Entertainment replicates real life. What happens in the real world is mimicked on television, the theatre, in films and above all in computer gaming. Violence in films has always been with us, from the very earliest gangster films such as, ‘The Musketeers of Pig Alley {1912} which was a film about organized crime, ‘The Moonshiners’ {1904} ‘A Desperate Encounter Between Burglars and Police’ {1905}, and ‘The Black Hand’ {1906.}

All of the above were some of the very earliest gangster films - that are still available now. The copyright on the above films has long since ceased to exist, so they are available on the public domain to show to whomever you wish. All of the above films contained violence that replicated what society was like during the early part of the 20th century.

Silent stars such as Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, and even Laurel and Hardy {who had appeared in quite a few silent films before they made talking films,} all took part in violence within their movies in some form or other. The fact of the matter was that even back then violence paid, as the public flocked in their droves to watch the films.

Film directors have always used violence as an art form in order to entertain the masses. In many cases, the violence was exaggerated in order to give a film that ‘extra something’, but the basic philosophy, as explained above, remained the same - that violence pays. When the silent films were replaced with talking films, there was no let-up in the violence that was displayed - or in the audience that flocked to watch the films.

Even cartoons were not exempt from violence, such as ‘Felix the Cat’ In fact television broadcasting - which began in 1928 - began with ‘Felix the Cat. Cartoons starring Felix, were nearly always violent, loud, and very fast moving. At one point, Felix, created by Otto Messmer, a New Jersey cartoonist, was even more famous than the real film stars of the day.

Some would say that Felix was the precursor to Tom and Jerry {Warner Bros} which also contained huge amounts of violence. And when one looks back through the history of cartoons, violence had always been one of the main ingredients - not to mention a staple diet - of them all. Road Runner, Mickey Mouse, the Pink Panther, and many others, all contained violence of some sort or other.

Films up to the present day all contain violence which seems to be getting worse with each new production. As explained above, from the very earliest gangster films and westerns, to Film Noir, Die Hard, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, The Omen, The Exorcist, and so on, it seems violence pays, and continues to entertain an audience who cannot get enough of it.

Violence in the theatre { such as Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the Woman in Black, and others} are done in an artistic way. However, the fact remains that violence in whatever form was used to ‘push; the productions along. And of course, violence in computer video gaming has also been the main ingredient to push the sale of the games. Games such as ‘Warhammer’, Medieval Total War’ ‘Die Hard’ and many more, contain violence that many feel is unacceptable.

Studies had been done in which it was said that violence in computer gaming, films and television shows, contributed to the escalation in violence in society as a whole. There is no hard evidence for this, and this is still being looked into. No matter which way one looks at it, violence as an entertainment tool pays, and it is here to stay…for the foreseeable future.

It has to be said though, that violence in films has been copied in real life today. As to what extent, no one really knows as studies are still being done. Adult ratings on computer games has been made law, to let people know just how violent a certain game may be. It is now against the law for any child below a certain age to purchase a game with an adult rating. Yet, the law does not cover their parents, who still routinely purchase the games anyway for their children.

Does it mean that because there was violence in silent films years ago, that the public were influenced and copied what they saw on the screen? There is no hard evidence for this, as much as the jury is still out about violence mimicking what is on the screen today. But, what seems to be the noises coming out from psychologists, is that violence in today’s society copies what is seen in games, films and cartoons.