Rationale of the Interview
I decided to interview my 21-year-old cousin who is also a fan of movies like me. Back home, he and I often went to the movie theater together to watch the latest science fiction movies. Therefore, ever since we were young children, we have been exposed to many fantastical aggressive scenes. Through the interview, I aim to find out what feelings fictional violence can bring to the audience from a personal perspective, and if movie fans have a negative attitude toward the violent scenes in movies.
There are several reasons I chose to interview him. First, the two academic articles I chose to study are both written by professionals. Thus, I want to see how a person without expertise in either of the fields view the fantasy violence. Second, since both papers conclude that the fictional aggression in movies leads to aggressive behaviors of the audience at least immediately after seeing the movies, I attempt to explore if a person with pure passion for movies is at least aware of the danger of fantasy violence, and therefore determine the extent of the two papers’ significance. Third, as I share close kinship and friendship with my cousin, he would not conceal his true thoughts from me, and therefore, I can ask straightforward questions without worrying about the validity of my interviewee’s responses.
Analysis
Although my cousin had a basic understanding that violent scenes in the movies were able to induce the audience’s excitement and even discomfort immediately after the movie, he did not have sufficient knowledge about the negative consequences of film violence in real life situations. It seemed that he was fairly confident that he, as a young adult, had capability to differentiate the fantasy aggression from violence in reality. Therefore, based on my cousin’s responses, I conclude that my cousin was not vigilant enough against the danger of fictional aggression even though he agreed that exceeding film violence was not appropriate.
Q & A
Q: What do you feel when you watch the violent scenes in the middle of a movie and when you think of these scenes immediately after the movie?
A: I usually feel very excited or worried about the protagonist when I watch the violence going on during the movie. You know, when you watch a movie, you are concentrated and follow the protagonist to experience his or her life. But it can get different when I think back of the violence after the movie, well, depending on how violent the scenes are. So, sometimes I feel uncomfortable about the violent scenes after the movie. I guess it is because I am gradually calming down from the excitement that the movie brings to me.
Q: How long does it approximately take for you to get rid of the excitement that the violent scenes bring to you?
A: Well, it takes about 15 minutes, I guess. I usually get very excited right after the movie, but things will calm down eventually.
Q: Do you think seeing the violent scenes in the movie will lead to insensitiveness or ignorance of aggressive behaviors in real life? Especially immediately after you watch those scenes?
A: I don’t think those scenes will influence me that much in real life. The violence is not real after all. I think I am capable of distinguishing reality from fiction. Even it is immediately after I watch violence scenes, I am pretty sure I will not ignore the real aggression in real life.