Violence in Movies

by Nicholas Papadopolous

Saw 3, Hostel, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre; The Beginning, there are so many choices of horror films in today’s society with such amazing special effects that it is impossible not to enjoy the films.
Over the past year, or since I have taken a liking to horror films, I have noticed an abundance of violence in movies. Violence in movies doesn’t bother me, but the graphic displays in today’s theaters have several fans upset about the amount of blood and gore permitted in movies.
With many new films coming out that contain graphic violence, I wonder; Why do people like violence in their movies? The answer comes from the Greek Philosopher Aristotle, who said that people like catharsis, or the build up then release of tension, in their cinema.
It is apparent that fans in the U.S. do love catharsis, because the movies keep on coming. Hostel 2 is coming out June 8th 2007 after its predecessor Hostel came out in 2005 and grossed $78,477,326. The Hills Have Eyes 2 came out March 23rd 2007 and has already grossed $16,458,461 after the first Hills Have Eyes came out in 2006 and grossed $41,778,863. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre; The Beginning came out in 2006 making $39,517,763, after its predecessor was remade in 2003 and grossed $80,390,022. Finally, Saw 3 came out in 2006 grossing $80,238,724, while Saw and Saw 2 came out in 2004 and 2005 making $55,185,045 and $87,025,093 respectively.
However, there is an opposing side to my point of view. The graphic displays that can be shown today are somewhat disgusting. With special effects as real as they are, torture scenes can be made to look extremely life-like. Often times at Patriots Cinema, I see people leaving the theater because of the displays that movie’s can show.
Yet, I believe that if you enter the theater buying your ticket (hopefully), you should be expecting torture if the previews say “Rated R for brutal scenes of torture and violence”. So, I believe violence in movies is perfectly acceptable as long as it has the correct rating.