WHY SEX IS BAD & VIOLENCE WORKS IN MOVIES

In America, there is always this ongoing debate about sex & violence. Opponents of censorship always point out the hypocrisy of parents becoming enraged by sex, love, and general intimacy in cinema. Yet, these same parents are soft on bemoaning extreme violence served by the same people. So you have to ask why is one alright (or not as bad) and not the other. From a logical standpoint, if you had to choose, I'm sure most people will say its better to make a life than to take one, but that's not the case when it comes to movies. Well there are a few factors that once you understand it will make complete rational sense.

The 1st and far-reaching is that America is founded by Puritans. These people hate sex, and anything associated with it is sinful and detracts from God. This may carry over to older crowds who prefer the idea of a stork delivering you a baby on your window sill. It can apply to the 50's TV ethos of sleeping in separate beds even though you're happily married. But personally I've never been raised with this mindset, but I've always hated sex in movies, and felt it didn't work.

My theory is group consciousness. When a large group of people gather together they share a common state of mind. That's how church and concerts work. People feed off of one another, that's why when you see someone yawn, you start doing it. It's also why they say "laughter is contagious", which is what led to the creation of the "laugh track" for TV shows. Even if a joke isn't that funny, if you hear people laughing, you probably will give a chuckle too.

Which leads to sex & violence. Essentially, in a movie theater the collective mind is not prepared to engage in sex, but it is prepared to engage in violence. Sex is intimate and personal, something to be shared between 2 people. To ask a large group in a movie theater to participate in the emotion of sex, love and passion, is tantamount to inviting them to an orgy. Now, while most people may experiment sexually, if given the opportunity to engage in an orgy, most people would likely decline. Case in point, I offer this Seinfeld scene where he recoils at the offer of a threesome.



With that said, this only applies to movie theaters, once you are in the privacy of your home they don't apply. If you have a sex scene for a movie, it's better left for the director's cut on the DVD. The only way sex works in a theater is if its comical. Comedy supersedes all trauma, b/c it can be brushed off if it becomes controversial to the psyche.

Now violence on the other hand has always been apart of the "American way". Violence is how we achieved our goals. We created "manifest destiny" in opposition to "uniform destiny". It plays to our most base emotion of taking w/out asking. Even when it came to cavemen, if they wanted to have sex, it was probably preceded by violence. [Picture a woman being clocked over the head with a club and being drug to a cave]. In a movie theater violence incites mob mentality, and everyone wants to be apart of the group. Child psychologist note this even among children who pick on others even when they don't really have a problem with a particular child. Everyone follows the lead of the alpha child, b/c its better to kick someone, than to be the person being kicked. These same rules apply to cinema, but the movie itself is the alpha child. So while we may hate violence, it actually, in a morbid way, is a form of camaraderie and a tool for bringing us together.