Content: Amount of Violence
by
C. Koutavoulis and R. Ellerson

The Question

Is there more or less violence in the British media than in the U.S. media? Violence can be defined as involving or using great physical force. It is ‘intense, vehement, passionate, furious, vivid; resulting from external force or from poison’. To research violence in TV, film, and print, this specific definition was used throughout. Violence is defined in this study by fights, shootings, stabbing, and other* (including and not limiting punching, slapping, pushing, choking, igniting, hanging, raping, and torturing). The purpose is to get an overview of the total amount of violence that occurred in each medium. A comparison was conducted in order to find out which country had more or less violence in their respective media.

Methods/Results: Television

To analyze the amount of violence on TV, two major channels for three 2-hour intervals will be selected, recorded, and viewed. The scale created allowed that every time a fight, shooting, stabbing, or other* occurred, it would be counted. The local London channels (BBC1, BBC2, ITV-3, CH.4, and CH.5) were placed in a hat and two were randomly selected. The two channels selected and viewed were BBC 1 and ITV-3. Next, the local N.Y. channels (5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 21, 41, and 47) were placed in a hat and two were randomly selected. The two N.Y. channels selected and viewed were Channel 7 ABC and Fox 5. Both London and New York channels were viewed on Thursday November 4, 1999. Three time slots were selected; they include 6.00-8.00, 12.00-14.00, and 18.00-20.00.

The research showed that British and U.S. TV programming were very similar in the grand total amount of violence. The numbers show the British having a slightly greater amount of violence in comparison to the U.S. Also, the British focused more on shootings than the U.S.

Click here to go to British/U.S. TV Graph

Methods/Results: Film

To research film, the London Timeout issue number 1524 provided a listing of the top U.S. film rentals in the U.K. The forty-third London Film Festival magazine provided the top British films that made an impact in the U.S. In order to compare violence between British and U.S. films, a scale was created. The scale created allowed a count for every time a fight, shooting, stabbing, or other* occurred in a scene, it was recorded. The purpose is to get an overview of the total amount of violence that occurred in each film. By comparing those amounts, it showed which country’s films contained more or less violence. The two British films selected for the study were Lock, Stock, and two Smoking Barrels and Elizabeth. The two U.S. films selected were The Faculty and eXisteNz. All the films were rented from Prime Video.

Overall, British films contained more violence than U.S. films. The graph shows that both British and U.S. films contained more other* (including and not limiting punching, slapping, pushing, choking, igniting, hanging, raping, and torturing) than any of the other violence categories. The research also showed that one of the two films from Britain and one of the two films from the U.S. varied considerably when compared to its native counterpart, more than doubling the amount of violence recorded.

Click here to go to British/U.S. Film Graph

Methods/Results: Newspapers

To research print, three popular British and U.S. newspapers, both tabloid and broadsheet, were purchased. The research compared three issues of each newspaper. The scale created allowed a count every time the topic of violence was used in reference to the cover page, headline, article, or graphic in the newspaper. The purpose is to get an overview of the total amount of violence that occurred in each newspaper. The research compared the amount of violence in order to find out which country had more or less violence in their newspapers. The three British newspapers selected were Telegraph, and Camden New Journal. The three U.S. The Guardian, The Daily newspapers selected were and the Philadelphia Inquirer, which are both local, The Daily News and newspapers were selected randomly because of their USA Today which is national. These popularity. The dates of each British newspaper were November 3, 4, and 5 except the Camden New Journal 28, and November 4. The dates of each U.S. newspaper which was October 21, include October 17, 18, and 19.

Research showed that British and U.S. newspapers were very similar in the total amount of violence reported. The numbers showed the British having a slightly greater amount of violence in comparison to the U.S. It also showed that cover pages of both British and U.S. newspapers contained very little violence.

Click here to go to British/U.S. Newspapers Graph

Conclusions

The research showed British media containing more violence in the TV time slots studied, films viewed, and newspapers read in comparison to the U.S. In British television there was a grand total of 39 references/images of violence. In U.S. television there was a grand total of 36 references/images of violence. In British films there was a grand total of 49 violent scenes. In U.S. films there was a grand total of 38 violent scenes. In British print there was a grand total of 163 occurrences in reference to the topic of violence. In U.S. print there was a grand total of 156 occurrences in reference to the topic of violence. Possible psychological questions include: if there is more violence in British media does that also make British society more violent as compared to the U.S.? If there is more violence in British media, how does that effect the way British society views the U.S.?

Sources/For More Information

• http://www.tvguide.com
• London Time Out
• London Film Festival