Compelling drama needs conflict but not on-screen violence
Evidence
Engrossing drama requires conflict and suspense, but violence is not inherently linked to conflict and its resolution. Suspenseful conflict can be resolved nonviolently. The dramas that command attention without resorting to chase scenes, explosions, and killings focus on character study. They go beneath surface actions to the psychosocial forces governing those actions. — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 854
Categorization
Category: Contrarian or Surprising Claims
- SEED: An essay angle: the ‘violence equals suspense’ myth in television, and what character-driven nonviolent drama implies for screenwriting craft.
Related
- Suspenseful conflicts can be resolved nonviolently through character study (similarity 0.91)
- Television’s time format makes violence the cheapest way to resolve conflict (similarity 0.81)
- Televised violence is kept off camera to avoid viewer revulsion (similarity 0.80)
- Broadcast time constraints make violence the cheapest narrative way to resolve conflict (similarity 0.79)
- Institutional incentives, not human nature, drive televised violence. (similarity 0.79)
- Viewing televised violence increases rather than reduces aggressive behavior. (similarity 0.79)