A study by researchers from Ohio State University reveals that violence in cinema has significantly increased over the last five decades.
The research found that references to murder and manslaughter in film dialogue have become more prevalent, even outside crime-focused genres.
Published by Interesting Engineering, the study analyzed over 160,000 English-language films released between 1970 and 2000. Using machine learning, the researchers scrutinized subtitle data from 166,534 films provided by OpenSubtitles.org, tracking the frequency of “killing verbs” (such as “kill” and “manslaughter”) in characters’ dialogue.
The findings revealed that around 7% of the films analyzed included dialogue containing such violent language. “Characters in non-crime films also talk about murder more than they did 50 years ago,” noted Brad Bushman, co-author of the study and a professor of communication at Ohio State University. “We found an increase in violence across all genres.”
The study showed that both male and female characters exhibited an increase in violent language over time. While women generally used less violent language than men, their use of such language also rose noticeably.
“This increase in references to murder and manslaughter in films surpasses what occurs in real life,” explained lead author Babak Fotouhi, an assistant professor at the University of Maryland. “Violence has become a larger part of the movies we watch than ever before.”
The researchers suggest that filmmakers use violence as a strategy to capture audience attention. They highlighted that violence is particularly effective at engaging viewers, which may explain its growing presence across genres.
Interestingly, the study employed a conservative approach, only counting direct references to lethal acts while excluding implied violence. “There is likely more violence in films than we have accounted for in dialogue,” Fotouhi acknowledged.
The analysis builds on prior research documenting the rise in film violence, with its primary strength being the unprecedented size of the dataset examined.
The researchers concluded that the increasing trend of violence in cinema underscores the importance of media awareness and responsible consumption. They advocate for educating audiences, particularly vulnerable groups such as children, to mitigate potential negative impacts of heightened exposure to violence in films.