Writer's Block: Cause or symptom?

[ellid]

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1. I doubt it. The same claim has been made for generations, and despite today's belief that we live in more violent times and the past was all sugar and roses, nothing, NOTHING in modern America or Canada (or Europe, for that matter) comes close to the early 19th century. A glance at the Newgate Calendar or a history of the Five Points area in New York will show that casual, frequent violence is nothing new, and has diddly to do with the modern media. And that doesn't even touch on how people used to gather to watch public executions, many involving delights such as drawing and quartering, beheading, or hanging.

2. Both. Nothing is absolute. Simple solutions are attractive but usually not accurate.

Comments

[samantha-vimes.livejournal.com]

And while the bad economy might be reversing the tread (I haven't seen recent stats), violent crime has been going down since the 70s, iir the dates c.

[persevero.livejournal.com]

Agree on both. Proponents of theory 1 should see my video-game-addicted children tenderly rescuing the cats' rodent victims or hear their views on bullying or racism (or politics). As for 2, what really disturbs me is when the media influence the law, such as what is arguably England's worst piece of knee-jerk legislation, the Dangerous Dogs Act.