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From: carnes@gargoyle.UUCP (Richard Carnes)
Newsgroups: net.women
Subject: Re: Rape - Another Solution (violence in art and on TV)
Message-ID: <159@gargoyle.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 19-Aug-85 15:36:57 EDT
Article-I.D.: gargoyle.159
Posted: Mon Aug 19 15:36:57 1985
Date-Received: Tue, 20-Aug-85 22:23:28 EDT
References: <2402@amdcad.UUCP> <5581@tekecs.UUCP> <29485@lanl.ARPA>
Reply-To: carnes@gargoyle.UUCP (Richard Carnes)
Organization: U. of Chicago, Computer Science Dept.
Lines: 65

> Face it - violence is exciting (when you're not at the receiving end of it,
> obviously). That's (one reason) why artists of all kinds have used violent
> subjects. Believing violence in society is caused by violence on screen
> seems just a little bit backwards to me.

This discussion of violence in net.women seems to miss the point that
violence in art, in itself, is neither good nor bad.  What disturbs
us is the way it is sometimes used, the function it often has, in
various media (mostly TV).  Consider *Othello*:  when Othello
strangles Desdemona for what he thinks is her adultery, this instance
of violence against women is experienced as a human tragedy; one
feels for both protagonists as human beings, caught in a web of
Iago's (but also their own) making.  The strangling and the suicide
that follows, both occurring onstage, were not thrown in by
Shakespeare to make the play more exciting but to achieve his
dramatic and artistic aims, such as to dramatize the latent violence
in Othello's character.  On the other hand, in the *Oedipus Rex*,
whose plot contains murder, suicide, incest, and self-blinding,
Sophocles chose not to show any of this onstage, yet the *Oedipus* is
as exciting and suspenseful as any play that has ever been staged.  

Compare, now, the standard TV cop show (obviously not HSB).  Opening
scene:  A gorgeous woman returns to her apartment late in the
evening, slips off her dress, turns to face the camera, screams.  Cut
to detectives standing over her body lying in a pool of blood,
cameras clicking.  The hunt is on for the psycho.  If we're lucky
we'll have a couple more gorgeous dead bodies.  To me, this type of
TV show is deeply offensive.  The woman here is nothing more than a
hunk of meat to "motivate" the plot and tease our voyeurism.  I
experience this as an assault on my emotions, when I have started to
think of the woman as a real person and she is suddenly rubbed out --
the painful emotions this arouses are simply left dangling, and
consequently one tends to protect oneself from the pain by not
feeling those sensitive human emotions which set one up for the
shock.  Why indeed should the scriptwriters attempt to resolve these
emotions and make the show into something meaningful?  The entire
point of such TV programs is to sell cars, junk food, etc., and
evidently they do the job well -- millions of people (a large
proportion of whom are kids) watch them every night, and presumably
go out and buy the products the next morning.

The point is that is not the portrayal of violence per se that is the
problem, it is whether its function is to degrade and *use* the
audience, as with the cop shows and some movies, or to ennoble or
enlighten or divert (or whatever you think the purposes of art should
be), as with good theater and movies.

As long as we're griping about the portrayal of women on TV, you've
probably noticed that in standard TV fare the female lead is always
"beautiful."  E.g., plot summary:  "A beautiful woman construction
worker meets a young news photographer...." etc.  Obviously, plain
Janes are non-persons, or fit only for supporting roles at the most.
(Another gripe about TV:  guns are shown as magic devices for blowing
away bad guys.  Thousands of bullets fly, but Magnum, Simon & Simon,
etc. don't get a scratch.)

TV does not originate, it just exacerbates and perpetuates, some of
the worst aspects of our society (I think it also provides a few
benefits).  It would be hard for me to believe that the degrading
experience to which millions of people are subjected (and subject
themselves) each night does not have some serious consequences.
Censorship is not the answer, of course.  Changing our society is,
but it's not a simple answer.

Richard Carnes, ihnp4!gargoyle!carnes