Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Of violence and impressionable minds

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The mental transformation of a young boy who develops a fascination for a gun has been deftly portrayed in ‘How to use a gun,’ short film screened in the city on Wednesday.

Scripted and directed by Sajeev Pazhoor, the film sheds light on the threat posed by video games and films featuring crime, violence and use of lethal arms.

Exposure to thoughtless violence has a deleterious impact on children. Parents and academics are yet to realise the dangers of children playing video games and watching films with violent content.

The protagonist, who lives in a skyscraper, is a symbol of children who lead lonely lives in middle-class families where the parents are preoccupied with the problems of life and a yearning to raise the standard of living. They barely get time to share their wards’ concerns.

Haunted by routine chores and loneliness in the evenings, the child finds relief in cartoon films. Occasionally, he enjoys the luxury of playing with a younger friend in the neighbourhood. So profound is the impact of horror films and serials that he often prefers to play Dracula, a character dreaded by his friend.

Lured into the world of violence, he develops a passion for guns and once his wish gets fulfilled through a gift by his father, the child’s character undergoes a complete transformation.

The Internet makes his journey from the world of childish pranks to one of crime and violence easy. Poignant images have been used to portray the swift transition in the child.

Instead of explicitly presenting the social problems thrown up by the invasion of such entertainment into the drawing rooms of nuclear families, Sajeev slowly builds up the change in the child and drives the point home.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Of violence and impressionable minds
Symposium on heart diseases
National meet on technological trends
State to have spatial data facility
Minister seeks ban on coconut husk export
Rajdhani Express rescheduled
Electoral officer issues reminder to media
Use of Central forces: poll panel issues directive
Selected for award
Application for SSLC concessions
BJP, CPI(M) win one seat each
Down to the wire in bitter bypoll battles
TDB interview
‘Gold a safe investment’
Prizes distributed
Trust formed in memory of Congress leader
National meet on technological trends
Fire at venue of religious meeting
Death of students condoled

Copyright © 2009, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu