act, were there to protect us from depravity and corruption. But what of the people who actually made them? In most cases they had not committed a crime by, or during, making these films and yet they were considered so shocking they were unfit for human consumption. Maybe they're right. I mean, what kind of sicko thinks it's a good idea for a killer doll to go around terrorising children...
Child's Play 3 was one of the first scary films I ever watched. I must've been about 11 years old at the time but it did little more than make me sleep a little less easy that night. But then I'm hard. In 1993 the UK press went all out to blame the murder of a 3 year old boy by two 11 year olds on CP3; claiming the killing was similar to certain scenes in the film. Such an uproar was caused the distributors withdrew it from sale in the UK & Ireland until 2002. Watching it now it seems ridiculous and tame compared to many films of its type. But it was rated 18 for a reason.About 2 years ago three people abducted a teenager and took him to the woods. They tied him to a tree and set him on fire, apparently inspired by the film Severance.
I can understand society being outraged by these crimes and more so if the films themselves in some way had hypnotised individuals in to committing them. But I just can't see how a well balanced person would, after watching a horror film, think "hey, what a great idea!" And then go out and do it. I watched horror films before I was old enough, and while I do not claim to be 100% balanced, at no point was I even tempted to reenact any of them. If the argument here is that horror films shouldn't be allowed then you will lose. If on the other hand you think before being allowed to watch them you should have your mental health evaluated then you're crazy, but would have a valid point.
"Don't you blame the movies! Movies don't create psychos. Movies make psychos more creative!"
Nice Scream quote to end on.
ReplyDeleteAnother great post. Considering the news outlets behind such accusations make their living on generating fear, it's sort of ironic. Sadly it's not just movies that act as scapegoat for the media though, with music and, lately, video games also finding themselves the objects of unjustified accusations. Far too easy to quickly point the blame, instead of actually addressing the important issues such as, y'know, parenting.
I must've been about 11 years old at the time but it did little more than make me sleep a little less easy that night. But then I'm hard.
ReplyDeleteHeh. Nice.
Though I have no insight to offer regarding the topic, I think the Scream quote was particularly appropriate.
Two things always struck me about the "violence in movies" debate:
ReplyDelete1. Have our so-called "moral guardians" ever read any Shakespeare? They ought to check out such "literary nasties" as Macbeth, Othello and Hamlet: all featuring murder, ghosts, poisoning, strangulation, infanticide, regicide, suicide, and other fun things. Has anybody ever left a theatre after a performance of Macbeth with a burning desire to kill their employer and his family like Mr.M does?
2. Exactly which video nasties inspired the wrongdoings of the following nutters: Attilla The Hun, Vlad Tepes, Elizabeth Bathory, Jack The Ripper, Adolf Hitler, Josef Stalin? Answers on a postcard...
Funnily enough the media was a scapegoat long before movies even existed. Read Fiend: The Shocking True Story of America's Youngest Serial Killer for an account of how murders by a 14 year old in the 1870s were blamed on dime novels about Wild Bill Hickock etc.
ReplyDeleteIf the people who start these massive organizations to "expose" and censor horror movies, heavy metal music, video games etc. put half that energy into studying and rooting out the REAL causes of violence in society we'd all be a lot better off.
I think some acts are so horrible people look for outside sources to blame, a way of denying that someone can be so evil. Unfortunately, if someone is that easily influenced that you see someone die in a certain way on film and want to go out and imitate it, then they had those tendencies to start with and no impulse control. It's not the movies, it's the people.
ReplyDeleteThis blaming of movies for violence crops up every so often. Serial killer "Son Of Sam" said he was told to kill people by a talking dog, and I'm surprised there wasn't a movement at the time to gas all the dogs. It would have made as much sense as blaming the movies. Almost all killers were abused as children, but most self-righteous types probably wouldn't have the courage to intervene in THAT.
ReplyDeleteSo true. People need something to blame. And newspapers need to sell I guess...
ReplyDeleteI recently did an interview with a Montreal FX artist named Remy who is being charged by the Canadian police with Moral Corruption. Although I'm not at liberty to publish the interview yet, it shocks me that in this modern age someone who creates pure fiction can be prosecuted for their imagination (as shocking as it may be).
ReplyDeleteWhat they should have been most concerned about was the kids taste in films, if they were basing their murderous tendencies on CHILDS PLAY 3 and SEVERANCE over anything cool..
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