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Gun violence in movies vs. violent crime rates


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I just ran across a 2013 study that says gun violence in PG-13 movies has tripled since 1985 (through 2012).

http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/11/health/gun-violence-movies/

For the study, published this week in the scientific journal Pediatrics, researchers analyzed the 30 top-grossing films every year from 1950 to 2012. They identified violent sequences in each movie and noted whether the scenes included a character carrying a gun with the intention of harming or killing a living target.

Since 1950, violence in films has more than doubled, the study authors concluded. Perhaps more surprising is that gun violence in PG-13 films has tripled since 1985, even exceeding the amount found in R-rated films in more recent years.

"Parents need to realize that just because a movie has been rated PG-13 does not mean that their 13-year-old should go to see it," study author Daniel Romer said. "We would like to see Hollywood go back to labeling movies with lots of violence, and gun violence in particular, with an R rating, just like they have been doing for explicit sex all along."

 

 

 

However, the FBI's stats show a marked decline in violent crime in the United States has decreased since 1985, as this graphic from this article shows.

 

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My question - is there any connection between the two? Or is this purely coincidence?

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I wonder how much violent video games contribute to gun violence versus violent movies? It wouldn't surprise me if video games have more of an impact. I mean, how many people watch violent movies 20 hours per week? And with video games there's more active roll playing rather than passively watching. /sorry for the thread derail. Just a thought I've had for a while.

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I wonder how much violent video games contribute to gun violence versus violent movies? It wouldn't surprise me if video games have more of an impact. I mean, how many people watch violent movies 20 hours per week? And with video games there's more active roll playing rather than passively watching. /sorry for the thread derail. Just a thought I've had for a while.

 

What if the effect is the opposite? What if watching violent movies or playing violent video games somehow lessens the propensity to commit violent acts?

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I wonder how much violent video games contribute to gun violence versus violent movies? It wouldn't surprise me if video games have more of an impact. I mean, how many people watch violent movies 20 hours per week? And with video games there's more active roll playing rather than passively watching. /sorry for the thread derail. Just a thought I've had for a while.

 

What if the effect is the opposite? What if watching violent movies or playing violent video games somehow lessens the propensity to commit violent acts?

 

 

Could be. Just like watching porn makes a fella want to curl up in bed with a good Jane Austen novel. :lol:

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Where is most of the violent crimes. Inner City?

 

What areas do you think go to more movies and play violent video games? I'm guessing not inner city kids.

 

Good point. I was thinking in terms of school and workplace mass shooters. But in terms of numbers, mass shooters are a tiny fraction of the problem. Drug deals gone wrong and robberies are probably worse by 1,000x or so. As far as drug deals gone wrong and robberies, I don't know how much of an effect either movies or video games have. :dunno:

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I wonder how much violent video games contribute to gun violence versus violent movies? It wouldn't surprise me if video games have more of an impact. I mean, how many people watch violent movies 20 hours per week? And with video games there's more active roll playing rather than passively watching. /sorry for the thread derail. Just a thought I've had for a while.

 

What if the effect is the opposite? What if watching violent movies or playing violent video games somehow lessens the propensity to commit violent acts?

 

 

Could be. Just like watching porn makes a fella want to curl up in bed with a good Jane Austen novel. :lol:

 

 

Yeah, understood. It seems counterintuitive. I like to cook, so I'm more likely to watch cooking shows on TV than someone who doesn't, which is a kind of reinforcing behavior. But cooking is socially accepted - murder isn't. So does watching violence/playing violent video games have an opposite effect on those who consume such things?

 

Or is there no correlation at all, and these two disparate statistics are unrelated.

It's interesting to think about.

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It is very interesting to think about especially when not that long ago there was such a major push by some people that violence in Hollywood and video games were destroying America and creating all these monsters that were going out and doing all these violent crimes.

 

The longer we get into this techno world, I'm becoming a believer that they have absolutely no correlation to the macro statistics.

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I wonder how much violent video games contribute to gun violence versus violent movies? It wouldn't surprise me if video games have more of an impact. I mean, how many people watch violent movies 20 hours per week? And with video games there's more active roll playing rather than passively watching. /sorry for the thread derail. Just a thought I've had for a while.

 

What if the effect is the opposite? What if watching violent movies or playing violent video games somehow lessens the propensity to commit violent acts?

 

 

 

Violent crime is down because criminals are too busy watching violent movies and playing violent video games.

 

They get a release through these area's rather than taking it out in real life. Maybe. I could see that being somewhat true.

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