response to the response to violence.

I like what peter Chattaway says about violence and the questions that need to be asked about it.  The "who is the appropriate audience" question is a really good one. I think that the answer could be anyone who is not offended by it, and anyone who is mature enough to handle it.  Merely asking if we should allow it in film takes away the entire possibility of movies that speak against violence by showing it. Movies like Saving Private Ryan and Pulp Fiction.

Another good point is that there are definitely other violent forms of media that we do not censor.  I read some very violent books as a child, things like redwall and the chronicles of narnia.  In redwall the creatures actually get a bloodlust where their eyes turn red and they kill until there is nothing left to kill. this is an awfully violent thing, but the series is a children's series nonetheless. Some music even, things like pink floyd and gillian welch that seem safe for children, are actually quite violent. in Pink Floyd's dog's of war it is all about kill of be killed mentality.  Gillian welch sings about killing a man and vanishing into the night.  not really things you want kids to do, but they don't get censored like a film would if it had the same ideas.

they seem to disagree on when violence is unnecessary and when it can prove a point.  one viewpoint says we should turn off the violence in things like saving private ryan, but the other says we need to see these horrible truths about the world in film, or else they mean nothing. if a film shows only the good side of life, what good is it?  but also there needs to be some good because only the bad side desensitizes and depresses us.  

I think that violence in films is okay because the viewer should discern wether or not they themselves are okay with it before they see the film.  I have an aunt who walked out of the movie V for Vendetta in theaters because of its violence.  I think that instead of complaining about it so much, people who are offended by it should just be like her and walk away from it.  She agreed that it was a good movie, at least what she saw, it was just too violent for her. I like how she didn't judge the movie on its violence content.  More people should do that so that we don't have violent debates about it.  People should not condemn films for everyone because of violence content, they should just recognize that they themselves don't like it and also see that it can bring about realizations of humanity that could not happen without it.