More Technology = More Violence

As I have continued to research violence in movies for Junior Theme, I have discovered that movies have drastically increased their usage of special effects over time. New special effects technology has allowed filmmakers to further experiment with violence. This new technology has caused an increase in the graphic portrayal of violence in film.

Back before 1968, the Production Code Association prohibited any graphic violence from appearing across the big screen. Yet, once the Production Code was eliminated in 1968 and replaced by the MPAA ratings that are still in effect today, filmmakers chose to experiment with more technology as a means of portraying violence. They started out using squibs, which more realistically depicted bloodshed. Squibs became widely used throughout films for years.

World War Z special effects

However, after the introduction of computer-generated imagery (CGI) to film, movies have become even more graphically violent. It is very rare for someone these days to watch a movie without viewing some type of gore, battle, or other violent scene. Filmmakers have heightened the amount of depicted violence in their films using CGI, including movies such as Lord of the Rings, Independence Day, Harry Potter, and World War Z. As technology improves each year, it worries me that the violence in films is going to be unavoidable. When filmmakers move beyond CGI into some new technology, the increase in violence is almost unimaginable.

Bye Bye Film Censorship

While I was searching for information about how movie violence has increased over time for my Junior Theme, I found a very interesting article that explored how the Catholic Church largely influenced film censorship throughout the early to mid-20th century. The Production Code Administration (PCA), chaired by a Catholic named William Hays, monitored Hollywood films of all genres, limiting the amounts of violence, sex, and "indecency" appearing on the big screen.

Monster and little girl in Frankenstein (1931)

The PCA greatly censored James Whale's Frankenstein (1931), which was viewed as "immoral" to many Catholics. Originally, the film included a scene in which the monster noticed a young girl tossing flowers onto a pond. He joined in, watching the flowers float atop the water. The monster then suddenly threw the little girl into the pond, hoping to see her float along the surface like all the beautiful flowers. When the girl drowned, the monster ran away into the forest, mortified. The PCA became very upset that this scene was revealing innocence in the monster. It ordered that much of the scene be removed. The edited version of Frankenstein only showed the monster reaching for the young girl before the scene cut to the girl's father carrying her body through the village, her stockings around her ankles. This scene depicted no ounce of innocence in the monster; rather, it caused the viewer to believe that the monster intentionally drowned the young girl. This censored version of Frankenstein remained in circulation for 40 years.

I can't believe it took 40 years for the original version of Frankenstein to be released. The PCA managed to limit not only the violent drowning of the young girl from the screen, but also the innocent intentions of the monster. Without the scene depicting the monster's mortification after accidentally drowning the girl, the PCA was able to convince the audience that the monster was evil without any backstory. Today, the PCA and the Catholic Church no longer censor films. The MPAA rating system, consisting of G, PG, PG-13, R, and NC-17 ratings replaced the PCA back in 1968. I wonder if the fact that America has become a less religious place factored into the elimination of film censorship. Nevertheless, without the PCA in effect, more violence is definitely appearing on the big screen than ever before. The downfall of the PCA certainly seemed to contribute to the increase in movie violence over time.

Topic Turmoil

Starting Junior Theme research was very difficult for me this week. I struggled greatly to find a topic that I really cared about. At first, I hoped to focus on a topic revolving around mental illness. However, after speaking with many people throughout the class, mental illness seemed to be a common topic. It was clearly a very interesting issue to many, but I wanted to choose a topic that most people were not researching.

I've always loved music so I started to consider making that my topic. I've always wondered why music has been so captivating, so enjoyable, so universally loved. Researching its psychological effects became the my goal. Yet, as I began searching for my answer to why music has such a profound effect on listeners, I realized that I wasn't focusing on an American issue. Music's psychological impacts on people interested me greatly, but if I researched that topic, I wouldn't be following the assignment.

Therefore, I decided to pick a new topic once again. I brainstormed many ideas with my parents, trying to come up with issues that truly interested me. The first thing that came to my mind was movies. I've enjoyed watching movies for all my life. Except, I've always tried to avoid ultra-violent films. Unlike me, many people seek violent films in the theaters. Over time, extreme violence has become more difficult to avoid when choosing a movie to watch. I began wondering why this violence has increased in movies. Then, I realized I had my question to research. In the end, it all came down to thinking about my interests, while not forgetting to focus on an issue surrounding that topic.

It's Discrimination, Not Freedom

 Sticker on an Indiana business that has decided to serve
all customers

Yesterday, Governor Mike Pence of Indiana signed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act into law. This bill allows a business to deny service to gay people due to conflicting religious beliefs. I think this law is completely unjust, specifically targeting and discriminating against gay people. People should be allowed to freely hold religious beliefs, but those beliefs should not be used as excuses for discriminatory actions.

