Viewing Violence: Audience Perceptions of Violent Content in Audio-Visual Entertainment (November 2008)
Some people argue that violence in the media is having a negative effect on society – that people are becoming desensitised to violence because there's so much of it on our screens. Others argue that people, especially older people, are able to understand that you can't copy the violence you see on television and film without it having negative consequences.
For this research the Classification Office teamed up with the Broadcasting Standards Authority to look at how members of the public felt about violence on television, film and DVD (this research did not include video games).
We asked young people for their opinion
The research involved young people aged between 14 and 17, as well as adults aged over 18. Different clips were shown to the under-18 participants, with clips taken from M, R13, R15 and R16 shows and films. The Chief Censor granted an exemption allowing the researchers to show one clip from an R18 movie to young people.
Participants were shown clips from a range of films and television
Participants viewed short clips which depicted different types of violence in a variety of contexts.
These clips were shown only to participants aged 14-17
- Sin City
- CSI
- Out of the Blue
- 8 Mile
- Heroes
These clips were shown only to participants aged 18 and over
- Fight Club
- Kidulthood
- Hostel
- The Sopranos
- Eye for an Eye
These clips were shown to all participants
- Balls of Steel
- King of the Cage
- Family Guy
Participants were concerned that too much violence on-screen could negatively influence young people
Participants thought that people could become desensitised to violence if they saw too much of it. They were also concerned that young people could be emotionally or pyschologically harmed if they saw material that was not suitable for their age.
Read the results of the Viewing Violence research (PDF v7.0, 1.79MB)
