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The Why Factor: Violent Entertainment

Violent Entertainment

02/08/2013

BBC World Service - The Why Factor, Violent Entertainment

What explains our enduring attraction to violent entertainment?

What explains our attraction to violent entertainment and what kind of violence are we most drawn to?

***Warning: This programme contains graphic descriptions of violence***
Why are we so drawn to violent entertainment? Violent films, video games and stories are very popular, as were brutal gladiatorial Roman contests and gory 14th Century jousts. What explains this enduring attraction to violence? Helena Merriman talks to the Mexican director of Heli, a professor of fairy tales and joins one of London’s most gruesome serial killer tours to answer this week’s question.

(Image of Daniel Craig pointing a gun, as James Bond. Credit: Eon productions via Press Association)

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