According to the late George Gerbner, many of the images of violence that we see on television and in movies is "Happy Violence." In these movies, violence is glamorized, made to seem funny, usually orchestrated by people with sex-appeal, excellent outfits, and kick-ass cars. When I heard the term "Happy Violence" used I immediately thought of the new Ghostbusters movie, as I'd just recently watched it with my son. I heard some complaints when this movie first came out as is common with a remake of a classic movie beloved by both kids and adults alike. I personally enjoyed the new one and it carried the added bonus of discussing the possibility of paranormal entities with a four year old. Ghostbusters is meant to be satire of course, and it delivers, but it also serves up a lot of violent images, minus all the blood and gore. One scene in particular made me think of how violence is presented without real life consequences attached to it. The Stay Puft marshmallow man terrorizes the city, crumbling tall buildings and smashing cars. Unless the entire city has been evacuated it's likely that people were killed during this ghost invasion or at the very least severely injured. Naturally there are no images of human carnage strewn all across the road, because that would completely change the mood of the movie. Whats even more inexplicable is Melissa McCarthy and Kristen Wiig getting sucked into a giant worm hole and coming out of it largely unscathed.
There are many more examples of violent behavior without consequences in the media, but this one stood out to me because it appeals to children and adults. The antagonist in the movie even kills himself so he can possess others. At an early age we are exposed to violent images intended for our entertainment. I would have never thought of Ghostbusters as a violent movie before because of course it's plot is meant to be fantasy.The documentary we watched in class opened my eyes a lot to the images I take in on a daily basis, and I'll definitely be more conscious and selective going forward.
Image Sources:
Stay Puft-http://images.indianexpress.com/2016/06/ghostbuster480.jpg?w=480
Kate McKinnon: http://werrrk.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/ghostbusters-2016-kate-mckinnon.png
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