Happy Violence, to me, is the violence portrayed in television and movies that will go without any sort of consequence to the protagonist who is the one acting violently. The audiences will sympathize with the protagonist and feel that their acts of violence are justified in order to satisfy the needs of the protagonist and the plot to the story. What makes it "happy" violence as opposed to just plain violence is the fact that when the protagonist has performed the violent act, you are left feeling happy and/or satisfied with the results because it was necessary for the "greater good." It is so common place in today's television and movies, that people are desensitized to it and are often cheering on the protagonist.
The first example of happy violence that comes to mind is from the show American Horror Story. The clip above shows the death of Sister Mary Eunice at the hands of the Monsignor Timothy Howard. By this time in the season, the real Sister Mary Eunice has been possessed and the Mary Sister Eunice we see for most of the season has murdered some of the patients at Briarcliff, as well as manipulated a lot of people to do some of her dirty work. After the Monsignor has thrown her over the railing, you can see that his hands are bandaged up, as shown below.
This is because previously one of the patients had nailed him to the cross in the church. So after seeing how the Monsignor has been treated recently you start to feel sorry for him. And when Sister Mary Eunice attacks him, and he fights back and throws her over the railing, you feel both relief that she is gone and her reign of terror has come to an end, as well as some happiness for him. Which, due to the reasons I stated above, makes this a good example of "happy violence."
Hi Aubrey,
ReplyDeleteI agree with your definition of "happy violence." Society today makes it so much of violence seemed justified, even though some of the violence occurring can be very gruesome. However, because it the outcome of the violence is fro the greater good it is deemed okay. Which I find somewhat disturbing to think about. I like your example of the American Horror Story clip, it allows us to really understand what you are talking about.
It is so true that even after all the violence we have watched and endured during the hour of a show, in the end we rejoice with the rest of the audience when the villain in the story is given a fatal ending. I totally feel satisfaction when the character I hate most in a series (JOFFREY! RAMSAY!) meets their end in a most heinous form, sometimes even hoping for worst. What does that say about me and the audience who feels the same?
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