07 março 2005

CULTURAS IN VITRO

Is entertainment's crime spree making us into monsters? Does violent entertainment make us less able to respond to actual atrocities?
"Certain types of images of violence do become cliches after a while," concedes Schechter, English professor at Queens College. But he adds, "We've become more sensitized to violent imagery, not less, as real violence becomes remote from our lives."
The fact that crime stories dominate the TV lineup and the local news is a good thing, he claims. "It's a reflection of how safe and civilized our lives are. After all, we belong to a species that in just a few generations has moved from watching real people being killed and tortured in public to watching zombies be killed in video games."