Entertaining Violence. Distancing the Audience from the Violent Content in Garth Ennis' and Steve Dillon's 'Preacher Book One'

Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism, British
Cover of the book Entertaining Violence. Distancing the Audience from the Violent Content in Garth Ennis' and Steve Dillon's 'Preacher Book One' by Kim Frintrop, GRIN Verlag
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Kim Frintrop ISBN: 9783656946427
Publisher: GRIN Verlag Publication: April 21, 2015
Imprint: GRIN Verlag Language: English
Author: Kim Frintrop
ISBN: 9783656946427
Publisher: GRIN Verlag
Publication: April 21, 2015
Imprint: GRIN Verlag
Language: English

Seminar paper from the year 2014 in the subject English - Literature, Works, grade: 1,3, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, course: British Literature, language: English, abstract: Violence and the media have been sharing a long history together. This is primarily because people have always been interested in the question whether violence in the media increases the aggressive potential of real human beings. Although this question, according to Kunczik and Zipfel, cannot be answered satisfactorily, great parts of the world's population blame violence in the media for being responsible for the sway in our nowadays society (399). Nonetheless, violence rapidly gains more and more importance in the pop culture which also affects the productions of media corporations (Ahrens 125). Action and horror movies often cause rushes to the cinemas and theaters worldwide. Bookstores sell thousands of thrillers every year and the names of authors such as Steven King or John Sinclair are famous throughout the globe. However, also smaller markets like the comics market are crowded with whole series containing a huge amount of violence and are, therefore, recommended for mature readers only. One graphic novel which 'filled itself to the brim with violence, cursing and things most would never dream of publishing' (Batson, 'Vertigo - The Birth of an Imprint'), is Vertigo's Preacher (see fig. 1) by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon. The protagonist, priest Jesse Custer, accidentally merges with a mysterious creature called Genesis. From that point on, he possesses the power of God. Together with his ex-girlfriend Tulip and the Irish vampire Cassidy, he starts a horrible and dark journey across the USA in order to find God, who has abdicated heaven's throne. As already mentioned, Preacher contains a lot of violence which makes it according to Korsun 'the most intense adult comic in ages' (44). Hence, the 'intensity of violence is located to a large extend in the degree to which it is presented as immediate an impactful on the viewer' (King, ''Killingly funny'' 129). Nevertheless, King also argues that a huge amount of immediate violence can distract the audience (''Killingly funny'' 129). To keep their comic entertaining, Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon had to establish certain narrative techniques which helped them to distance their readership from Preacher's violent content. This leads to the circumstance that Ennis' and Dillon's work does not only contain hostile violence, but also a more humorous, almost kind violence.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Seminar paper from the year 2014 in the subject English - Literature, Works, grade: 1,3, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, course: British Literature, language: English, abstract: Violence and the media have been sharing a long history together. This is primarily because people have always been interested in the question whether violence in the media increases the aggressive potential of real human beings. Although this question, according to Kunczik and Zipfel, cannot be answered satisfactorily, great parts of the world's population blame violence in the media for being responsible for the sway in our nowadays society (399). Nonetheless, violence rapidly gains more and more importance in the pop culture which also affects the productions of media corporations (Ahrens 125). Action and horror movies often cause rushes to the cinemas and theaters worldwide. Bookstores sell thousands of thrillers every year and the names of authors such as Steven King or John Sinclair are famous throughout the globe. However, also smaller markets like the comics market are crowded with whole series containing a huge amount of violence and are, therefore, recommended for mature readers only. One graphic novel which 'filled itself to the brim with violence, cursing and things most would never dream of publishing' (Batson, 'Vertigo - The Birth of an Imprint'), is Vertigo's Preacher (see fig. 1) by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon. The protagonist, priest Jesse Custer, accidentally merges with a mysterious creature called Genesis. From that point on, he possesses the power of God. Together with his ex-girlfriend Tulip and the Irish vampire Cassidy, he starts a horrible and dark journey across the USA in order to find God, who has abdicated heaven's throne. As already mentioned, Preacher contains a lot of violence which makes it according to Korsun 'the most intense adult comic in ages' (44). Hence, the 'intensity of violence is located to a large extend in the degree to which it is presented as immediate an impactful on the viewer' (King, ''Killingly funny'' 129). Nevertheless, King also argues that a huge amount of immediate violence can distract the audience (''Killingly funny'' 129). To keep their comic entertaining, Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon had to establish certain narrative techniques which helped them to distance their readership from Preacher's violent content. This leads to the circumstance that Ennis' and Dillon's work does not only contain hostile violence, but also a more humorous, almost kind violence.

More books from GRIN Verlag

Cover of the book Mary Elizabeth Braddon's 'Lady Audley's Secret' and 'Aurora Floyd' in the Context of Victorian Femininity by Kim Frintrop
Cover of the book War on Terror - How Discourse changed after 9/11 by Kim Frintrop
Cover of the book Bildungsungleichheit aufgrund der sozialen Herkunft by Kim Frintrop
Cover of the book Fairtrade: Motivations of customers to engage in Fairtrade purchases and the implications for marketing professionals by Kim Frintrop
Cover of the book Gott und das Leid by Kim Frintrop
Cover of the book Corporate Social Responsibility in KMUs by Kim Frintrop
Cover of the book Der Konflikt zwischen Kaiser Heinrich IV. und Papst Gregor VII. bis 1078 by Kim Frintrop
Cover of the book Bioethische Betrachtungen anhand von Dieter Birnbachers 'Natürlichkeit', Kapitel 6 und 7: by Kim Frintrop
Cover of the book Der Luftkissenzug von Jean Bertin. Die Technologie des AÈROTRAIN by Kim Frintrop
Cover of the book Analyse des Web-Frameworks Ruby on Rails anhand einer Beispielanwendung by Kim Frintrop
Cover of the book Die Gestaltung des Economic Value Added (EVA) auf der Grundlage nationaler und internationaler Rechnungslegungsvorschriften für ein wertorientiertes Beteiligungscontrolling by Kim Frintrop
Cover of the book Instrumente, Nutzen und Grenzen des Risikocontrollings im Rahmen der Unternehmensleitung by Kim Frintrop
Cover of the book Kinderzeichnungen in der Kunstpädagogik by Kim Frintrop
Cover of the book Vor und Nachteile bei der Auswahl von Führungskräften durch Assessmentcente by Kim Frintrop
Cover of the book Neuprojektierung eines Arbeitssystems. Montageentwurf des Schneckengetriebes GS04 by Kim Frintrop
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy