Violent action functions as an attentional-control tool against distracted viewers

Evidence

High-decibel action is also a means of attentional control. Viewers are not all that attentive to what is being shown, with a host of distracters around them competing for their notice. While watching television they are talking, thumbing through reading material, snacking, walking around, dozing off, or doing any number of other things. Broadcasters try to capture and hold viewers’ attention through fast-paced physical action with rapid scene changes on the screen. As shown earlier, talented writers can portray conflict in captivating ways without resorting to physical violence. However, formula shows hold little interest for them. Those who try their hand at them but resist pressures to inject violence into their plotlines either leave or are dismissed. — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 953

Categorization

• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement: How People Do Harm…, 953
• XREF: connects to: Slow violence is marginalized by converging forces of inattention — Rob Nixon, Slow Violence and the Environmentalism…, 850