Reaction to prose or graphic violence

[direstraits]

I truly believe that our society nowadays, and especially with the promulgation of culture across borders in an almost instantaneous fashion, as increased our tolerance level to the amount of violence in the media we consume.

I was indulging myself in some violent graphic novel called Battle Royale over the past couple of days, and as I read (it wasn't bad, but it's not for kids) I realized that I was noticing the detail on the spilling guts, cleaved heads and bullets through skulls instead of being appropriately shocked. I remember my first experience with really graphic violence quite vividly - another graphic novel called Sin City by Frank Miller. I've gotten my hands on it a little earlier than is recommended for my age, and when I got to the chopped limbs I couldn't shake the image off my head for days. I mean literally - the only thing I saw when I closed my eyes.

Do you remember the first time you encountered something truly violent in your literary travels, and your initial reaction to it?

And ultimately is this heightened level of tolerance for graphic violence something we must accept as an side-effect of an increasingly connected and technical society? I'm thinking my kid would probably encounter his first time experience much earlier than 11 years old, and how can this be good.

 

[Peder]

Do you remember the first time you encountered something truly violent in your literary travels, and your initial reaction to it?

Strangely, my first exposure to something truly shocking was as an adult. It was the first mention of "body parts" that I ever saw in the media. I suspect that until then they had been holding the line against being too grisly in their reportage, but finally decided that nice-nellyism was futile and it was best to let the truth be said. My own imagination of such scenes was bad enough, but when I saw further news coverage of small pieces of tissue being scraped up and collected I had a visceral reaction I cannot fully describe. Revulsion and anger were part of it.

Having said that much has now jogged my memory of a similarly revolting reaction to my first learning of the extermination camps of the Holacaust, from reading a description of the evidence of atrocities in a letter by a US serviceman who was present shortly after the opening of one of the camps.

The existence of Hell may be disputed, but I have no doubt of the kinds of people who should be sent there.

That may not quite be what you were looking for, and the Holacaust may be off topic (as if it ever can be), but those are the times of my genuine realization of the possible extent of man's inhumanity to man.

Comic books of my time got no worse than Pow, Bam, Sock, Biff, Bang-Bang and Ulp!

 

[pontalba]

If I don't count reading Lord of the Flies at about 14 or 15, and I really don't remember it being that graphic, I suppose the first truly graphic film I remember was seeing an advert for one of the Chainsaw Massacre movies.

I've always avoided gruesome books, at least for the most part. That was one reason I gave up reading the Patricia Cornwell books. Her descriptions were just too much for me. That probably began about 10 or 12 years ago.

 

[pontalba]

I truly believe that our society nowadays, and especially with the promulgation of culture across borders in an almost instantaneous fashion, as increased our tolerance level to the amount of violence in the media we consume.

I believe you are right DS. It is a not-so-slow desensitization process not only crossing borders, but generational. It is nigh impossible to protect our children from it, so the only thing to do, I think, is talk to them about it and try to explain the how and why of the situation and attempt to at least buffer the input.

 

[Peder]

I think it is a situation where it pays to know clearly what one's own moral standards are and to attempt to imbue one's own children with them. Accomplishing that is challenge enough; expecting help from the social ambience is not realistic. Children have to learn how to swim with the sharks and keep their own identity, and parents can provide the best example for that. It's a tough job but, as far as I can tell, it has been the same through the ages. :sad:

 

[direstraits]

You know, Peder, you mentioned the holocaust, and it reminded me of Maus, another graphic novel, and it described the conditions of the camps. Nothing graphic was explicitly shown, but still the descriptions were quite horrific. If can only guess my reaction if I had read Maus when I was younger.

Pont, I've yet to read something in prose that affected me. Perhaps it was all that fantasy and sf while growing up. But still, even now, nothing major encountered. Perhaps Palahniuk was a little up there?

 

[SFG75]

I think it is a situation where it pays to know clearly what one's own moral standards are and to attempt to imbue one's own children with them. Accomplishing that is challenge enough; expecting help from the social ambience is not realistic. Children have to learn how to swim with the sharks and keep their own identity, and parents can provide the best example for that. It's a tough job but, as far as I can tell, it has been the same through the ages. :sad:

Excellent comments. Learning about the holocaust is one thing. Having kiddos watch any of the saw movies is quite another. In essence, the former has a moral tale of struggle, never giving up, redemption, and ultimately justice through the Nuremburg Trials. You can protect children from that kind of thing and then limit exposure to things like the holocaust when it more developmentally appropriate and they can square the information away with their own strength and values that have been built up.

 

[Peder]

You can protect children from that kind of thing and then limit exposure to things like the holocaust when it more developmentally appropriate and they can square the information away with their own strength and values that have been built up.

I have never seen it better said. Excellent way to put it!

 

[direstraits]

I was looking through my comics collection just now, and realized that the first 2 shelves are filled with stuff I'd rather my kid not stumble across them until he's like 18 or something. The kind of violence they draw nowadays is so graphic. I'm not becoming a prude, because overall I'm reading them, right, but still how to keep 'em away from easy reach.

They don't have bookshelves that doubles as a safe, do they?

 

[Blindsided]

I always appreciate it when an author isn't afraid to swear or be violent when the time comes for it to happen in a book. So often it seems like they are afraid, so they dull it down greatly.

And on the censoring kids stuff, eh, who cares really? They are hearing more graphic things from their buddies at school and seeing graphic things in movies and the internet, and yes, they are seeing them even if you are banning it unless you lock them your house all day like the crazy couples on wife swap.

 

[direstraits]

And on the censoring kids stuff, eh, who cares really? They are hearing more graphic things from their buddies at school and seeing graphic things in movies and the internet, and yes, they are seeing them even if you are banning it unless you lock them your house all day like the crazy couples on wife swap.

Maybe. But my son just turned five, and since his tv watching generally comprises of disney playhouse, kungfu panda and the like, I'd rather that he didn't reach over and grab my copy of Kick-ass and have him traumatized seeing graphic depictions of people being pelleted through the head with bullets, or being run over by a high speed train.

 

[beer good]

FOX vs Batman

 

[753C]

FOX vs Batman

The last paragraph in that article is the most telling. Way to bash your competition FOX.