4 ms·

You're absolutely right. The difference is that we are a more violent society. Violence is something we value here. Just look at entertainment for children. You

You're absolutely right. The difference is that we are a more violent society. Violence is something we value here. Just look at entertainment for children. You're way more likely to find parents more amenable to letting their children watch scenes of people being hurt than people making love. One gets a pass and the other is considered obscene.

analog31 9y ago
Indeed, I was at an activity with my son, and there was a TV in the lounge, showing a cartoon program. The program involved an evil scheming person trying to take over the world, and culminated in a literal war, with cartoon soldiers, guns, tanks, and so forth, killing one another.
adrianN 9y ago
I don't think that's uniquely American. As a child I consumed plenty of violent media (mostly American, in fact!) but in my country very few people get shot.
- sago 9y ago
  I think most of us would agree here that "violent media creates violent people" is false. But violent media can still be a problem, if it is caused and enabled by a pathological society, a symptom of that pathology. I personally think it is, and I think that's the point the post you were responding to was making. I don't think it is any coincidence that most of the violent gun-laden media you consumed as a child was American. Killing is a* fundamental problem-solving strategy in American culture (both domestically consumed and exported). And the overwhelming most common method of killing is a gun. This is why it is very rare to find a film or TV show with any kind of action/adventure/thriller/crime/mystery plot without guns, usually on the poster. When this is true in other countries, it is usually because they are intentionally aping American media. I think it has never occurred to most Americans that there is any alternative to 'kill the bad guys'. * On reflection it is probably 'the' fundamental problem-solving strategy in American media.

analog31 9y ago

Indeed, I was at an activity with my son, and there was a TV in the lounge, showing a cartoon program. The program involved an evil scheming person trying to take over the world, and culminated in a literal war, with cartoon soldiers, guns, tanks, and so forth, killing one another.

adrianN 9y ago

I don't think that's uniquely American. As a child I consumed plenty of violent media (mostly American, in fact!) but in my country very few people get shot.

sago 9y ago
I think most of us would agree here that "violent media creates violent people" is false. But violent media can still be a problem, if it is caused and enabled by a pathological society, a symptom of that pathology. I personally think it is, and I think that's the point the post you were responding to was making. I don't think it is any coincidence that most of the violent gun-laden media you consumed as a child was American. Killing is a* fundamental problem-solving strategy in American culture (both domestically consumed and exported). And the overwhelming most common method of killing is a gun. This is why it is very rare to find a film or TV show with any kind of action/adventure/thriller/crime/mystery plot without guns, usually on the poster. When this is true in other countries, it is usually because they are intentionally aping American media. I think it has never occurred to most Americans that there is any alternative to 'kill the bad guys'. * On reflection it is probably 'the' fundamental problem-solving strategy in American media.