Maybe.
Let us take a look at that idea for a moment then you decide for yourself.
If I were a betting man ...
Answers this. How many people have you actually seen murdered? And not through a camera, not on film, video, paper or screen but in actual real life? Twenty? Ten? Two? I'd bet not nearly as many as you have seen "murdered" in the movies.
How many people do you actually know on a first-name basis and by face-to-face recognition by all parties involved who have killed 52 people? Five? No? One? None I'd bet.
How many people do you actually know who have busted out of prison by killing others? None I'd bet.
And more pointedly, how many teenage girls do you know on a first name basis in daily life who have bared their chest for a neighborhood boy's video camera? Ten? No? Five? No? Two? No? None I'd bet.
Even more pointedly, how many neighborhood fathers do you know on a first name basis who have killed another neighborhood father because the murdering father thought he saw the victim father engaged in immoral sex with his son? None I'd bet.
Then do movies really reflect the real world in which you personally live? Or do movies rather paint your perception of the real world for you?
We have become so drugged by the narcotics of extremes in and as entertainment that what once was morally unacceptable has become morally invisible. It may be that our "real world" is tending to reflect what we are told in movies.
― and what, Friday, 25 January 2008 17:26 (eighteen years ago)
Oh my goodness this is awfully insulting to people who have seen or been through those things!
― Abbott, Friday, 25 January 2008 17:27 (eighteen years ago)
especially videotaping teenage boobs
― and what, Friday, 25 January 2008 17:28 (eighteen years ago)
I will verily say that American Beauty lacks verisimilitude as much as Care Bears movie does.
― Abbott, Friday, 25 January 2008 17:29 (eighteen years ago)
I actually kind of agree with that e-mail, although I wouldn't phrase it exactly the same and would probably leave out the boobs part.
Perception of crime and violence has been shown to be far greater than reality due mostly to its emphasis in television and film, and this sort of thing leads people to support all kinds of horrible policies in the name of safety (and also to generally fear their neighbors, walking on the street, etc.)
― Hurting 2, Friday, 25 January 2008 17:31 (eighteen years ago)
I'd also leave out the conclusion, obv
― Hurting 2, Friday, 25 January 2008 17:32 (eighteen years ago)
sometimes i do wonder about why i let all manner of awful things into my house through shows like SVU but then i go back to thinking LOL U GOT BUMMED
― DG, Friday, 25 January 2008 17:32 (eighteen years ago)
American Beauty may very well be the worst drama in the world! (Worst comedy: Shallow Hal.)
― Abbott, Friday, 25 January 2008 17:34 (eighteen years ago)
haha this is actually a bad summary of a well-established academic theory.
― Eppy, Friday, 25 January 2008 17:46 (eighteen years ago)
watching SVU before bed can be a bad idea.
― bell_labs, Friday, 25 January 2008 17:47 (eighteen years ago)
Which ep?
― Catsupppppppppppppp dude 茄蕃, Friday, 25 January 2008 17:52 (eighteen years ago)
For 'movies' read stories?
― Greist, Friday, 25 January 2008 18:21 (eighteen years ago)
This is clearly what Andy Warhol was trying to fix.
― nabisco, Friday, 25 January 2008 18:25 (eighteen years ago)
it took a long time for me to get over the lack of light sabers and wookies in the real world.
― tipsy mothra, Friday, 25 January 2008 19:13 (eighteen years ago)
Why can't real life be as cool as Quadrophenia?
― kingfish, Saturday, 26 January 2008 01:32 (eighteen years ago)
Yes, why can't everything revolve around the fucking Who?
― Abbott, Saturday, 26 January 2008 01:33 (eighteen years ago)
I wouldn't jump to any conclusions on the teenage boobs. Kids these days...
― milo z, Saturday, 26 January 2008 02:30 (eighteen years ago)
The local television news reflects the real world, right?
― Aimless, Saturday, 26 January 2008 02:45 (eighteen years ago)
i wonder if that question snapped milo out of his reverie.
― estela, Saturday, 26 January 2008 02:51 (eighteen years ago)
BEST MOVIE EVER
― Jeff Treppel, Saturday, 26 January 2008 04:58 (eighteen years ago)