Tv Violence

To any viewer who thinks "Sons of Anarchy" is too violent, consider the bright side: At least the castration scene got … um … deleted. Kurt Sutter, creator of the drama about a California motorcycle gang, presented the idea of showing a character getting the unkindest cut early in the run of the show, now FX's highest-rated. But he backed off after the network's chief objected. "I have no filters," Sutter said with a laugh. "I just assume everyone feels the way I do about things.

Years after she first saw "The Passion of the Christ," Lori Pearson still feels queasy when she recalls the brutally graphic movie about the final hours of Jesus' life. "After I left the theater I remember feeling physically uncomfortable," said Pearson, a Dublin, Ohio, mother of two teenagers who writes movie reviews for the website Kids in Mind . "It was gruesome torture sequence after gruesome torture sequence. That kind of thing has a tendency to stay with me. " Pearson and her husband, Aris Christofides, started writing highly descriptive online reviews in 1992 to help parents navigate the sometimes confusing nature of movie ratings, but over the years their audience has evolved to include an unexpected group: adults looking to avoid certain types of screen violence themselves.

You may object to TV violence, but producers know that more bullets mean more bucks. They have discovered the modern alchemy; turning lead into gold. WILFRED COUZIN Laguna Niguel

To any viewer who thinks "Sons of Anarchy" is too violent, consider the bright side: At least the castration scene got … um … deleted. Kurt Sutter, creator of the drama about a California motorcycle gang, presented the idea of showing a character getting the unkindest cut early in the run of the show, now FX's highest-rated. But he backed off after the network's chief objected. "I have no filters," Sutter said with a laugh. "I just assume everyone feels the way I do about things.

David Chase, creator of the acclaimed drama "The Sopranos", is back on the publicity trail to promote his first post-"Sopranos" project "Not Fade Away," a film about an aspiring rock band in the 1960s. But the discussion of the film on "CBS This Morning" was momentarily sidetracked when anchor Charlie Rose asked Chase about the role of violence in popular culture, and its influence on audiences. "People always ask, well, do these depictions of violence -- do these movies and TV shows make the world a worse place somehow," replied Chase.

Jack Valenti ("Whose Children Are They, Anyway?" Commentary, Oct. 4) uses some hot-button phrases in his argument that TV and movies are not responsible for the violence of American society: "Big Brother in Washington," "the nation-state becomes the surrogate parent," "the heavy hand of government." But he is being as irresponsible as the neglectful parents he accuses. By exciting our fears of an ever-encroaching totalitarian state, Valenti passes the buck himself, and obscures the issue.

Years after she first saw "The Passion of the Christ," Lori Pearson still feels queasy when she recalls the brutally graphic movie about the final hours of Jesus' life. "After I left the theater I remember feeling physically uncomfortable," said Pearson, a Dublin, Ohio, mother of two teenagers who writes movie reviews for the website Kids in Mind . "It was gruesome torture sequence after gruesome torture sequence. That kind of thing has a tendency to stay with me. " Pearson and her husband, Aris Christofides, started writing highly descriptive online reviews in 1992 to help parents navigate the sometimes confusing nature of movie ratings, but over the years their audience has evolved to include an unexpected group: adults looking to avoid certain types of screen violence themselves.

Defending the television industry is a filthy job, but somebody has to do it. Take that new law that President Bush signed encouraging the networks, independent stations and cable operators to reason together and "voluntarily" set guidelines for violence on TV. Take it and dynamite it.

Staunch opponents of TV violence criticized a parental advisory plan offered by the major television networks on Wednesday while television executives defended it against accusations that it does not resolve the problem. Lawmakers and activists who have pushed hard in recent months for a dramatic reduction in the level of TV violence, which they contend is directly related to violence in society, said the network labeling plan is not enough.

In an alarming bit of synchronicity, or what some might call a lack of cultural imagination, two new series premiering on network television nearly within a month will revolve around serial killings, and serial killings by proxy: "Cult," which begins Feb. 19 on the CW, and the similarly titled "The Following," which starts Monday on Fox. BBC America's period procedural "Ripper Street," meanwhile, began its eight-episode run Saturday not with the Jack...

When you're an Oscar-winning Hollywood star with a Range Rover and a closet full of Louis Vuitton, it's not easy adopting the mind-set of a recently freed slave - just ask Jamie Foxx. The actor paid a visit to “The Tonight Show” Wednesday to promote his new movie, the Quentin Tarantino-helmed revenge saga “Django Unchained.” As he told Jay Leno, getting into character was a bit of a challenge. “That was tough for me, having to act like I can't read, or having to be subservient to someone, or to hear the N-word over and over again,” Foxx said, recalling how Tarantino pulled him aside and said that unless he really went back to 1858, the movie wouldn't work.

Since the tragic events that took place Friday in Newtown, Conn., the national conversation has largely been dominated by talk about how  to prevent future mass shootings. Liberals -- and an increasing number people in the middle -- have called for increased gun control, while conservatives have pointed their fingers at video games, pop culture and rap music. This polarization was starkly evident on Tuesday night television. MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell went on an eight-minute tirade about the National Rifle Assn.

David Chase, creator of the acclaimed drama "The Sopranos", is back on the publicity trail to promote his first post-"Sopranos" project "Not Fade Away," a film about an aspiring rock band in the 1960s. But the discussion of the film on "CBS This Morning" was momentarily sidetracked when anchor Charlie Rose asked Chase about the role of violence in popular culture, and its influence on audiences. "People always ask, well, do these depictions of violence -- do these movies and TV shows make the world a worse place somehow," replied Chase.

Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg could have used a remote. Less than halfway into a five-minute clip of violent TV excerpts being shown to a packed Senate hearing Tuesday, the New Jersey Democrat became visibly fed up. "We've seen enough," he said, after scenes from "NCIS," "The Shield" and "Rescue Me" played. "I think we all know what's out there is disgusting." Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV (D-W.Va.), who chaired the session on the effect of TV violence on children, agreed to pull the plug.

Parents are growing more confident that they can protect their kids from inappropriate content on TV, the Internet and video games, a new poll has found, but still worry that their children are exposed to too much sex and violence. The mixed results from the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation will probably provide ammunition for both sides in the increasingly heated debate over shielding children from excessive sex and violence in the media.

Leonard Eron, the psychologist whose landmark research demonstrated a link between violent television images and aggression in children, then helped fuel a national debate on the issue, died May 3 of congestive heart failure at his home in Lindenhurst, Ill. He was 87. The message of Eron's research was clear: The more violence children watched on television, the more aggressive they were in school.

THE FEDERAL Communications Commission tipped a boulder downhill this week by declaring that violence on TV is bad for children and requires congressional intervention. In a report that examines the effects of televised mayhem on young viewers, the FCC proposed limiting kids' exposure to violence not only on over-the-air stations but also on pay TV -- a venue not covered by the commission's limits on indecency.