The aesthetics of violence in contemporary media

by Gwyn Symonds

"The topic of violence in the media has been very widely covered. Countless studies and research projects have been conducted, most of which argue its negative effects on society. Gwyn Symonds takes this significant topic one step further: studying the aesthetics of media violence. By defining key terms like the "graphic" nature and "authenticity" of violent representations, and discussing how those definitions are linked to actual violence outside the film and television screen, Symonds demonstrates that the debate on the effects of violence cannot be conducted without recognizing the vast generic and textual variety that characterizes the representation of violence in contemporary media. Symonds uses existing studies for the empirical audience reception data, together with discussions of different representations of violence, to look at violence in the media as an art form in itself. By looking at a range of examples from The Simpsons to The Passion of the Christ and The Sopranos, Sy