Violence

“The beast snatched at the first man he came to, ripped him apart, cut his body to bits with powerful jaws. Drank the blood from his veins and bolted him down, hands and feet; death. And his great teeth came together, snapping life shut.” This vivid description creates quite a gruesome picture as the reader is forced to imagine the awful scene. One would not think that such an excerpt could be taken from a piece that dates back to 700-1000 a.d. What could such a tale be, you may ask? None other than Beowulf, a seemingly innocent story that can be found in school literature books, and is even part of the curriculum. This raises several questions; has society become desensitized by modern violence; that something like this can be seen as merely innocent? Can it be speculated that the violence started right here in Beowulf? Or even, is violence and aggression a part of human nature itself; is it something that does not have to be learned? Does violence in film and music alter an individual’s personality? Also, does violent in video games create an early desensitization to violence in today’s youth?

The movie Hills Have eyes was released to theaters around the world March 10th 2006, and was a remake of the old 1977 Wes Craven classic thriller. Since then the motion picture has been re-mastered on DVD, and available for purchase by anyone who wants to see the ghastly picture. Taking a first glance at the cover, I felt an odd feeling in my stomach. It is a picture of a dirty, battered a bruised arm. The glove that the creature wears is so old that the tips have been completely worn, as fingers stained black from filth protrude through the holes; this hand holds down a young woman’s face; all this in front of an