May 28, 2007
How films reflect, create the cruelty of our culture
Television dramas wallow in violence; reality shows thrive on public humiliation and rejection. An opinion piece by the Seattle Times.
... We are living in a mean season — in our movies, in our music, in our television shows, in our politics — and it shows no signs of ebbing. The anger is epidemic.Radio hosts like Don Imus traffic in personal invective and ethnic insults. Rappers heap abuse on gays and reduce women to crudely caricatured objects. The blogosphere is full of "flame wars," endless explosions of attacks and take-no-prisoner shout-downs.
... The gore of modern horror movies, the callousness of TV crime dramas, the humiliation of reality shows, the insults and bombast of radio shows and bloggers — it may seem like a grab-bag of different troubles. But it's really one trouble. It's really just seeing other people as unworthy of the same rights and respect as ourselves, as fit subjects for contempt and cruelty. It is, very simply, learning to see others as something less.
... Look at your big-screen TV, if you dare, where the Sopranos have replaced the Huxtables as America's favorite family, and top cop shows like "CSI" detail the dehumanizing particulars of crime scenes. Even upbeat reality programs depend on humiliation and spite.
... All art is a product of the time it's created in, and reflects that time whether it wants to or not, even if it attempts to escape it by hiding in fantasy. If we have TV shows that feature torture, and movies that feature beheadings — well, there is plenty of news footage of that happening in real-life too, lately. All art is a mirror."
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