Glamorized Violence in Films
Movies are a great way to tell stories. They are also a great way to send a message out. The thing is that sometimes movies tend to glamorize certain situation that can give the wrong message.
According to Bell Hooks article, “ Ending Violence,” “By far one of the most widespread positive interventions of contemporary feminist movement remains the effort to create and sustain greater cultural awareness of domestic violence as well as the changes that must happen in our thinking and action if we are to see its end.” Hooks makes the point that when we call male violence against women violence “domestic violence” we tend to “soften” the violence because we are limiting the violence to only a single violence. She makes the point that if we were to change the language of the way we refer to “domestic violence” it can help end the violence against women.
Hooks states that we should refer to this violence as patriarchal violence instead. Hooks defines Patriarchal violence in the home as it being based on the belief that it is acceptable for a more powerful individual to control others through various forms of coercive force. Violence tends to be linked to who has more power and action out that power towards someone. If we keep this definition then it opens the door to include violence against anyone. Especially, since violence doesn’t only happen with man and women relationships. It also happens between same sex marriages.
The thing is that movie tend to glamorize domestic violence. Violence it not any easy thing to escape from. Especially, when someone share a relationship with the person who is acting violence towards them. The movie “Enough” portrays this glamorization of violence. They synopsis of the film, is about a woman who meets the man of her dreams and later finds out that he is not what he appears to be. He becomes very abusive towards her and she runs away with her daughter. He later finds her and the only way to protect herself is by killing him. So the whole film becomes this cat and mouse hunt.
According to the Domestic Violence hotline, on average, it takes a victim seven times to leave before staying away for good. The movie makes it seem that it is that easy to leave a relationship like this. Another filmed that glamorized violence against women was the film “Extremities.” This film is about a women who is mugged one night and sexually assaulted. The man who abused her later finds where she lives and he starts abusing her again. She then turns the table on him and goes on this revenge hunt against him.
This glamorizes violence because this scenario that the movie show does not really happen in real life. Most women cannot easily get out of a situation like this. According to the Domestic Violence Shelter, about 4,000 women die each year due to domestic violence and 75 percent of the victims were killed as they attempted to leave the relationship or after the relationship ended.
So what can you do to help end violence against women?
One thing you can do is help end all forms of violence. This goes back to what Bell Hooks was saying about Patriarchal violence. Domestic violence tends to be connected to other forms of violence. For example, Child abuse can be connected to domestic violence. According to the Domestic Violence Shelter, Seventy-three percent of male abusers were abused as children. People who suffered from child abuse tend to have a lot of physiological problems and tend to get into abuse relationships because that is what they have been taught. People who were abused as children tended to also abuse people back. This then leads to a cycle of violence.
Another thing we can do is teach both men and women not to use violence against others. Violence is not just a male trait even thought that is something that society has said. Both women and men can be violent. If we teach both men and women not to use violence then it can help end violence on both ends.
