Even movies that aren’t about crime are becoming more violent, according to new research that analyzed dialogue from more than 160,000 films. The study reveals that talk of killing and murder has steadily increased across all movie genres over the past five decades.
“Characters in noncrime movies are also talking more about killing and murdering today than they did 50 years ago,” says Brad Bushman, professor of communication at The Ohio State University and the study’s corresponding author. “Not as much as characters in crime movies, and the increase hasn’t been as steep. But it is still happening. We found increases in violence cross all genres.”
The research, published in JAMA Pediatrics, represents the largest-ever analysis of its kind, examining subtitles from English-language films produced between 1970 and 2020. The researchers focused specifically on active verbs related to killing and murder, creating what they believe is a conservative estimate of violent content.
“We designed this to be a conservative estimate,” explains lead author Babak Fotouhi. “It is likely there was more violence in the movies than what we calculated in terms of the dialogue.”
The trend spans gender lines as well. While female characters generally had less violent dialogue than males, both showed increases over time. About 7% of all movies analyzed contained what researchers termed “murderous verbs” in their dialogue.
The study’s immense scale sets it apart from previous research. By using machine learning to analyze subtitles from a massive database, the researchers were able to track subtle changes in movie dialogue over time with unprecedented precision.
The findings raise concerns about media consumption, particularly for young viewers. “Movies are trying to compete for the audience’s attention and research shows that violence is one of the elements that most effectively hooks audiences,” Fotouhi notes.
Perhaps most worrying is that the trend shows no signs of slowing. “The evidence suggests that it is highly unlikely we’ve reached a tipping point,” Bushman says.
The researchers emphasize the need for increased media literacy and mindful consumption, especially for vulnerable populations like children. Their findings add to a growing body of evidence about the increasing prevalence of violence in entertainment media, even as real-world violent crime rates have generally declined in many countries.