Why We Watch: The Attractions of Violent Entertainment

by Jeffrey H. Goldstein

Why We Watch is the first book to offer a careful look at why we are drawn to depictions of violence and why there is so large a market for violent entertainment. This arresting collection of essays examines the presence of violent imagery not just in contemporary America but across time, from classical antiquity to the present, and not only in film and television but in a fascinating array of cultural domains, including literature, religion, fairy tales, video games, children's toys, photojournalism, and sports. Why We Watch addresses a crucial but rarely considered aspect of the media-violence Why is violent imagery so prevalent? The distinguished contributors, hailing from fields such as anthropology, history, literary theory, psychology, communications, and film criticism, include Allen Guttmann, Vicki Goldberg, Maria Tatar, Joanne Cantor, J. Hoberman, Clark McCauley, Maurice Bloch, Dolf Zillmann, and the volume's editor, Jeffrey Goldstein. Together, they aim to
define what is distinctive about the culture of violence.

Clear, accessible, and timely, this is a book for all who are concerned with the multiple points of access to violent representation.

Genres: Film, Nonfiction

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

Reviews

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought half of the essays in this book were really fascinating. I was impressed to see a volume addressing violence in media and entertainment without automatically taking a stance against it...some of us enjoy something about stylish bloody violence or cheesy gory horror films, and generally function as fairly normal people. This book takes that stance and tries to examine the historical and psychological reasoning behind our fascination.

My favorite essay tackled Bonnie and Clyde and the change that that movied signaled in the portrayal of violence in movies. I also enjoyed the essays on the attraction to sports and a section on gruesome children's stories. However, many of the chapters were very repetitive in their arguments and could get a little caught up in statistics examining every possible correlation. So basically, if you are interested in the subject, maybe just skip around a bit. A complete reading is unnecessary.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

The stage combatant in me wouldn't let me leave this one on the shelf. There's a lot of facts and findings thrown around, but the main conclusion is that there is not nearly enough information to make any conclusions. The numerous theories as to why people like to watch violence are interesting to poke at (particularly in how perspectives have changed over time), but not quite as insightful for a stage fighter as I had hoped. Some chapters are merely dry listings of study results. However, the sections exploring specifically what subtleties make observed violence attractive or unattractive I think make it a worthwhile read alone.