A Uniquely American Epic

Widely acknowledged as a highly innovative film, Sam Peckinpah’s The Wild Bunch was released in 1969. From the outset, the movie was considered controversial because of its powerful, graphic, and direct depiction of violence, but it was also praised for its lush photography, intricate camera work, and cutting-edge editing. Peckinpah’s tale of an ill-fated, aging outlaw gang bound by a code of honor is often regarded as one of the most complex and influential Westerns in American cinematic history. The issues dealt with in this groundbreaking film—violence, morality, friendship, and the legacy of American ambition and compromise—are just as relevant today as when the film first debuted. To honor the significance of The Wild Bunch, this collection brings together leading Peckinpah scholars and critics to examine what many consider to be the director’s greatest work. The book’s nine essays explore the function of violence in the film and how its depiction is radically different from what is seen in other movies; the background of the film’s production; the European response to the film’s view of human nature; and the role of Texas/Mexico milieu in the narrative.

Motivation of viewing as a factor of youth perception of violence in films

The article examines the influence of motivation on the perception of film containing episodes of violence. As a result of the study, the motives for watching feature films with the content of violence, reflecting the direct emotional attractiveness of the depicted violence, are associated with an increase in the desire to become acquainted with the cinema production indicated, with its potentially dangerous perceptions. Results show that film violence perception relates to motives. For student youth, the main motives for viewing feature films with the content of violence are: curiosity as the attractiveness of the shown violence, the lack of choice, the attractiveness of the non-violent content of the tape, the desire to look at your favorite actors and heroes, desire, some kind fill up your free time, the desire to get acquainted with an unknown movie, the desire to get acquainted with something new during the viewing, randomness, emotional enthusiasm, satisfaction from the experience of negative emotions during the review poison, influence of the environment, advertising and advice of others, the entertainment of such films and the desire for diversity. Such motives for viewing art films with the content of violence, such as curiosity, enthusiasm, desire for diversity, as a whole, reflect the direct emotional attractiveness of the depictions of violence, associated with an increase in the attractiveness of the cinema production and the desire to revise it.