I realised that in order to give myself the best possible chance of answering my chosen question (‘What Are The Effects Of On-Screen Violence Upon Audiences? In Relation Reference To The 2007 Virginia Tech Massacre'). I should first research into the background of the perpetrator of the crime, I was not surprised to discover a long running history of mental illness beginning from an early age. A Korean immigrant, Seung-Hui Cho was bullied from an early age because of his speech. Even as a very young child, Cho was thought by family to be ‘mute or possibly mentally ill’ he was described by them as ‘Cold’ and from the age of eight considered a cause of family concern. On December 13th, 2005, Cho was found ‘mentally ill and in need of hospitalisation’ (by New River Valley Community Services Board) he was suspected of being ‘an imminent danger to himself and others’. Although Cho ‘presented an imminent danger to himself and others as a result of mental illness’, he was instead treated as an out patient and for this reason (and due to his minimal amount of psychiatric treatment) the true diagnosis for his actually mental health status to this day remains unknown. It should also be noted that while studying at Virginia Tech, some of Cho’s work had strong references to violence which caused concern among teachers and classmates.
Thursday, 27 November 2008
Seung-Hui Cho
I realised that in order to give myself the best possible chance of answering my chosen question (‘What Are The Effects Of On-Screen Violence Upon Audiences? In Relation Reference To The 2007 Virginia Tech Massacre'). I should first research into the background of the perpetrator of the crime, I was not surprised to discover a long running history of mental illness beginning from an early age. A Korean immigrant, Seung-Hui Cho was bullied from an early age because of his speech. Even as a very young child, Cho was thought by family to be ‘mute or possibly mentally ill’ he was described by them as ‘Cold’ and from the age of eight considered a cause of family concern. On December 13th, 2005, Cho was found ‘mentally ill and in need of hospitalisation’ (by New River Valley Community Services Board) he was suspected of being ‘an imminent danger to himself and others’. Although Cho ‘presented an imminent danger to himself and others as a result of mental illness’, he was instead treated as an out patient and for this reason (and due to his minimal amount of psychiatric treatment) the true diagnosis for his actually mental health status to this day remains unknown. It should also be noted that while studying at Virginia Tech, some of Cho’s work had strong references to violence which caused concern among teachers and classmates.
Wednesday, 26 November 2008
Proposal
My intention for my critical research study is to investigate the effects on-screen violence has upon its audiences, with particular attention to the Virginia Tech Massacre.
I plan to conduct this research using a range of focus groups, during which I shall show a select group of people (from varying age groups) a number of scenes selected from various films considered violent, one of which shall be from ‘Old Boy’. I shall then ask the people their opinions of the scenes and the way they make them feel and think etc. I shall also use questionnaires and a range of secondary sources including BBC coverage of the events and news articles from the Times Online (which originally published in news papers).
I have particular interest in this topic since hearing of the Virginia Tech massacre, which was supposedly committed due to a combination of viewing ‘violent films’ and a wish to ‘repeat Columbine’. I have a firm belief that the simple exposure to violent material will not compel a person to copy that which they see. However, I do appreciate that people with histories of mental illness may be tempted towards violence because of on-screen violence as was the case at Virginia Tech.
I plan to conduct this research using a range of focus groups, during which I shall show a select group of people (from varying age groups) a number of scenes selected from various films considered violent, one of which shall be from ‘Old Boy’. I shall then ask the people their opinions of the scenes and the way they make them feel and think etc. I shall also use questionnaires and a range of secondary sources including BBC coverage of the events and news articles from the Times Online (which originally published in news papers).
I have particular interest in this topic since hearing of the Virginia Tech massacre, which was supposedly committed due to a combination of viewing ‘violent films’ and a wish to ‘repeat Columbine’. I have a firm belief that the simple exposure to violent material will not compel a person to copy that which they see. However, I do appreciate that people with histories of mental illness may be tempted towards violence because of on-screen violence as was the case at Virginia Tech.
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