When I say ‘normalise’ I mean thinking that murder and violence is a commonplace part of the daily news and feeling absolutely normal about it!
And by ‘numb’ I mean dulling our senses so we don’t find the act as horrific as perhaps we should do.
I’m partial to a good drama series and murder mystery. I adore the ‘Dexter’ series - the lovable serial murderer that has constant turmoil with he’s own feelings.
But seeing these fictional stabbings, shootings, hangings, decapitations etc. over the years as FX improvement happens at an astonishing rate in film, TV and on computer games, does seem to have lowered the ‘shock factor’ for me when seeing bloody scenes and bits of humans all over the place on screen.
If I had been brought up in a ‘sliding door’ type world where none of this was ever in films or on television…
Would I feel differently and be more shocked when I read about murder in the news?
I’m sure I would… and I think many others would too.
If television’s bloody scenes have that much affect on me, imagine what numbing the senses of a person with psychopathic tendencies would do!
Not only could regular observation of fictional bloody horrors numb and de-sensitise any reaction that they might have started with, but could it also give them ideas!
And as television and films progress, they are always striving for the shock factor, so bloody fiction can only get more realistic.
That’s the issue really, showing us an experience that should never exist - yet looks completely realistic.
It’s planting acceptability in our minds on a low level when we watch and absorb such creative fictional bloody violent scenes.
It concerns me that the growing violence and anger on this planet is spiralling, and our perception of doing harm to one another was once rated as highly immoral and despicable. Now with the detailed news coverage and rich HD violence based films, games and TV series’…
How accustomed to murder are we really getting?
By Samantha Crook
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