However, many stores are choosing to put up stickers to express their decision to serve all customers. Designer Desserts, a cupcake shop in Indiana, has chosen to put up one of these stickers to show its  support for  all people. The NCAA is also struggling greatly with this law, questioning whether the organization should hold future events, such as the Final Four, in Indianapolis. With the NCAA and many other organizations and companies, including Designer Desserts, questioning this bill, I think it's pretty clear that this new law is unjust. It seems like a classic example of discrimination. Religion is being used as an excuse to target a specific group of people. That should not be allowed.

Finally a Black Spokeswoman for Dior

As I was scrolling through my Facebook newsfeed the other day, I came across a post that truly surprised me. Rihanna has just become the first black woman spokesperson for Dior! I'm so glad that the Christian Dior company is trying to become more diverse. However, the company was founded back in 1946. Why has it taken so long for an African American woman to represent Dior?

I think Dior's hesitance to hire a black spokeswoman for so long speaks to Americans' flawed perception of beauty. The company is finally making strides by hiring Rihanna, but she has very light skin for an African American. Throughout American history, white skin has always been considered better than dark skin. Even today, according to a CNN study, children of all skin colors seem to be biased toward lighter-skinned individuals. This bias can probably be traced to the media's insistence on whitewashing. When African Americans are used in ad campaigns, they are often photoshopped to look very light-skinned. For example, Beyoncé's skin was lightened to such an extent that she could probably pass for white. A comparison between Beyoncé's normal skin color and her retouched image can be seen below.

Beyonce's normal skin color (left) compared to her
photoshopped skin color (right)

At least Dior is finally hiring an African American, despite Rihanna's light skin. Rihanna claims that "It is such a big deal for me, for my culture, for a lot of girls of any color. I think to be acknowledged by Dior, it means a lot as a woman to feel beautiful, to feel elegant and timeless." Hiring Rihanna is definitely a first step for Dior. I just hope that Dior doesn't insist on photoshopping Rihanna to look even more light-skinned. Dark skin should be considered just as beautiful as light skin. The more African American women that appear across social media, the more likely that Americans will begin to see the beauty in all skin colors. 

Happiest Place or Priciest Place?

Disney's Magic Kingdom

Back in October, I wrote about Disney replacing its Maelstrom ride at Epcot with a new Frozen-themed attraction in order to make the Norway exhibit more profitable. After all, Frozen-themed merchandise has been earning Disney over $1 billion annually, leading Disney to have a record-breaking year in profit last year. After such a success, Disney is trying to earn even more money. In fact, Walt Disney World just hiked up its prices to $105 a day for admission to Magic Kingdom. This is the first time in history that prices have surpassed $100 at the theme park. For the average family, a trip to Walt Disney World would be extraordinarily expensive. Yet, when I was little, my siblings and I always loved Disney. My parents wanted us to have the Disney World experience, despite the park's priciness.

My parents were definitely not the only ones making the decision to take their children to the extremely expensive Orlando. According to Kay Hymowitz, author of Liberation’s Children: Parents and Kids in a Postmodern Age, "It’s become an American ritual...just about every kid, white, black, brown, rich and all but the poorest of the poor, go to Disney World.” It amazes me how Disney World has become such a "ritual" for American families. Parents are willing to sacrifice enormous amounts of money in order to provide their children the opportunity to go to the Happiest Place on Earth. The real "American" ritual may be for parents to spend tons on their children. Disney just brings out the true American money-spenders within us all.

SAE Shut Down

Fraternity at University of Oklahoma that released the
racist video

Yesterday, the Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE) fraternity at the University of Oklahoma released a very racist video. In the video, many members of the fraternity chant, "You can hang ‘em from a tree, but it will never start with me/There will never be a n***** SAE." No one can deny that racism still exists today. This video was disturbing and completely unacceptable.

Fortunately, the president of the University of Oklahoma, David Boren, decided to take action. He claimed that "Real Sooners are not bigots, real Sooners are not racist." He ordered that the fraternity be shut down and that Oklahoma would not provide housing to "bigots." Boren claimed that he would have a zero-tolerance policy when it came to racism and he is sticking to his word. I'm very pleased that Boren and the University of Oklahoma have decided to take immediate action against SAE. Just because the school is located in the South doesn't mean it should be a school full of racists. I'm proud of Boren for making it clear that racism should not be tolerated at the University of Oklahoma or anywhere else in the US for that matter.