Does media need less violence?

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Violence, brutality, and morbid expressions of anger have metastasized within the public ethos as the media produced becomes increasingly overwrought with seemingly nonsensical expressions of death, gore, and subject matter needlessly “brutish” to Western and non-Western audiences alike; because of this steering towards morbid displays of this form of expression, many media viewers have elected to refrain from watching media with these displays altogether. Even so, is a decision like this warranted? At the core of the issue, is the usage of excessive violence within media serving any purpose outside of grotesque displays of barbarism?

Before progressing, it is essential to define an evident counterargument to violent media displays. In most instances, everyone has heard an offhand comment from a parental figure or an authority figure during their adolescence saying that they should not indulge themselves in media that focuses on dark topics or carries with it dark themes. 

Many of these conversations usually steer toward the stereotypical, falsifiable claim that “violent TV/movies/video games/music will destroy your brain and fill it with dangerous thoughts.” Yes, preliminary studies of media correlation to increased violence theorized that the effects of violent media would be a rise in violence—in all facets—but research has shown quite the opposite actually. It has resulted in findings that these violent pieces of media are linked to increased fears and anxieties throughout society. This means that media is not damaging your mind through violent displays of it, but it makes you keenly aware of all the creative possibilities life can throw at you—no matter the hyperbolism attached to the claim. 

So, with that said, what is the purpose behind these displays of barbarism? Is it ultimately meant to serve some narrative purpose? Amplify the visually present stakes to a deathly degree? Well, discussion of these questions can be hotly disputed in international animation scenes, specifically, those clustered in the regions of China and Japan. Through manga— or graphic novels, the American equivalent of a comic book—and subsequent adaptations into anime—or aired as a television series or film—we can examine more closely the narrative purpose, or lack thereof, of violence in media.

As time passes, there has been a shift in the quality and variety of material produced by manga—specifically Shohen Jump and Seinen Manga—having many stories take one of two routes: A love or fight-centric coming-of-age story. When looking at the latter, there are seldom routes a story can take for it to be sustained by a publication, so creators have begun creating series built around tropes known to work—in this case, the facet dedicated to violence. 

Series like Berserk (1989- ), Chainsaw Man (2018- ), and Bleach (2001-2016) are great examples of what I mean when I say this. These are all series that focus on fights, gore, and compelling artwork—also, in two of the three series stated, there is a focus on sexual occurrences alongside the main plot. These also began as manga, but have grown in infamy because of their various adaptations to TV and film. 

At its core, these decisions are twofold, both meant to compel readers to continue to engage through the wonder and shock it evokes—known as the term “spectacle-ization”—and to provide the reader with content that adequately defines the situation’s stakes: one part spectacle, the other story; because of this balance, readers have begun to notice a formula within the content they digest, which keenly focuses on similar structures: Introduce, fight, exposition, fight, exposition, and so forth. Though this may seem generic, this is not indicative of the violence included being senseless. 

In the United States specifically, we can see two unique examples in the comics, Invincible (2003-2018) and The Boy’s (2006-2012), where a likewise morbid amount of violence and gore mixed in with the familiar formula of their overseas counterparts in the realm of storytelling. By introducing their heroes and containing their development around fights, these stories retain that spectacle-ization at their core. Still, they can use the attention such displays evoke to their advantage as writers. 

All of these examples use violence and spectacle-ization in their stories as either a catalyst/drive forward for the story, a critique of society, or to induce life-changing stakes in a narrative that would be devoid of one without. This is not to say that all usages of violence and spectacle-zation are meant to serve these purposes—sometimes, they’re included solely for the sake of violence. 

Even so, in the vast majority of recently created media, you will have the opportunity to ingest that there is a larger purpose to including violence outside of having a “cool fight scene” within one’s story—though that may be part of the reason—and that purpose usually is keen to understand the narrative unfolding. Whether it be like Berserk’s (1989- ) usage of violence and excess gore to show themes such as the damnation present within every crevice of the world or The Boy’s (2006-2012) usage of shock and gratuity to forever taint the pure image of superheroes within the eyes of the public, the choice made aim to leave audiences with a takeaway. 

Regardless of what media you ingest, look at it holistically—implicitly and explicitly—and further engage the reasoning behind the creative choices made beyond visual and sensory. In the vast majority of cases, there is a wealth of reasoning behind every decision made, similar to the reasoning of these diverse authors.