Blogpost 6: Horror and its effects to society

We've all heard news about people becoming violent and try to kill someone without any reasons at all. Stories of a normal individual that went crazy and murdered his/her own family members or how kids walked into school and killing innocent people are just few of the violence we hear and see in our generation today. What we are hearing and seeing these days are those people who were hooked up into horror movies or they somewhat plays killing games into the real world.

I find it hard to believe that these murderers are killing and doing such things because of the influence of horror it is somewhat illogical, who would kill somebody just because they want to feel what the characters in the movies they watch felt as they torture and scrape the bodies of their pray? But sometimes if I see this kind of news in the television their reasons are always out of nowhere or they simply wanted to do these kind of things that is why I wanted to search what is the reason behind this.

I saw this article entitled Elijah Wood Horror movie Maniac banned in New Zealand over "graphic violence" which is written by Caroline Westbrook  that talks about banning of a movie because it is said that the movie is unpleasant and disturbing for the people. The movie is entitled Maniac and the lead role was given to Elijah Wood which we all know is also one of the leading characters in the popular movie The Lord of the Rings.

The film is a remake of A notorious 1980 slasher. In the newer version the actions being done was entirely from the view point of Wood's character Frank Zito as he murders innocent people. The New Zealand's Office of Film and Literature Classification (OFLC) suggested not to let the movie be sold at DVD's because the aspect who concerns over the first-person perspective of the movie is a foul thing.

“It’s saying that the POV nature of the film mixed with the psychopathic behaviour of actor Elijah Wood is more than disturbing, that it’s potentially dangerous in the hands of the wrong person,’ said Ant Timpson from the New Zealand International Film Festival

I think that the persons behind the banning of a movie are also thinking about the possible effects it may bring to the people that is why they chose to ban a specific film. Violent movies can influence people especially the younger ones, they might copy and idolize the styles of killing a person not knowing that it may harm another and also that it is not healthy for everybody.

Another article that I saw talks about violent movies creating violent people. The article is entitled Do violent movies create violent people? by Ben Kayser..

According to article the mass media creates the culture and shapes the hearts and minds of people they also are the ones responsible for showing everything that a person needed to see in order for them to know what is happening around us.

So, knowing that a person spent 28 hours in a week watching t.v and most of the movies they see is violent does it increase the percentage of crimes as well?


  “Now the act of violence with a gun or a knife is the norm, and we in the entertainment industry are partly responsible in making the presence of weapons such as knives almost an acceptable commonplace.” said Anthony Hopkins.


While reading that article I started thinking maybe mass media really has something to do about the violence that is happening in the world. Most people becomes violent without any reason and it is something we really need to avoid. Though we are the ones who is responsible to what we do, we should think on what act must be done using our creative mind, that is why our parents send us to school we should also think about the future. Edmund Bruke a member of the British Parliament and chief advocate of English and American concepts of liberty and justice eloquently said:

“Society is an open-ended partnership between generations. The dead and the unborn are as much members of society as the living. To dishonor the dead is to reject the relation on which society is built—a relation of obligation between generations. Those who have lost respect for the dead have ceased to be trustees of their inheritance. Inevitably, therefore, they lose the sense of obligation to future generations. The web of obligations shrinks to the present tense.”

With that being said, we should know our limitations and obligations to the society. We should contribute to the welfare of our society and not creating a disaster because of our selfishness. Violence is present because we ourselves let it happen,but if we help each other regardless of the status that we have I'm sure no violence would be created.