The Semiotic Role of Violence in American Films

Paper Summary:

This paper examines cultural conflict through dramatic recreations or presentations of these conflicts in American film narrative. The paper holds that, in the popular media, violence has a semiotic role. To much of the world, the paper adds, film violence is a mark of American culture, and many social critics within the U.S. find the same to be true. The paper points out that many filmmakers state that they are not fostering violence but only exploring it, and with some films, the issue of using violence in popular culture is itself examined either directly as a subject or as an inherent element in the structure of the film. The paper concludes that violence is a particular sign in the film, a sign that may mean its direct cause, like anger and fear, or that may reflect something larger about society, such as alienation or lack of empathy.

From the Paper:

"Consider Tarantino's "Reservoir Dogs", a film that takes a satiric look at itself, at the genre of the caper film and the dynamics of betrayal and the criminal code seen in such films. The film is extremely violent, which for many viewers may mask the satiric thrust of the story and the way the interplay of characters involves a twisted sense of morality, the so-called "honor among thieves" that here is a palpable presence holding together a group of professional criminals who have nothing else to believe in except that they will be able to rely on each other. As the film unfolds, though, they can rely on nothing in a universe of random events over which they have no control."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Nichols, Bill. Representing Reality: Issues and Concepts in Documentary. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1991.
• Rosenthal, Alan. The Documentary Conscience: A Casebook in Film Making. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1988.
• Tarantino, Quentin. Reservoir Dogs. Miramax, 1992.
• Thompson, Kristin and David Bordwell. Film History: An Introduction. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1994.

More papers on The Semiotic Role of Violence in American Films:

• Essay # 110165 : "The Evolved Role of Governance in the United States"
• Term Paper # 1200 : "The Changing Roles of Women in American Society"
• Essay # 32178 : "The Political Role of Women In Southeast Asia and Latin America"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: