I am a huge Eminem fan, and I know a lot of people get offended by the things he says and shows in his videos (particularly women.) I actually find his songs and videos humorous, I know how to take a joke. However his videos are an example of happy violence. "The real Slim Shady" is an old video and you hear him say something about a man beating a woman worse than before, but the scene is "funny" and then the next scene shows Eminem running around in a Superhero costume laughing.
An example from television is American Horror Story, I am a huge fan of the show. I will admit at times it is a little too graphic, but I can not stop watching. It is loaded with senseless killings and there is never any real consequences, and all of the seasons take place in modern times. Basically most of the characters kill at some point and then just move on to the next. The photo below is from a scene (I do not recall what season) but she has just admitted someone was killed like it was cool and no big deal because they "had it coming" then acted like nothing happened.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFqRyxpgOFI
I also loved watching A.H.S, but as the seasons progressed I felt that they got more and more brutal, and the character's are so desensitized to violence, just as your example shows. It is crazy to me because this type of violence on TV would have never been able to air way back in the past, when TV was far more censored.
ReplyDeleteHi Marissa! I really enjoyed your post, and how you found a way to bring in an example from music. I too love Eminem, and find him to be very funny. But you are right, that portion of The Real Slim Shady could possibly be seen as Happy Violence. I had never thought about that.
ReplyDeleteI also like how you also included an example from American Horror Story. I did as well, but I chose a different season to focus on. I knew that there was a lot of death in AHS but for some reason at the time of posting, I could only think of an example from the Asylum season. American Horror Story is a great example of Happy Violence because they'll never have to face the consequences.