John Wayne vs. Tarantino?!

John Wayne vs. Tarantino?

I grew up in the 70s, and remember the explosion of "realistic" violence on television and in the movies. Directors and critics said that the "cartoon" and bloodless violence of John Wayne and Gunsmoke made people immune to the consequences of violence. With "The Wild Bunch" in 1969, violence in the media became more realistic, bloody and sensational.

This realistic violence was argued to make for LESS violence in society, because people saw the repurcussions and consequences of violence. Now I'm old enough to remember that, in the 60s and 70s, the US was much LESS violent. I went through 12 years of public schooling, and there were no shootings, no gang violence.

In the same streets I grew up in, shootings and gang violence are a daily event. 40 years of realistic violence has made its contribution, making America a much more violent place. I know people get a visceral thrill from realistic violence in movies and television, but shouldn't we look at the impact on society?

Well, this is an interesting debate. Violence will always sell. Look at ancient Romans fighting in arenas. Look at boxing and hockey. Look how quick kids crowd around two people fighting. It's amazing that everyone loves violence. Doesn't matter the society.

I think there was gang violence at schools, you just didn't hear about it. Everything nowadays is so "NOW" in media and news.