Who Threw the First Punch?

In this week's reading, John Grisham argues that depictions of violence in films such as Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers inspire similar behavior in real life. Stone defended his film and claimed that depictions of violence do not inspire violence in society. Studies and debate go on, while media and popular culture continue to portray violence in television, video games, film, and music. In this Discussion, you will have the opportunity to assess and debate the societal impact of violence.

1. To prepare for this Discussion:

2. Review this week's Learning Resources.

3. As you did last week, note the Discussion Group to which you have been assigned. You are in Group C.

Your group will discuss Movies.

1. Find one or two specific texts within the media type assigned to your group that demonstrate the impact of depictions of media violence. (Remember that modern popular culture texts refers to movies, TV shows, pieces of music, books, magazines, etc. Also, modern popular culture references are not restricted to recent examples.)

2. Examine depictions of violence and the degrees of depiction in media.

3. Reflect on the influence depictions of violence may or may not have.