Dear Mr. Darabont,
My husband loves your show. He had a tradition of watching
the new episode on Sunday nights and one day I sat down next to him to see what
it was all about (his show before this was Breaking Bad—I saw about five
seconds and never wanted to see it again). He is studying to be a clinical
psychologist and I study human development, so the part of both of us that is
fascinated by human behavior in unusual circumstances was immediately addicted
to the realism and candidness with which your show accurately reflects human
response in adverse situations. Especially over time, the development of the
characters rings true to human nature, and that is probably the best thing
about it.
You are a brilliant writer. Your ability to communicate raw
emotions is staggering and the realism with which it all comes together is the
reason behind The Walking Dead’s success.
This semester I am taking a class on media and human/family
development and one of the key subjects under discussion in our class has been
graphic violence in the media and all that comes with it. I realize that for a
long time the research showed conflicting results, but what stood out to me
most was the overwhelming surge of data in recent years demonstrating the short
term (and sometimes leading to long term) effects of violence in TV and video
games.
Now, I realize there are plenty more graphic and violent
shows out there which I have not seen (by choice) and I am no expert on the
subject like some are, but what I have noticed is the effect TV violence has
had on my life. From only watching an episode or two a week, the first season
of the Walking Dead I was closing my eyes for substantial periods of time just
to avoid the graphic images of blood spurting and mangling of body parts (I
understand that the sound effects I still heard are what make movies with such
content rated R). Sitting bored in a university chorale class, disturbing
images I had glimpsed of characters being eaten alive randomly burst into my
mind and gave me twinges of nausea. A couple of weeks ago I had a couple
dreams involving zombies and my first real nightmare in years.
An obvious response to these assertions is for me to stop
watching the show, and I have (but only with great sadness because I really want to see the rest of the series!!).
One might point out the fact that I am abnormally sensitive to violence, and I
am. But that didn’t used to be the case. I don’t believe I am abnormal, I
believe the rest of the country is. I am this way on purpose. We have been so
heavily exposed to graphic violence that it does not even merit a flinch
anymore. After watching the Dark Knight with some friends in the theater, I was
appalled to find them laughing about the “disappearing pencil trick” when I was
feeling traumatized by the psychological horrors to which a family had just
been subjected. After seeing the Walking Dead for myself I understood why there
is such a huge fan base. At the same time, I can’t help being disappointed in
our country for creating the demand for that kind of graphic imaging on screen.
It damages children, it damages adults, and the worst part is we don’t even
realize it is happening to us.
Countless of award-winning films—even violence-themed ones
like The Return of the King—have been created without showing extensive
explicit violent content. In fact, a large portion of the audience would have
been eliminated by including such graphic visual material.
My husband is waiting on tenterhooks for the next season of
the Walking Dead to come out in the fall. As is my best friend. And many, many
others. But my hope is that changes can be made to make the Walking Dead a
better form of entertainment for us. We watch in spite of violence, but
wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could watch without that concern? Obviously,
given the nature of such a show, it would be neither possible nor desirable to
remove all violent content, but so much can be communicated through
implication, is it really necessary to show a beloved character disemboweled in
all its gory detail? The gore is not used to make a statement, only to provide
shock value, and it takes more and more to do this to an increasingly
desensitized public. I find it hard to believe that a man of your talent could
not find a way to preserve the integrity of the show, while decreasing filming
costs due to all that…ham, I understand? And making the show one that we can
watch with our husbands, or boyfriends, or girlfriends, or anyone else, and
look forward to the next season. Thank you for your time and for your contribution
to engaging, thought-provoking, and all around entertaining media.
A Walking Dead Fan,
Laura
