Real Life and Reel Life: Sex, Blood, Money & Hollywood

• NCJ Number: 150859
• Author(s): R Walter
• Date Published: 1994
• Length: 13 pages
• Corporate Author: University of California
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/; NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Conference Material
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: This paper was presented at the International Conference on Violence in the Media: Prospects for Change, held on October 3-4, 1994, in New York City. The conference was sponsored by St. John's University.

Annotation

Violence in the media is discussed.

Abstract

This paper discusses society's increasing difficulty in differentiating between reality and illusion. The author posits that society reacts to its inability to successfully ameliorate real crime and violence by attempting to control the representation and illusion of violence in film, on television, and at times, in real life. Included as anecdotal examples are laws in Los Angeles County prohibiting the possession of "look-alike" guns while the possession of actual weapons that can fire bullets and kill remain acceptable and legal. Also cited is the true story of a serial murderer in New York State who, upon his capture, asserted that the movie "Robocop" had inspired him to commit the murders. Although this case represented failures of the criminal corrections system, the parole and probation system, and the investigative abilities of the police system, Hollywood, film, television, and the writers of "Robocop" were assigned the blame. The author also discusses the reality/illusion proposition as it relates to the presidency of Ronald Reagan. The author concludes that film makes possible the world-wide sharing of experience and permits a collaboration among diverse parties in the creation of something whole. In the author's opinion, film, even violent film, is not destructive; to the contrary, it is a collaborative life-affirming enterprise.