You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
Write about the following topic:
Many people believe that the high levels of violence in films today are causing serious social problems.
What are these problems and how could they be reduced?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Write at least 250 words.
Sample answer
The increasing amount of violence that is shown regularly in films has been a cause of concern for some time. Such films make violence appear entertaining, exciting and even something to be copied. However, it seems to be increasingly clear that this development is causing problems in our society.
First of all, those who enjoy such films eventually stop associating the violence with any real consequences. They therefore lose their sense of reality and no longer take violence seriously or have any sympathy with the victims. This is bad for both individuals and for our whole society. Another worrying trend is that in these films the heroes are shown as people to be admired, even though they are very violent characters. This leads impressionable people to believe that they can gain respect and admiration by copying this aggressive behaviour, and so the levels of violence increase, especially in major cities throughout the world.
What is needed to combat these problems is definite action. The government should regulate the film industry on the one hand, and provide better education on the other. Producers must be prevented from showing meaningless violence as ‘fun’ in their films. Instead, films could emphasise the tragic consequences of violent acts and this would educate people, especially young people, to realise that violence is real.
To conclude, I think that viewing violence as entertainment may indeed cause serious social problems and that the only way to improve this situation is by regulating the industry and educating the public about the real human suffering that such violence brings.
(260 words)