Small Fried Oven: From Media Violence | Oasis·CUHK

In late September of this year, the famous TV series "Ultraman Tiga" was successively removed from the shelves of the entire network, causing a storm of public opinion on the Internet. The content controversy about Ultraman Tiga is not an exception. For a long time, the violence in cartoons/films/games-media violence has been a topic that people have been debating for a long time.

How should we view media violence, how should we interpret the censorship of media violence, and how will the topic of media violence expand in the context of gender issues? In this small fry around the stove, we will start from our own experience and experience to talk about "media violence".

1

"The Element of Violence"

Echoes | We might as well start today's discussion from a relatively simple entry point, such as "Ultraman Tiga" just talked about. As a child, this was the animation I was very familiar with. When I was in kindergarten, one of the most impressive scenes was that during lunch, the teacher would use the TV in the class to show us Ultraman Tiga. Everyone may wish to share, what did you think when you were young when you saw something like this -- not limited to "Ultraman Tiga" -- and now it contains the so-called "violent elements"? As far as I am concerned, at that time I probably just thought, "Ah Ultraman is so powerful, destroy the monsters to protect the earth", and only have thoughts like this.

Vinyl | When I saw "violence" when I was a child, I probably didn't realize that "this is violence". A similar memory that belongs to me is that when I was young, I liked to watch juvenile comics, such as "One Piece", "Naruto" and other classic works. I don't think one of the main factors that didn't connect the "violence" in juvenile manga with real-life violence as a kid was that the former came in the form of superpowers. Fundamentally, it's the separation between superpowers and reality that helps me create a separation between the violence of juvenile manga and the violence of reality. The superpowers in the juvenile manga are nothing more than arousing my fantasy of "having superpowers". This form of media violence gives children the impression that "their superpowers are cool," rather than imparting an understanding of violence to them. And I think this form of violence, as mentioned by Echoes just now, is in the form of "righteousness and evil", where the righteous side suppresses the evil side through some means or ability, we will feel it It is conveying "the light of the right path", conveying the value of the righteous side, not the violence itself. I guess that's the point of focus.

Ma Ye | Just now Vinyl mentioned that violence is expressed in the form of some superpowers, so there will naturally be some distance from reality. This reminds me of the "Tom and Jerry" I used to watch when I was a child, where the so-called violence may be the image of Tom's head being smashed or his body distorted, which is obviously different from the violence in our real life. Another point, we don't think much about violence when we are young, and I think it's also because most of us grew up in the city as children and didn't have the opportunity to see some really particularly violent or bloody scenes in real life, so we It is not so sensitive to the element of violence itself that its existence can be perceived in cartoons.

Iris | I think this brings up the comic effect of the violent element. When watching "Tom and Jerry", of course, children are amused rather than faintly aware of the danger. This may mean that the channel of violence is important, for example it is presented through dramatic exaggeration or superpowers that are out of the real picture, then it is rarely uncomfortable for the child.

Echoes | I think the concept of "focus point" just mentioned by Vinyl is very important, to really go back to the child's point of view, for example in "Tom and Jerry", you will find that their focus point is the humor and the tension of the animation action , and in Ultraman and Juvenile Manga, the focus of the child will be superpowers and so on.

Nicheng | I agree with Echoes. The expression form of film and television works needs to express tension very much. It needs to stimulate a kind of intense feeling, to attract the attention of the audience, and finally complete the expression of a certain intention. Therefore, rather than saying that the author is using "violence", it is better to say that the author is using violent movements or scenes. Brute force is just a rendering pipeline, not a kernel. For example, in a comedy, when a person trips over, he will most likely fall with a bruised face to show that he fell badly; ” action to highlight its visual effect.

Xiaoyue|So if the manifestations of violence are more straightforward, will it evolve into a simple catharsis of violence, which will bring obvious discomfort to the audience?

Vinyl | I was thinking about the experience of watching juvenile manga that I mentioned earlier, when I watched scenes like "people were knocked flying", I didn't feel very uncomfortable. The first time I felt the discomfort caused by violent elements was when I watched "Operation Red Sea". When I see stumps and blood, such scenes obviously cause me discomfort. But in addition to the discomfort of visual impact, I will also recognize that it is not simply the output of violent elements, but the propaganda of anti-war awareness brought to the audience through visual impact.

I was wondering, if something was purely promoting violence, what kind of presentation would "violence for violence's sake" take? Will it be a form similar to violent aesthetics?

