Violence in Films
What place does violence have in the movies? Well, I believe that violence has a place in movies depending on the particular film and what the director of the film is trying to portray. If the director uses violence in his/her film and there isn't any reason behind it, then I would disagree and say that violence shouldn't be in THAT particular film. But in a movie like "Saving Private Ryan", Steven Spielburg replicates the actual events of D-Day on to the big screen by creating a violent-like scene to get the viewer of an understanding of what U.S. troops had to go through. In other films, we see violence used to test the human soul and to see if he/she/they could overcome trials and tribulations. In the film "Independence Day", Earth was attacked "violently" by aliens; therefore, leaving behind a planet that was almost completely destroyed. The humans, after surviving the attack, joined forces with others around the world and destroyed the alien invasion to regain Earth. In those two cases, I would agree and say that violence should be in the movies. The role of violence in films has been a big one. In some of today's movies, its seems like the films portrays violence, but don't back it up with some reasoning or explanation as to why the character is doing what he/she is doing. "Shootfighter" is movie that comes to mind when I talk about movies with violence without reasoning or explanation. The movie is about two karate instructors and their master going down to Mexico to fight in an illegal shootfighting tournament. During the course of the movie, you witness people getting sliced up and their heads cut off with ninja swords, a fighter raping a girl because she wouldn't do what she was told by the rapist, and other fighters getting set on fire. I can see what the director was trying to do. He probably wanted the audience to get the feeling of being in that environment. But at the same time I have to say that the director neglected to point out the reason as to why some of the fighters were defeating their opponents cleanly, while others were defeating them with gruesome ways. In some films, violence has been used to portray who we are. The film "Natural Born Killers" is a basically a commentary on how, as a society, we condemn violence while hypocritically glorify it in the media. Mickey and Mallory are evil, but are also stars. While television has publicized their exploitations, it has done so only because Americans have an appetite violence. And when Mickey and Mallory are finally arrested, we see their fans gathering outside the courthouse. Violence in films is something that I believe isn't going to go away. And why should it? Some movies are flat out boring without somebody getting their butts kicked or watching two fighters fight to the death. Just as long as the movie tells the viewer why this person is doing what he/she is doing and the reasons behind it.