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From: barry@ames.UUCP (Kenn Barry)
Newsgroups: net.women
Subject: Re: Rape - Another Solution
Message-ID: <1079@ames.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 13-Aug-85 13:49:12 EDT
Article-I.D.: ames.1079
Posted: Tue Aug 13 13:49:12 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 17-Aug-85 05:49:19 EDT
References: <2402@amdcad.UUCP>
Organization: NASA-Ames Research Center, Mtn. View, CA
Lines: 68

>This is not a complete solution, but I think it would help.
>Right now most of us economically support a culture of violence.
>What do most people, even well-educated professionals, do for
>enjoyment? - go to a movie.  And usually the movie has at least
>ONE murder.  Somehow American scriptwriters cannot restrain themselves
>from including at least one act of violence in their movies.

	It's important to remember that it has never been shown that vicarious
violence (movies, books, etc.) causes violent behavior; It is an area of
current controversy. Nor is your charge literally true. There are many sorts
of films (comedies, musicals, etc.) which rarely feature violence. Your
singling out of American screenwriters also seems gratuitous. There is
violence in the films of all countries. Perhaps American films are, on the
average, more violent than the films of other countries, but what I've seen of
the Italian and Japanese cinema suggests otherwise.

> Where
>there is not outright violence, the emotions portrayed are suspense,
>fear, suspicion, and emotional intensity.

	Do I correctly understand that you are against the portrayal, not only
of violence, but of "suspense, fear, suspicion, and emotional intensity"? If
so, you don't seem to leave the artist much leeway.

> And so most people go to these
>movies because "There is nothing else to do".  There are many
>rationalizations and excuses:  "I wanted to see the computer graphics".
>"There was only a little bit of violence, and it was an interesting story".
>"We missed the last showing of the movie we really wanted to see".
>In spite of all rationalizations, violence is our art and our culture.

	And is there no possible legitimate purpose for violence in art? I
have known people who liked horror films because such films *helped* them deal
with their own fears, by allowing them to work through them vicariously. In
any case, your complaint seems to be against all violence in art, not just
extreme violence. Wouldn't that put our art a long way from reality?

>Who advertises on violent TV shows?  How many auto companies?
>Why would the auto companies support this - in spite of the
>protests of parents' groups?  Because as long as the streets and
>public transportation are not safe, we have to depend on private
>automobiles.  If the streets were safe, why not ride the subway
>or a bicycle at night?

	I find it more reasonable to believe that the greedy auto companies
want to sell a lot of cars, and therefore advertise on shows that are watched
by a lot of people. But your theory is original, I must admit.

>What does this have to do with rape?  Many people consider rape
>to be a crime of violence, not of sex.  It is often accompanied
>by other forms of violence.  Right now violence is our entertainment - 
>so how can our culture say that at the same time it is a problem?

	I guess a lot of us see a fundamental difference between real violence
and simulated violence. I object to murder, but I don't necessarily object to
murder being portrayed in a film.
	I wouldn't mind at all if films more often tried to show us a better
world than the one we live in; I'm fond of optimistic stories. But without
conflict there *is* no story. Nor, I think, is there any way to curtail the
popularity of adventure and suspense, short of censorship. I agree we should
vote with our $$$ for films we like, but we can't expect everyone else to
always vote the same way.

-  From the Crow's Nest  -                      Kenn Barry
                                                NASA-Ames Research Center
                                                Moffett Field, CA
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