Nicheng | I have seen Quentin's "Kill Bill" two works, which can be said to be relatively famous examples of violent aesthetics. What "Kill Bill" presents to the audience is different from the bloody scenes that Vinyl described in "Operation Red Sea" or "Hacksaw Ridge", which is close to the real, and it will have more drama and exaggeration. For example, there is a scene where the boss of the gang stood on the table and ran to the opposite side because he disagreed with the other party at the dinner table, and cut off the other party's head with a knife. At the time, Quentin's performance was that the man's blood was spitting out like water from a fire hydrant - a clearly unrealistic scene. But he uses such images to intensify the visual presentation with dramatic violence.

Vinyl | I think the more important part of Quentin's work is the soundtrack. Its soundtrack is highly consistent with violent scenes, and it builds an aesthetic concept through the sense of harmony between violence and music. Light-hearted, playful, humorous, in this way of expression, we still feel that it is showing the aesthetics of violence, rather than violence itself.

Echoes | After I mentioned the possibility of "violence for the sake of violence", I've been wondering if I can find some examples of this, but I find it hard to think of. Even the "violence aesthetics" just mentioned, the most directly related form of violence, uses the background of music and exaggerated pictures to express an overall beauty, rather than deepening it purely to express the elements of violence. the level of bloody violence.

Nicheng | I was thinking that in violence there is a distinction between the giver and the receiver. I think Quentin is more from the perspective of a perpetrator. As a perpetrator, he expresses his excitement and pleasure when he exerts violence. This is Quentin's point of view. Works like "Operation Red Sea" or "Blood Battle Hacksaw Ridge" are more about showing scars and pain from the perspective of victims.

They have different purposes and different performance angles, which will lead to different channels for presenting violence.

Ricky | Just when Nicheng mentioned the behavior of the abuser, I remembered an example from my past life. When I was in middle school, the school once organized an outing. On the bus to Cheng, the classmate next to me has been playing a game. I don’t remember the specific name of the game, but I still remember that the content of the game is role-playing. Players control the characters to rob and kill, and drive to different places in the city. Locations to complete a variety of violent acts, get a level up. When I got out of the car, I asked him how he was feeling now, and he told me that he had an urge to rush up and fight pedestrians to the death. Various skills in the game make violent behavior very easy. I just wanted to say that although it is different from reality, it may still cause players to have a violent psychological impulse in the short term.

Echoes | Combining the examples we talked about earlier, we can see that there is a difference made by perspective. From the author's point of view, violence is often a carrier, a means and a tool, not an end. He is not "violent for violence's sake". We discuss the real-world impact of media violence, as Ricky said, because the real-world impact is more on the recipient side of the work. When they experienced the work, they accepted the violent element in it, which had some impact on his emotions, and even further externalized into behavior and even had a long-term impact on his concept.

Iris | You just mentioned some past experiences. Although those violent episodes did not bring you a big impact, we will still see that when children see some violent episodes, they will imitate the actions. But I think that to deal with such real influence, the main body of responsibility is not the cartoon itself, but the parents. Children of different age groups have different receptive abilities. Younger children have weak receptive ability and judgment ability. They do need the guidance of parents to pay attention to the impact of animation and film and television works on children.

Xiaoyue|In this series of links, the role of parents is worth considering. Among the reasons for the removal of "Ultraman Tiga" were reports from parent groups. Some parents felt that the elements of violence affected their children's minds, so they reported to the relevant departments and asked the relevant works to be removed from the shelves.

Ricky | I have carefully read the file "Investigation Report on the Safe Consumption of Infringement on the Growth of Minors in the Animation Field" related to the delisting of "Ultraman Tiga". It was released based on some parents' concerns that their children were affected by the violence in cartoons.

However, it is also mentioned in the report that parents have the responsibility to help children filter information, help children filter the media content they are exposed to, and can also conduct co-viewing or accompanying education as appropriate.

Echoes | Iris mentioned that since children lack the ability to discriminate, parents may indeed need to do a content screening. So when it comes to the issue of screening, combined with the topic of content censorship, we should think about it, if the relevant departments and the subject responsible for content censorship delete the work into a "safe" version before the public has access to it, Has the public been deprived of the right to make choices? I think that screening is necessary, but I don't quite agree with the screening pipeline and screening nodes that "reduced by relevant departments in advance and then presented to the public". The content presented to children can be screened by parents; the content presented to students can be screened by teachers in the school. I think such a channel may be more suitable.

