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Reel life to real life Depiction of violence in films play on the psyche of the children

Abhishek was gunned down by his classmates Vikas Yadav and Akash Yadav. The duo pumped five bullets from a close range into Abhishek and in fact, took turns to settle scores. The police termed it as an act of revenge, as the victim, a well-built lad, had earlier bullied the assailants.

Three cases of such campus shooting have come up in recent times, others being at a school in Satna and at Viswa Bharati University, Santiniketan.

In Satna, 15-year-old Dharma Kol was shot dead by his classmate and in Santiniketan, Saswati Pal (23) fell to the bullets fired by Amaresh Kundu. The gory incident has left Rabindranath Tagore’s abode of peace in a state of shock.

People say that American gun culture in creeping into the Indian society and the Virginia Tech University shooting last year that saw 33 dead, including the attacker, has given it a new dimension.

With the sudden spurt of such incidents, a lot of questions come to the fore. Are parents too busy to spend some quality time with their children? Are teachers insensitive to their students? Has aggression and violence seeped into the minds of the younger generation? Is constant exposure to violence via satellite television channels, computer games and movies desensitizing our children? Are we going through a phase of cultural erosion?

“Fast-paced materialistic lifestyle of the parents is one of the main reasons for the growth of such incidents. The children, especially the adolescents, at times tend to get into the groove of frustration. The frustration finally reaches a stage when a small incident can trigger an explosion. The children feel ignored due to the fast-paced lifestyle of the parents. On the other hand, the parents feel that they are doing everything by providing the best things to their children. But the most important thing is spending quality time rather than buying a bike or the latest gadget for their children,” says V.S. Pramila, Prof. Department of Psychology, Andhra University.

The symptoms of frustration or depression should be recognised by the parents and the teachers at an early stage. The basic symptom is radical change in behaviour. “The behavioural change could be either withdrawal or externalising behaviour like becoming rebellious or getting furious over small things,” she says.

Experts say that counselling is the best way to overcome it. They feel that the appointment of a qualified counsellor at every school and college should be made mandatory by the government. “Appointment alone won’t help. The cases should be closely monitored. The attacker at Virginia Tech was diagnosed with some sort of mental depression but he was not monitored and the result we all know,” says Dr. Pramila.

Apart from battling their own frustration, the adolescents come across various catalysts that add fuel to the depressed state of mind.

“The spirit of competition has pervaded into every facet of their life. It is present in academics, sports, social status and even in the case of winning a girlfriend or a boyfriend. The negative façade of competition gives way to jealousy, negative thoughts and depression. By nature, children are impulsive, with very little knowledge of the repercussions, and a small incident is enough to trigger a crime,” says Viswa Prasad, an IPS officer.

Giving impetus to all these factors are the effects of globalisation. “The invasion of satellite channels has brought depiction of violence in all forms into our living rooms. Even the cartoon movies are violent in nature. Violence has crossed all its boundaries in both regional and Hollywood movies. The scenes and sequences get embedded into the minds of the children and they try to replicate the same in real life. And things could be worse if they could lay a hand on a weapon,” says the professor.

The DCP points out that parents should be careful about the weapons that they possess. “They are not only required to keep it in safe custody but out of reach of others.

Children are fascinated by guns, thanks to the movies, and even out of curiosity the parents should not exhibit or display the operation of a gun. They should also keep the gun and the rounds separately at different places, so that the children do not have access to the weapon or the ammunitions. In such cases the parents should be first booked for negligence,” says Mr. Viswa Prasad.

Akash sneaked into the school his father’s .32 licensed pistol and he also reported that he had heard his father explain the operation of the gun.

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