Violence in films is increasing, both in terms of frequency and severity of images. Violence appears in more than 90% of the films. The average American child will see 200,000 acts of violence on television before they are 18 years old.

Our friends and families enjoy watching movies. As violence and war are increasingly depicted, we can use pop culture to think critically about the stories we tell about war and violence versus peace and nonviolence.

You can ask the questions below when your friends say they just went to the movies, or when your coworkers start chatting about their latest binge-watching series. Or maybe you want to talk to your kids about the latest superhero movie.

Of course, there are many more questions to ask than these. It’s not an exhaustive list, so be creative and come up with your own additions.

• Does this film glorify war or violence? How?
• How realistic or unrealistic was the violence depicted?
• Did the violent incidents have realistic consequences (lawsuits, PTSD, remorse, retaliation)?
• Did you find the use of violence pointless? Did they serve a purpose? Did it advance the plot?
• How many times did you get a chill while watching this movie? Do you think this amount of violence is healthy to see in entertainment?
• How much violence in a movie is “too much”?
• What has this film told us about our world? Is that a helpful or harmful belief? (For example, most superhero movies say that the world is dangerous and only powerful vigilantes can save us. Is this helpful?)
• Were there peace actions or attempts to prevent war? Which ones were they?
• Were there any peace efforts that were portrayed as effective?
• What types of nonviolent action or peace strategies might have changed the story line? Where could they be used? Who could use them?
• Did someone de-escalate an incoming fight? (e.g. telling two men in a bar to take it easy)
• How did the characters escalate the situation toward violence?/How did they de-escalate it?
• How many people were “collateral damage” in this plot line? (Think car chases: how many other drivers/passengers were killed or injured?)
• Which of the main characters were not involved in violence and war? What were their actions, professions or roles?
• Were there characters who refused to participate in the violence or war?
• Why did the characters come to blows? What could they have done differently to resolve their conflict?
• Is war portrayed as noble or justified? Do you think wars are noble in real life?
• Was there magic or superpowers involved? How could the heroes have used those abilities to end war or stop violence instead of engaging in that?
• Was war portrayed as inevitable? How did the screenwriter and director make it seem that way?
• Was violence shown by the “bad guys” as immoral? How was this different from the violence of the “good guys”?
• If you were on the other side, how would you feel about the actions of the “good guys”?

Besides discussing violent films, you can also watch films about nonviolent movements. You will still see violence in these films, because when people engage in nonviolent work for social justice, that doesn’t mean their opponents won’t become violent. (In fact, most movements suffer violent repression at some point.) This reality is depicted in the feature films that tell their stories, such as the Amritsar massacre scene in the Gandhi biopic or the war footage in the documentary Pray the Devil Back To Hell, which tells the story of the Women of Liberia Mass Action For Peace.

There is a time and a place for violence in movies. People learn from true and cautionary tales. But the show must treat the violence with due weight and seriousness. The Hate You Give, for example, depicts police brutality and gun violence for a reason. It does this to reveal the painful truth about racist police shootings. It also provides context for the courage that protagonist Starr Carter shows when she breaks the cycle of violence by (nonviolently) stepping into the middle of an impasse to prevent another tragedy. Hotel Rwanda, Sophie Scholl and Selma are other films that fall into this category.

The violence we can avoid is the senseless and glorified violence that serves no moral purpose. (A scene of raining bodies to pop music in Guardians of the Galaxy comes to mind). Violence is grotesque and tragic, not cool and heroic. We don’t need violence added to movies as “filler” or as a substitute for plot development, character arcs, and well-written scripts.

In reality, we have better stories. For a list of films you can go to this page.