Ricky | Due to some public opinion and subsequent pressure from relevant departments, station B has greatly reduced the number of fan dramas introduced in April this year, and many fan dramas that are expected to be launched that month have been postponed or even no longer introduced. I'd be more worried about creating a kind of "shocked" situation. After such an event, platforms like Station B will reduce the introduction of fan dramas with specific themes in response to public opinion and the reaction of relevant departments. I think we need to take into account that the audience for these fan shows is not just children, but a lot of adults as well.

2

Review and Grading

Ma Ye | When it comes to the censorship of media violence, we can rethink the classification system adopted by many countries. In some countries, media works are graded according to a standard to suit the needs of different age groups. Do you think this is likely to get better results?

Nicheng | The grading system in the United States was implemented earlier and more effective. It divides the works into four levels, the first level is the Fox level, which is "all ages" works with no age limit, and there is no sensitive content; the second level "recommended parental guidance", some of which may not be suitable for Children watch; there is also a level of "special attention by parents", which means that some content is not suitable for children under the age of thirteen to watch; and further up there is a level setting that is completely unsuitable for minors to watch.

I think that direct deletion is a castration of film and television works, and the content of the works themselves will definitely become incomplete. For example, movies such as Lust and Caution and Apple, their violent pornographic content acts as a role in promoting the plot and expressing the ideas of the work. After the deletion, the work has been separated from its original appearance, which is also disrespect to the producer.

Rather than cutting, I think it's better to limit the audience that can reach it. Strict grading can protect unsuitable audiences, and there is no need to change the work itself. I have always believed that a grading system is necessary.

Vinyl | Personally, I am more supportive of the grading system. I think the unreasonable part of the “one size fits all” censorship system itself is, for example, the issue of fan dramas. Since my middle school days, I have memories of the fan dramas I'm chasing being taken off the shelves or suddenly deleted. I still remember that there was a drama called "Blood Frontier", which was later renamed "Illusionary Front". I don't know if the word "blood" is changed because the word itself is sensitive or there are other reasons. But with the name change, we see all the blood in the show turning into something other than red, which would feel ridiculous.

As Nicheng said, deletion makes the work incomplete and lacks a certain meaning. For example, you mentioned the key violent and erotic scenes in Ang Lee's films. Will they cause minors' bad tendencies? This in itself must be an issue for which the answer is uncertain, and there are bound to be positive or negative conclusions from different studies. In the communication theory I have studied, there are many objections to "the violent element causes the violent tendency of children". Since the conclusion of the matter itself is ambiguous, a "one size fits all" would result in viewers of all ages inaccessible to certain content such as violence. These elements are not out of touch with our life, they are part of our real life, but they are completely castrated in film and television works. Leaving aside the unresolved question of "the effect of the plot of the work on children," it would be strange if that content wasn't accessible to adults either. I am very supportive of the rating system. After coming to Hong Kong, I can see Hong Kong’s rated movies, which really brings me a completely different experience.

Iris | I agree with Vinyl that we cannot assume that children will necessarily absorb those elements of violence, and that it is difficult to be influenced by the themes of truth, goodness and beauty. And I mentioned the grading system just now. The result of a single censorship system is that everyone sees works that are "suitable for all ages" in theaters, but it may also be "unsuitable for all ages". It is difficult to balance the needs of multiple parties. .

Echoes | As mentioned by the previous students, a very important difference between the single censorship system and the hierarchical censorship system for the presentation of works is "one size fits all", and a formula is set before the works are presented to the public. Only a castrated version can be seen: and the rating system is equivalent to providing a guide and guide, it tells you what kind of pictures you will see in what grade of work, and what sensitive content may be involved. In other words, the system not only allows the audience to complete an evasion, but for children, it can evade some inappropriate violent content. Parents can also choose on their behalf, but at least this is a judgment and choice based on grading, not that the appearance of the work has been changed in advance, and the audience can only be forced to accept it. In addition, as Iris said, the grading system plays a role in meeting the needs of the audience. If I want to seek visual stimulation, if I want to find a violent aesthetic work with intense scenes to enjoy, the grading system can also help cater to my needs. Need, help me to find the corresponding works.

