I believe there is a general acceptance of violence in society when a situation is spun to have a “bad guy” receiving a “just beating” from a “good guy’’. We like this violence only if there’s a clear right and wrong, if there’s any ambiguity between the two opposing parties then people stop rooting for either side. For example two teenagers fighting on the street, we frown upon that almost instantly because of how we view teenagers and their immaturity, we’ll write this off automatically because the causation for this violence must be juvenile. However, if they were a bit older, one of them had a military uniform on and the other was in “classic bad guy attire” we would immediately start pulling for the person in the military get up.
Is that type of thought process okay? Is it something we can work on not doing? Where do we draw this line for acceptable violence and non acceptable violence? And if we become okay with seeing this on television shows do we become okay with seeing it on the news? Are we over trusting of who’s drawing the line for us in real life situations i.e. Modern day wars, riots, law enforcement scandals. How can we wholeheartedly support certain establishments when we have no idea how news stories are spun to us through the media.
Obviously the transition from “rooting for Batman to be the bane of Bane” to “should I support this real life conflict” is a pretty big step and there’s a lot more factors at play in real life then there would be in a movie or television show. So I suppose a fairly important sub topic for my blog, and all of our blogs for that matter, would be how much does media influence society? Or the flip question would be, are these movies/shows so popular because they subconsciously tap into something that we already believe therefore we’re predisposed to liking them?
I picked this topic because I used to be pro war, pro death penalties, and pro punishment of “evil doers” until I had a series of conversations that really challenged me to think about the implications of what those just actions mean and if they truly reflect my beliefs. I’m not at all opposed to justice, I love justice and I think majority of people inherently do just because it’s how we’re wired. What has changed is how I feel we should deal with justice.
The thought of taking someone’s life and their chance at redemption, whatever that may look like, has recently disturbed me quite profoundly. I think it’s a scary thought because I believe that all humans are products of our environments (some more than others). So a person can take 2 or 3 desperate moves that started off with good intentions, and now has made them into a killer. And going along with the cliche “walking in someone else’s shoes” if I had become an evil doer I would want every chance I could take to seek redemption, so therefore I should give everyone else that same chance. Redemption is a pretty vague term. I’m not in favor of releasing murderers back into society or anything like that. I would use the term redemption to mean merely showing remorse and coming to terms with what one did and why it was wrong, and being able to express that to the people whom I’ve cause harm to.
I’m not saying that these beliefs are set in stone, I hope to have interactions with more people through this blog over the course of this semester to challenge each others’ thoughts and come to more of a well thought out opinion.
I really like this topic, as it is something that also interests me very much. One example I thought of while reading your post was the Showtime show Dexter. Its entire appeal is that it takes these assumptions about justified violence and turns them on their head. Dexter is a pathological serial killer, which is pretty unanimously thought to be wrong or “evil.” However, he only kills murderers who could not otherwise be brought to justice. We are often quick to assume that this sort of retribution is itself some form of justice, and so it would seem that Dexter is thereby an agent of good, albeit a creepy one. Throughout the course of the show, the writers introduce more and more elements that question our tacit assumptions about these issues.
ReplyDeleteI’d be interested to hear what you think “justice” actually is, because you say that you don’t object to “justice” being administered. However, it is not clear that 1) there is such a thing as justice 2) that it is always the same 3) that we all hold the same common conception of it. It’s an extremely difficult concept to pin down, but one that I always love discussing.
Also, your blog name is excellent!
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ReplyDeleteI love this topic and the way that you've analyzed it because it makes me as a reader look at violence in a whole new way.You ask questions that I've never even taught about and that alone makes your blog very interesting, and I seriously can't wait to read more about your topic.
ReplyDeleteI love the great examples you use. Instead of just simply stating your opinion, you support it. I agree with you about how justice and violence are viewed in today's society and I am looking forward to hearing about your views on this issue and what caused you to change your way of thinking about violence.
I think this is a wonderful topic. You raise a number of extremely interesting questions as well as quite a few issues that plague today's society. I believe that children who grow up seeing violence in everyday life really do become desensitized to it, which does lead to more violence and acceptance of war. I really like that you addressed the concept of redemption and walking in someone else's shoes. When I have made mistakes in the past, I been very happy to be able to seek redemption and forgiveness, even for the smallest things. I am excited to see the direction you take with this topic.
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