Happy Violence
Violent things that don’t reflect on the harm or consequences it express as we see on TV or in movies are called “happy violence”. It is violence that can be funny or have a comical twist. It needs to be measured together with the intensification of the violence presented. There are many examples of these in the pop culture is wrestling. How? The anecdote of wrestling is like cartoon violence in “Tom and Jerry” or “Bugs Bunny”. In wrestling, the result of “happy violence” becomes primary because of the talent of the actors in creating the illusion that it is real.
The skill of wrestlers in drawing off the illusion of reality gives reliability to the idea that there are no real consequences to violence. The reality of violence vanishes in wrestling because it looks as if it is real. The reality is that everyone who watches wrestling knows that it is staged and fake and consequently isn’t enough to concession its real effects. Wrestling can influence even kids who know that it’s fake. It gets more violent and intense even as the real consequences persist to be pressed out of view.
Most kids don’t only enjoy watching wrestling, they imitate what the wrestlers do and it could definitely cause them to injure themselves or their playmate. They might think its fun and entertaining until they feel and learn what it could do to them. With most of the children and adolescents watching professional wrestling, it is vital to be aware of how children really recognize professional wrestling and if it encourage violent conduct. Television violence is perceived by many children as an acceptable means of resolving conflict that influences them to behave aggressively (Krieg, 1995).
Thoughts of recognizing aggression and violence can add to the possibility of aggression and violence being carried out especially by the young viewers. It would make kids become violent with their playmates even to their teachers and parents. They would display negative behavior because of the violent things they see on TV. Adults always say fighting or any form of violence is bad. But why are there so many violent movies shown in TV? Even a cartoon show that should be meaningful and educational to child is filled with violence. Shows like these overturn what we teach our children or what we are taught by our parents.
It inculcates that violence is a normal reaction or is tolerated because it is fun. It doesn’t make people realize the pain the other person is experiencing. With the influence of media on us, violence has become a normal thing we see and do. Some may think that it’s funny and at times, entertaining. Some view it as disturbing and a form of nonsense. Violence is seen in various forms and context. It sinks to our minds most especially to the kids. Violence illustrated by media produce an edifying environment in which that kind of behavior is acknowledged as normal or a kind of an appropriate reaction to such problems or situations.
The intimidation, degradation and verbal hostility that is implemented in wresting is the manner that real men can succeed. Maturity and masculinity is associated with the capability to get even, protect one’s reputation, and gain respect and fulfillment by defeating your opponent. Regardless of the alarming allegation, and purpose, it diverts people from focusing on the violence in society and limits argument of television violence to its most naive element. Violence on TV is considered as an important part of the global marketing system. It overlooks an escalating allocation of the TV screens all over the world.
Violence is not always alike. They are different in every expression and denomination. Its individual expertise is carefully used to balance catastrophic outlay from fatal impulse. Happy Violence, as we see in Cusac’s essay can be characterized by torture, crime and violence, reality, and the safety and security of the people. All these points are seen in the series. Torture being connected with crime and accounts of terrorism is said to be adjoined to spill out the truth even if time has almost run out. With the account of terrorism and crime, the lives of the people are always at risk.
The safety and security of the people are being diminished because of the increasing crime rates and most especially with terrorism. All these things can be seen not just in front of the camera, but mostly, in reality. All these things are connected in one way. How people and life are characterized in this environment develop a sense of opportunity and chances. It supplies our commencement of who we are and how we communicate to others and to the world. It helps to identify our strengths and weaknesses, and the risks we can take in such situations. Terrorism is something that can happen to anyone, anywhere.
No one knows when and where terrorism will occur. No one even knows who will be the next victim. In this series, it tells us that terrorism happens in real life, it’s a real situation where real people are victimized. It might not be exactly like to what we see on movies and films, it could be worse than that and more lives are hanging on the thread. Cusac pointed out that terrorism and torture are always connected and can’t be separated. The show 24 somehow shouldn’t be classified as a form of “happy violence” because of the serious brutality it depicts.
The violence presented is not entertaining than with shows considered to have “happy violence”. The show conflicts with reality with regards to the seemingly unending problems and crime that is happening in the film but not in reality. It’s like one problem pops every passing minute. And it’s not just simple everyday problem. It’s a very serious problem that doesn’t require one to make any mistake or a life or two will be lost. Torture can only be effective if you have the right person and supply the right information. But it’s not that easy. You don’t know who is innocent and who’s not.
Some consider that those who torture do so to simply dig out information form the detained enemy. But to other people, torture is used to mortify, humiliate, and destroy an individual. It is a mean used by those with authority to sustain their control and position. The use of torture is used to harm, and obliterate the tortured individual’s sense of self. Such practices demoralize an individual’s will to resist. Torture is used to guarantee the safety and security of the people by easing the significant information and to fight the forces that are against one country.
Torture is required to be used on life-saving situations. It is used as a tool to interrogated people to provide vital information that can be used to protect the lives of the people. Torture should only be used when necessary. The show 24 makes people more aware of the things that are happening in the world. It’s a real time situation and real people are accountable to such things. It’s not just about terrorism. It’s about the demoralizing acts that the people who are with power are demonstrating to sustain their position and authority over things, people and situation.
It’s about giving your best to save a life or to help even to the simplest of things. The outline of oppression on TV and reality with fear are somehow related. Spectators who see their own people or race on that fictional situation develops a sense of anxiety, mistrust and estrangement. This imbalanced sense of jeopardy, helplessness and uneasiness with inconsiderateness tempt hostility, mistreatment and suppression. The protuberance of authority is a function of all mores and conventional mass media. Television modernizes, cleanses, and puts its dramatic sense and releases it to the world’s cultural environment.
The lack of restrictions from violent and other unbalanced and threatening formulas, censorship is not the effective and adequate method to amplify multiplicity and decrease TV violence. People should contribute in generating a resolution on how to facilitate in shaping the lives of the children in contemplation to TV violence. Torture will never be normal and justifiable. It’s not a kind of thing you can do to any one. By having an authority over someone doesn’t mean you can do things to that person just to get what you want or need because it makes you nothing less than them.
