Author ORCID Identifier
Kearns - https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7895-9129
Delehanty - https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6286-0442
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
10-4-2021
Publication Title
Studies in Conflict & Terrorism
Abstract
Entertainment media regularly depict torture as effective. Indeed, most popular films contain torture—often outside of counterterrorism-specific plotlines. In the counterterrorism-specific context, watching a scene where torture works increases support for the practice. Yet counterterrorism-specific media is a niche genre, and we do not know if this holds for torture scenes more generally. We address this gap with a 4 (movie rating) x 3 (scene type) experiment with U.S. adults. While participants recognized that torture scenes are in fact torture, viewing these scenes did not impact support for the practice. Findings suggest that media’s influence on views about torture is more nuanced.
Recommended Citation
Kearns, E.M. & Delehanty, C. (2021, October 4). The Fast & The Furious...Torturous?: Examining the impact of torture scenes in popular films on public perceptions of torture policy. Studies in Conflict & Torture. https://doi.org/10.1080/1057610X.2021.1983211
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Comments
This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Studies in Conflict & Terrorism on October 4, 2021, available online: https://doi.org/10.1080/1057610X.2021.1983211