Ever watched a horror movie and wondered what it was like to go on a mass murder spree? Can this be motivation to cross the line and allowed the thoughts to control your actions and drive you to commit such a violent crime? Does violent entertainment result in violent behavior? In today’s world an argument can be made that we have an extreme overdose of technologically driven violence. Understanding the influences it can have on particular individuals, its no question why some believe that there’s a direct link between violent films and television and the behavior of those who watch them.
The article published in “The Oxford America” titled “Unnatural killers” By John Grisham argues or rather blames the film “Natural Born Killers” and its creator Oliver Stone directly for the results of the unprovoked and vicious crimes committed by two teenagers “Sarah Edmondson, age nineteen,” and “Ben Darras, age Eighteen” leaving one man dead and another woman paralyzed (Grisham).
There’s far more to the generalizations that its violence in our entertainment that creates these situations.
And it can’t simply be the Hollywood film industry and Producers to blame. Sarah Edmondson comes from a very stable and prestigious family from Oklahoma but “has admitted to a history of serious drug abuse” and was incarceration for psychiatric treatment at age fourteen. Ben Darras rather the opposite lifestyle as a child grew up with an abusive father that struggled with alcoholism that lead to two divorces from Ben’s mother and eventually lead to his own suicide.
The Essay on Film Influences On Society
Viewing a single movie or being exposed to a specific message may be enough for effects on people’s beliefs which forms a perception about a certain group of people. Film can influence opinions and ideas of people and form society so their views and attitudes change on some level. Younger children can see a film with loads of violence and the kids will think that this type of action is ...
These are the clearly influences that Grisham makes obvious in he’s article but decides not to observe them as reasons for motive. Rather it was the direct influence from the rolls played by “Mickey & Mallory” the “two mindless lover, who blaze their way across the southwest, killing everything in their path while becoming famous” in the film Natural Born Killers (Grisham).
Even though Grisham himself is a well renowned novelist that has written numinous violent books A Time to Kill etc.
Grisham wants to believe that it’s the responsibility of the artist; is this case Oliver Stone, for the creation of such violent stories. Ignoring what could have been the overwhelming struggles of an abusive, poverty stricken lifestyle such as Bens. Sarah had problems with drug addiction as a young teenager. Having a state court judge as a father, uncle Attorney General, and grandfather Congressman a lot might have been expected of her. Grisham relies on Sarah’s testimony, which weights heavily on the notions that it was all bens idea.
Also that she was not driven by the movie but it was rather ben that was suffering severely and was “fantasizing” about murdering “a bunch of people” as did “mickey and Mallory”(Grisham).
However Sarah felt the need to pack “her father’s . 38, just in case ben happened to attack her for reason”, which is strange considering its stated in the article neither of them themselves has any history of violent behavior(Grisham).
If Sarah and ben were so in love and this was a romantic getaway why did Sarah feel the need to bring a weapon or even join ben?
It seems to me that Sarah had some ambitions herself. After all she’s the only one that was caught in the act by the video camera at the scene of the crime. Which is the only evidence that led to the arrest. In John Grisham’s article “Unnatural Killers” Grisham tried to find a way to rationalize the fact that something so heinous, so viscous could not only be a thought process or in this case; a motion picture, but actually physically carried.
Whether or not it is truth that the crimes that were eventually committed by ben and Sarah were direct results of viewing Natural Born killers. It goes far beyond simple blaming the violence in a two-hour film or more specifically its creator. Understanding the individuals past, the situations, and the circumstances are all crucial when trying to decipher the psyche of two troubled minds such as Ben and Sarah.
The Essay on Article Case Law Search Paper
Obama care, what is it? Does it mean that people here in the United States will all have health care insurance now and in the future? Will the people of the United States be able to afford this health care insurance? This paper will answer all these questions about Obama care and what the people of the United States can expect and what is coming for 2013. I will tell the audience the nature of ...