Vinyl | A one-size-fits-all approach, which cuts not only to children but also adults, and whose boundaries are unclear. This nebulous line has shown a marked tightening trend this year. In the past, we would see some prominent violence in movies, full of blood, but recent movies are almost all family reunions, and it is rare to see violence, pornography-related scenes or even edge balls. One thing I want to mention in particular is the "self-censorship" caused by "one size fits all". It is inevitable for directors or content producers to think: Will this part of my content be cut off? Will it not be suitable for the audience to watch? Will it be unavailable? This will further affect the expression of the work and change the original intention of the creators.

Echoes | When we discussed "Why Violence Is Used", we've already said that the expression of art is rarely "violent for violence's sake". Then, following what Vinyl just said, while we are restricting forms and means, a worse result is that we are also restricting the expression of value.

Ma Ye | One point I want to draw is that there are actually problems within the grading system. For example, how to decide the standard of the grading system, and what kind of institution or subject decides? Is there some bias in this standard itself? For example, there was a news incident before. A Taiwanese organization called the "Partner League" launched a protest a few years ago, pointing out that Taiwan's film rating system is homophobic. As long as the film contains gay content, it will be classified as "unsuitable for children" watch". This is also a very interesting point, how to correct or balance the prejudice within the grading system.

Xiaoyue|I personally think that even if we implement a whole set of grading system in the mainland, in the final analysis it will be included in the national discourse system, and to some extent, it still needs to reflect the value needs of the country. This reminds me of the issue of "eliminating sissy culture and promoting masculinity" that was discussed in February this year, and we might as well include this matter in our discussion on media violence.

3

gender and violence

Iris | Speaking of the relationship between violence and masculinity, I suddenly remembered a movie that everyone is familiar with - "Wolf Warrior". I actually think a lot of the scenes in this film are quite violent, but it seems that because he shows a positive masculinity and a positive image of the national football team, everyone will think that this is full of vigor, and will not think that it is a kind of "improper" Violence".

Echoes | I think the example Iris mentioned is particularly good. Returning to the issue of censorship just mentioned, we will find that there are also some violent elements that make us feel obviously uncomfortable in "Wolf Warrior" and "Operation Red Sea", but they have not been deleted. This has to make us think, what is the purpose of censorship against media violence? Is it to limit the scenes of violence, the degree of violence, or to limit the output of some specific values? In addition, it can also be expanded. For example, is the restriction on erotic content restricting the expression of sexual culture and sex education, rather than just restricting the content itself?

This point made by Vinyl | Echoes makes sense. We can especially note that the mainland's film censorship is particularly sensitive to the topic of sex. It's not just in censorship, it's in fact throughout our entire lives. For example, many schools do not have a complete sex education system and so on. We still shy away from the topic of "sex" too much. In education it is absent, in life it is sensitive. Many times it appears as a kind of ridicule, in short, it has a bit of "shameless" meaning. In film and television works, it has naturally received special attention.

The example of "Wolf Warrior" also made me think, if "Wolf Warrior" is praised for promoting "masculine", then why was the equally "masculine" "Ultraman Tiga" removed from the shelves? This reminds me of masculinity and violence itself, which are inherently related. Or, in the context of patriarchy, masculinity often means a kind of control. Through the control and injury of an object, it reflects its own strength and sense of power. This sense of strength and power is actually attached to what is called masculinity. There’s a sociological term called “toxic masculinity” — a term that sounds unprofessional but it’s a term — and it’s defined as “oppression and devaluation of women, denigration of comrades, and wanton violence.”

Masculinity was originally supposed to be a neutral word, but in a patriarchal culture, male dominance forces him to attach many connotations of control, domination, and conquest. I don't know if you have seen the TV series or novels with the theme of "overbearing president", and there are many plots against women's wishes such as rape, but there are still some audiences who still think that such men are particularly attractive.

Iris | Similar plots are actually often seen in Korean dramas, such as men pushing women into a corner, women must be reluctant, and men must be active... These plots actually strengthen a stereotyped masculinity or gender relations.

Ricky | Following what Vinyl said before, I think another example of the cultural context of masculinity is body nationalism. We can see that in works such as "Wolf Warrior", the final battle is often completed through the channel of hand-to-hand combat, and physical confrontation is used to reflect strength and bravery, and even implies the connotation of national power. Why do we worry about sissy or the deterioration of masculinity? Is there a bond between national power and masculinity?

