The entire nation is in shock after the news that a 15-year-old and another student were injured by a chainsaw and are critical after Friday’s attack in Andhra Pradesh’s Anantapur district. After the incident, several users on social media questioned whether the recent A-rated films with a lot of bloodshed and gore play a key role in normalising such violence.Ram Gopal Varma has defended violence in films.What RGV saidFilmmaker Ram Gopal Varma came to the defense of films after several X users posted pictures and videos from recent releases like Animal and KGF to point out how these films show violence without consequence.
Ram Gopal Varma wrote, “Blaming films for rise in violence is like , blaming Ramayana for rise in kidnappings.”But the internet was not having the defense, and quickly responded in the comments with their own reason as to how cinema does have a role to play in shaping young minds in a society.One user wrote, “Stop pretending cinema has zero social responsibility by bringing in historical references. That's not going to wash away or lessen your role.
Some of the most cruel and gruesome murders are made to look so chill and heroic in movies that even our 8-year-olds are growing up like monsters.. It's time you guys take some shame and responsibility for what you put out there and do your part in curbing this.”Another said, “Nobody is saying films directly cause crime but pretending cinema has zero influence on society is equally stupid.
Cinema shapes perceptions, normalises behaviour and influences what audiences celebrate.”"I tend to disagree. We become what we consume.
People underplay how deeply media, in all forms, shapes behaviour & choices. This is due to a psychological blind spot known as the 3rd-person effect— the belief that other people are easily persuaded by media while we stay immune," read another response.“In a country like India, where cinema has an enormous influence on people's mindsets, attitudes & perceptions, pretending that films cannot shape or reinforce social behaviour is nothing but intellectual dishonesty.
You can deny it all you want but masses do get influenced by it,” said a second user on X.About the incidentTwo Class 10 students were attacked with a chainsaw by a man who allegedly barged into their classroom at a government high school in Raptadu, Anantapur district, on Saturday.One girl suffered critical injuries, including the loss of her right hand, while the other sustained injuries attempting to protect her classmate.The critically injured girl was initially treated at Anantapur Government General Hospital before being shifted to the private hospital in Bengaluru through a green corridor for advanced medical care.CM Naidu said he was "deeply shaken and enraged by the barbaric attack on a Class 10 student inside her classroom at Raptadu ZP (Zilla Parishad) High School.""Attackers who target our young girls inside schools have no place in our society. I am personally tracking her recovery and have directed the medical team to give her the highest priority care," he said in a post on X.