Blood and Violence On Demand So tonight I discovered an entirely new and life-changing feature that I never even knew came with my cable package. Behold: HBO On Demand—a treasure-trove of past episodes of shows such as Sex and the City and the Sopranos, as well as a vast selection of movies to satisfy every possible taste. Giddy with excitement, I parked myself in front of the TV to choose my lineup for the evening. I decided to watch Blood Diamond…again… because nothing beats Leonardo and that sexy South African accent.

What struck me was how much violence actually exists in the movie. For some reason this wasn’t something that really stood out when I saw the movie the first time around. When I first saw the movie I had been completely unaware of this conflict diamond market, so I think the violence in the movie took a backseat to my reactions to this issue itself. I didn’t really view the violence as “violence,” but rather as something that added to my understanding of the subject. Movies like Blood Diamond benefit from the use of violence in a way that I don’t feel our readings have really stressed.

So I will continue to sit down in front of my television set like the rest of the world, and tune into violent movies like Blood Diamond, murder-ridden episodes of the Sopranos, and sexually graphic episodes of Sex and the City. But I will remain convinced that this exposure will never contribute to my being a murderous, violent whore… it hasn’t seemed to yet.  ¶ posted by Kristen at 10:42 PM •