Desensitisation and Catharsis theory

So what is Desensitisation?

Desensitisation is the theory of media audience’s reactions growing weaker according to the level/amount of exposure to violence, death and sex. It is the decline in fear to exceptionally aggressive behaviour, as well as taboo subjects possibly being introduced, into modern day life.

Desensitisation to violence is seen as an incidental process, which could possibly occur because of exposure to 'real-life' violence. This could also occur from exposure to media violence, such as video games or horror films. 

A stereotypical example of this could be a young adult male, say in his early 20's, who regularly consumes violent media such as GTA, or Mad World, and also consumes violent television shows such as Dexter, they would be less inclined to be shocked after watching the news about a disastrous/violent event that may have occurred. Because of their familiarity to this violent media, it is less of a shock to them, as opposed to if they consumed less violent media.

Emotional desensitisation is known when there is a lack of emotional reaction to events, that would usually elicit a very strong reception. Adults and children, are increasingly edging towards becoming immune to the shock of horror, and somewhat accept it as a means to solve issues, imitation of violence and also identify with characters (on television) that are either victims, or victimisers.

A Media example of Desensitisation is the video game Mad World. From some comments on YouTube, we can see that a large majority of users aren't too bothered by the violence. This game has been known to be an exceptionally violent game, but over time media violence becomes more frequent and popular, and so there is serious decline in reaction.

Above is a screenshot from YouTube of some reactions to the Mad World gameplay online.

As well as a media example, I have also sourced a real example of desensitisation towards violence. This example was an event that occurred in 1999, known as The Columbine High School Massacre. Two senior students killed 12 students and 1 teacher, as well as directly injuring 21 students. Three others were also injured whilst attempting to escape. The two students then committed suicide. The Columbine High School Massacre, is now known as the fourth-deadliest school massacre to ever occur, in the US. The disastrous event provoked debates surrounding gun violence involving youths. The role of violent video games and films in American society was also debated. Subcultures, and the issue of high school bullying was also something that was brought up in debate, following this event. The event somewhat resulted in moral panic towards the gun culture among teens, goth culture and social outcasts, teen internet usage, aggressive music and films, as well as violent video games. The conclusion was that events like this, were somewhat 'inspired' or 'mimicked' by these common media consumptions. 

Desensitisation is a theory that suggests constant exposure to accessible violence, i.e a video game, dampens the emotional impact among an audience. It could possibly result in them becoming insensitive towards violence, in modern day life. 

There have been many studies into how much of a 'link' there is between aggressive behaviour and media violence. Anyone can distinguish the idea that the horror of violence, is becoming increasingly immune to many as we grow up, and society throws more violence at us to effectively 'accept'.

Enough of Desensitisation, what is Catharsis?

Catharsis is a theory based upon emotional release. It's all about channelling emotions into specific types of media, to make one feel better about themselves. The word 'Catharsis' originates from the Greek word 'Katharsis' which, translated literally, means 'cleansing or purging'. Aristotle came up with the theory that when people watched tragic plays, they would experience 'Katharsis' (emotional release), from negative emotions. The viewers' negative feelings were 'cleansed' by viewing the characters in the play, experiencing tragic events. 

An example of Catharsis could be someone watching Bambi, or possibly The Notebook, because they were potentially feeling sad. Catharsis is a way of somewhat making one feel better about themselves, by empathising with something that represents their mood. So if the individual felt angry, they may play a violent video game such as Call Of Duty, to relieve themselves from their anger etc.