Violence in Film and TV (Examining Pop Culture) - Hardcover

Grade 8 & Up--This selection of essays published between 1985 and 2000 presents many nuances relating to violence in popular entertainment. The table of contents features an abstract of each article, setting a scholarly tone. Three to five essays under topics such as "Violent Film Genres," "Violence on Television," and "Debating Screen Violence" consider the issues. The effect of media violence is such a longstanding controversy that there is little duplication of essays in this volume and the other similar collections issued by the same publisher (Carol Wekesser's Violence in the Media [1995; o.p.] and William Dudley's Media Violence [1999]). Torr's compilation includes a substantial 1999 article by Paul Keegan on video games in general and several of the most popular ones in particular. It distinguishes this volume from earlier works, which only mention video-game violence. An annotated listing of 20 books and an extremely detailed index make this a useful addition to the ongoing debate.
Ann G. Brouse, Steele Memorial Library, Elmira, NY
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Gr. 6-12. Essays in this volume in the Examining Pop Culture series give readers much to think about as they read about everything from violence in full-length films and TV police dramas to violence in reality shows and video games. Early chapters on motion-picture violence briefly review American film history, beginning with the silent The Great Train Robbery, then going on to dramatic blood-bath releases (Bonnie and Clyde), revenge movies (Dirty Harry), and gore films that keep upping the graphic scale to hold viewers' attention. Particularly thought-provoking is discussion of the way gender impacts the filming of attack scenes. Later chapters about television prove just as enlightening, with writers exploring such topics as the use of repetitive images and violence in TV news broadcasting. Fascinating, informative reading as well as a solid research support; a generous, annotated selection of additional resources is appended. Roger Leslie
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