
Screening Violence
Stephen Prince(Editor)
Rutgers University Press
Published on 1. June 2000
Book
Paperback/Softback
288 pages
978-0-8135-2818-2 (ISBN)
Description
Graphic cinematic violence is a magnet for controversy. From passionate defenses to outraged protests, theories abound concerning this defining feature of modern film: Is it art or exploitation, dangerous or liberating?
Screening Violence provides an even-handed examination of the history, merits, and effects of cinematic "ultraviolence." Movie reviewers, cinematographers, film scholars, psychologists, and sociologists all contribute essays exploring topics such as:
? the origins and innovations of film violence and attempts to regulate it
(from Hollywood's Production Code to the evolution of the ratings system)
? the explosion of screen violence following the 1967 releases of Bonnie and Clyde and The Dirty Dozen, and the lasting effects of those landmark films
? the aesthetics of increasingly graphic screen violence
? the implications of our growing desensitization to murder and mayhem, from The Wild Bunch to The Terminator
Screening Violence provides an even-handed examination of the history, merits, and effects of cinematic "ultraviolence." Movie reviewers, cinematographers, film scholars, psychologists, and sociologists all contribute essays exploring topics such as:
? the origins and innovations of film violence and attempts to regulate it
(from Hollywood's Production Code to the evolution of the ratings system)
? the explosion of screen violence following the 1967 releases of Bonnie and Clyde and The Dirty Dozen, and the lasting effects of those landmark films
? the aesthetics of increasingly graphic screen violence
? the implications of our growing desensitization to murder and mayhem, from The Wild Bunch to The Terminator
Reviews / Votes
Screening Violence features an impressive scope of articles on the problem of media violence and its increase since the 1960s. In his introduction, Prince states his editorial goals, which are to examine AEthe origins of ultraviolent movies, the long-standing controversies over the effects of viewing film violence, the evidence furnished by social science about these effects, and the inherent characteristics of screen violence that subvert its progressive, legitimate uses.AE . . . Screening Violence offers an excellent introduction to the topic for use in the classroom . . . and the variety of sources invites selective courses of reading. Students will also appreciate the focus on the historical moment, before their time, when the discussion of media violence begins to take the shape familiar to them from their own experience. (H-Net Review) This welcome collection on cinematic AEultra violenceAE comprises 14 readable contributions, most by film critics, film scholars, and social scientists. . . . Readers will enjoy Bosley CrowtherAEs elitist angst and Jack ValentiAEs convoluted testimony before the National Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Violence. Suitable for upper-division undergraduate and graduate courses. (Choice)More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
New Brunswick NJ
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Illustrations
36
Dimensions
Height: 230 mm
Width: 154 mm
Thickness: 20 mm
Weight
476 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-8135-2818-2 (9780813528182)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Stephen Prince is associate professor of communication studies at Virginia Tech. He has written many books on film, including The Warrior's Camera: The Cinema of Akira Kurosawa, and Movies and Meaning: An Introduction to Film.
Content
Graphic Violence in the Cinema: Origins, Aesthetic Design, and Social Effects
The Historical Context of Ultraviolence -
The Thin Red Line
Movies to Kill People By
Another Smash at Violence
Crowther Crowther's `Bonnie'-Brook: Rap at Violence Stirs Brouhaha
Statement by Jack Valenti, MPAA President, before the National Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Violence
The Aesthetics of Ultraviolence -
Bang Bang Bang Bang, Ad Naseum
Death and Its Details
Violence: The Strong and the Weak
The Violent Dance: A Personal Memoir of Death in the Movies
Her Body, Himself: Gender in the Slasher Film
The Aesthetic of Slow-Motion Violence in the Films of Sam Peckinpah
The Effects of Ultraviolence -
Some Effects of Thoughts on Anti- and Prosocial Influences of Media Events: A Cognitive-Neoassociation Analysis
Mass Media Effects on Violent Behavior
Contributors
Index
The Historical Context of Ultraviolence -
The Thin Red Line
Movies to Kill People By
Another Smash at Violence
Crowther Crowther's `Bonnie'-Brook: Rap at Violence Stirs Brouhaha
Statement by Jack Valenti, MPAA President, before the National Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Violence
The Aesthetics of Ultraviolence -
Bang Bang Bang Bang, Ad Naseum
Death and Its Details
Violence: The Strong and the Weak
The Violent Dance: A Personal Memoir of Death in the Movies
Her Body, Himself: Gender in the Slasher Film
The Aesthetic of Slow-Motion Violence in the Films of Sam Peckinpah
The Effects of Ultraviolence -
Some Effects of Thoughts on Anti- and Prosocial Influences of Media Events: A Cognitive-Neoassociation Analysis
Mass Media Effects on Violent Behavior
Contributors
Index