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Superheroes are more violent than villains
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ORLANDO, Fla. — Although many viewers of superhero movies may think that the antagonist is responsible for violence depicted in these films, research presented at the AAP National Conference & Exhibition suggests that the opposite is true — the good guys spend more time on screen being violent.
“A lot of children watch superhero movies,” John Muller, MS, a medical student at the Penn State University College of Medicine, said in a press briefing. “We know that there is a lot of violence in superhero movies, and we wanted to see who was producing the violence — the good guys or the bad guys — and how much it is happening.”
Five independent reviewers watched 10 superhero movies released between 2015 and 2016 and calculated the average number of violent acts per hour for protagonists and antagonists.
The researchers said there was an average of 22.7 violent acts made by protagonists every hour. Antagonists had fewer violent acts on average (17.5).
Muller and colleagues said the most commonly viewed violent acts made by protagonists included fighting (n = 1,021), using a lethal weapon (n = 659), destruction of property (n = 199), murder (n = 168), and bullying, intimidation or torture (n = 144). Antagonists were more likely to be viewed using a lethal weapon (n = 604), fighting (n = 599), destroying property (n = 191), committing murder (n = 93) or bullying, intimidating or torturing another person (n = 237).
Male characters were significantly more likely to be violent in superhero movies, with males averaging 33.6 violent acts per hour and females averaging 6.5 acts per hour.
“One thing we recommend is that health care providers recommend that parents talk to their children and educate them about the violence that can be depicted in these films. We also recommend that parents co-view these films,” Muller said. “They can watch the films before their children do, but when they watch it with their kids, they should do this actively. They should discuss the themes, especially in relation to the violence and how to resolve conflict. We think that through this conversation, children will have a better understanding of how to resolve conflict and what to do when you see violence.” – by Katherine Bortz
Reference:
Muller J, et al. Violence depicted in superhero-based films stratified by protagonist/antagonist and gender. Presented at: AAP National Conference & Exhibition; Nov. 2-6, 2018; Orlando, Fla.
Disclosure: Infectious Diseases in Children was unable to confirm relevant financial disclosures prior to publication.