Valuing Film Violence: Student Perceptions on the Inclusion of Violent Films and Film Violence within the Undergraduate Learning Experience

Abstract

This chapter explores a range of issues linked to the inclusion of film violence within the undergraduate learning experience from the perspective of students. It contributes to the discussion contained within this volume through the foregrounding of the views of learners within debates over the interplay between textual and contextual factors impacting upon how films are valued. The chapter also seeks to inform pedagogic discussion linked to the value of including potentially challenging films within the undergraduate curriculum. The investigation draws empirical evidence from qualitative questionnaires completed by final-year students who took the module ‘The Regulation of Film Violence in Britain’ at the University of Winchester during the academic year 2007–8. While this is a small-scale empirical project conducted in the UK, it is suggested that its findings constitute a starting point for the broader consideration of the value of including potentially challenging texts within Higher Education (HE) curricula.