Responses

Quentin Tarantino article

            I completely agree with Tarantino on the subject on violence in the cinema. It is just a film solely a piece of entertainment set in front of us to leave our reality for a mere moment. Just because I go and watch a series of goreish horror films or a movie based on rape, does this mean I need to or feel an obligation to go reenact the horrific scenes from this piece of entertainment or I for some reason have become desensitized to the horror? Not at all they are merely scenes that help build the story a director is trying to convey. Nothing more nothing less, as Tarantino says in the article “If a guy gets shot in the stomach and he’s bleeding like a stuck pig then that’s what I want to see- not a man with a stomach ache and a little red dot on his belly.” Yet again it is just a supporting scene in the grand scheme of the picture.

Violent media poisoning nations soul

            In this article the author relates horrible real acts of violence committed by sick unhealthy individuals to mere “gun problems” or “being raised around violent forms of media” i.e. video games, movies, ect. But nowhere in this article do I see the author tackle the real underling problems of mental health and the lack of people seeking help for their effected loved ones. Also when was it the government or society’s job to make sure and instill morals into your children? Last time I checked wasn’t it the responsibility of the parents to make sure their children are brought up proper. It is a real shame to see “entertainers” such as this author pointing the proverbial finger at the entertainment industry as the cause of all of the problems. When did censorship like the proposed in this article ever work? Yes there might be a massive market for the PG-13 film but if we regulate all violence into a mere R rating aren’t we just putting the problem of educating our young off till another day?

Columbine; Whose Fault is it?

            I really like the points that Mason brings up in this article, Such as, How society has become so broadcast and we are looking for the next scandal to make celebrities from be it famous or infamous. Do we perpetuate this cycle? I think we do. Why is it when situations like that of Columbine or other nefarious acts happen, instead of trying to get down to the motives or reasons behind what may have caused this such as mental health. Why is it that we never try and advocate for help in the area of mental health? Maybe when we take the stigma away from the kid that sees a psychiatrist as a crazy person and we congratulate he and his parents for helping his problem more parents will recognize the mental health problems that plague the youth of America or the world. Manson say “Mans greatest fear is chaos…Theses kids had no clear black and white reason for their actions…so a scapegoat was needed.” What I take from this article is that yet again society is pointing the finger in a quick attempt to turn the gaze from their inability to learn from the mistakes and create a healthy society of educated persons, only to find a quick rating and a jump to the next attack on the entertainment or gun industries.