When people are faced with the question: “Is violent retribution for socially defined crimes right?” many things are brought to mind. Some may look at it through a set moral code, and others may see each individual case differently and may decide differently each time. An individual’s culture sets the laws and standards that they live by, what is a gruesome crime in one county or religion may be a passing thought in another’s mind. This shows that a question such as this cannot be answered without some form of prejudice. Our society’s ethics stipulate that we should answer: Yes, violence as punishment, revenge, or in any form is wrong. Yet we live in a time where our country has been at war for over half of my lifetime and one where our media extols violence.
It is within human nature to find differences that eventually lead to war, whether it is for riches or religion, we can easily persuade ourselves that what we are doing is right. War is the result of an amoral view on violence as a whole and as a means of vengeance. We use the same methods to justify violence as people thousands of years ago did, religion, greed, and survival are just a few. The multiple wars we are in now stem from, among other things, our need for revenge, and a need for a sense of safety both economically (oil) and physically (terrorism). We have justified countless deaths (by the same means we fear) because of our view of ourselves, our high moral horse, and our supposed needs.
One of the strongest influences and source of interest in our time is our cinema, and we have placed great meaning on violence and brutality. The most popular films have had violent premises, and within that scope we have glorified films that promote fatal vigilante justice. Man on Fire, Dirty Harry, Mad Max, Law Abiding Citizen, and A Time to Kill are some of the most popular of these films and all have a common thread of revenge. Movies have idealized vigilante justice and a life fueled by violence and revenge; they depict characters circumventing the law and even portraying government officials supporting these actions.
The film The Boondock Saints, written and directed by Troy Duffy, has reemerged as a cult classic and been popularized my generation. After a religious epiphany two bothers set out to rid the city of Boston of organized crime through ritualized execution. The acceptance and popularity of this movie goes to show how much we as a society view glorified gratuitous violence as reasonable and vindicated. Almost any film today, whether it is a Spy film or a family oriented superhero film, has a great amount of violence in it.
By: McKenna Johnson, Lydia Lim, & Penny Wang
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