The example mentioned by Echoes | Ricky, this combination of national power and masculinity, reminds me of the promotion of "martial spirit" in official propaganda. We often see some such expressions [Road 2], a nation needs martial spirit, a nation that is not martial is hopeless, and so on. The performance of "Shangwu" may be emphasizing physical exercise and encouraging physical fitness, but it may also be encouraging some expressions of strength in men.

Nicheng | I also want to talk a little more about the "toxic masculinity" Vinyl mentioned earlier. Why it is called "toxic" masculinity, I think, is that it emphasizes "gender dualism", rather than simply highlighting the temperament or character that men should have. The actual starting point is questionable.

Vinyl | This gets me thinking about power. Under the framework of gender dualism, some dominating or violent behaviors against women, the so-called "object" or a relatively subordinate gender, just confirms that men have power and are more subject. Looking at it this way, I think violence and power are also inseparable.

Iris | This reminds me of a previous discussion on rape in a class. When we analyze how these sexual violence reinforces the ideology of binary opposition, we will find that the victims of sexual violence are generally imagined to be women, while the perpetrators All are male. But this is actually inadvertently reinforcing a one-sided mindset. Too often, stereotypes of binary opposition hurt not only women, but men as well. Take, for example, the relatively neglected male victims of sexual violence.

Nicheng | Masculine temperament requires men not to be weak and not to cry when encountering difficulties. "Crying" under the demands of masculinity is a very shameful thing. I have seen a report that we generally think that women have a higher rate of depression, but in fact, there is data that shows that compared with men, the rate of depression is not significantly lower. I think it has a lot to do with people's stereotypes about masculinity, the pressure they put on men.

Vinyl | I'm wondering if people's rejection and fear of sissy correlates to homophobia. We can feel gay as crossing the masculine gender norm. Although it may not be true, in many stereotypes, men who are very "mother" are indeed gay. Another theory is that masculinity can be roughly divided into three categories: dominance, complicity, and subordination. Dominance is the most masculine and powerful temperament people think of; complicity is less powerful, but to some extent profiting from male dominance, or helping to maintain a gender binary; subordination actually includes male With this tendency, it is a temperament that crosses gender boundaries relatively. I wonder if it's because we have a pre-set, fixed gender role that we have a particular fear of people who deviate from that?

Echoes | Combining what Vinyl and Nicheng said, I came up with a very interesting point. About our assumptions about a gender or what gender means. For example, we mentioned the example of crying. In general, it is believed that it is very shameful for men to cry. The so-called "men don't cry easily". But as a tool to express emotions, as a normal physiological response, what is the direct relationship between crying and biological gender? There is a big question mark here. So back to the topic of violence and gender, are we presupposing too much about gender - in the case of men? Men should have what kind of spirit, what kind of character, what kind of control and use of violence and power. Such presuppositions are not necessarily related to gender itself.

Ma Ye | In many current studies, we are actually paying attention to the distinction. In English, two words are distinguished, sex and gender. There is no separate word division in Chinese, sometimes a slash is added in the middle to distinguish them. Sex is more of a biological gender, while gender is a socially constructed gender. We seem to be able to see that even sex, which is a biological sex, can actually flow, he is not binary, and there are many cases of intersex; and gender seems to have become a very opposite thing in the concept. Whether it is to criticize sissy or "homophobia", it may be that these objects or phenomena have broken the order of gender binary opposition, thus causing some people's fear.

Media violence has been a controversial topic since its inception. For a long time, the opinion in society generally believed that it is one of the incentives for juvenile delinquency. But with the development of art and the expansion of research, people began to question and reflect on ideas that seemed logical to them. So far, the impact of media violence on audiences has been inconclusive. Different views on violent elements in cartoons, film and television works, and games also affect the structure of different systems and the concept of different artistic creations. But at least one point, we should reach a consensus: when we discuss the social impact of media violence, the content of violence itself, the audience, possible guardians, institutions and other subjects and objects are all factors that we should consider.

When media violence arises and develops in this era, it cannot be separated from the times. The consumer market, management system, and gender culture will all go hand in hand with media violence. We cannot assert that in the foreseeable future, there will be a clear answer about media violence, but only if Fox discusses and explores it, it is possible to continue to approach the truth of media violence.

Drafting/hosting | Xiaoyue

Entry|Gongfan

Review | Nicole

Figure | Source Network

WeChat editor | bibo

matters Editor | Marks

Around the Fire (ID:weilu_flame)

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