Putting the ‘Fun’ in Funeral: Death in Entertainment Media
By Tau Nell | March 12, 2021
Terror Management Theory (TMT), inspired by the works of Ernest Becker, posits that human beings, due to their unique awareness of their own mortality, make choices throughout their lives that largely serve to distract them from thoughts of death, and make them feel as if they can transcend death, whether in a literal or symbolic sense.1 Research driven by TMT has revealed the many ways in which our awareness of death can influence our behavior.2 This essay examines whether TMT can account for the widespread depictions of death and violence in entertainment media (films, television, games, fiction books, etc., henceforth referred to as ‘violent media’ for brevity).
TMT, like Becker, argues that humans have developed psychological buffers (e.g., cultural worldviews, self-esteem) to reduce distress in relation to their awareness of death.3 According to TMT, when people are reminded of their mortality, they first aim to distract themselves from such thoughts (proximal defenses) and then rely on psychological buffers (distal defenses) to alleviate the anxiety that emanates from the awareness of death.4 If reminders of death have the potential to induce anxiety, then it may seem counterintuitive that many people enjoy viewing graphic portrayals of death and violence: a study published in Aggressive Behavior even found a positive correlation between TV show popularity and onscreen violence intensity.5
At first glance, this would seem to conflict with TMT and Becker’s theory that death is an anxiety-laden subject. However, some researchers have proposed that gory, action-packed violent media, despite being a reminder of one’s mortality, can actually decrease viewers’ death anxiety.6 This is because viewers know they are unlikely to suffer the bloody demises depicted in violent media, and thus perceive these as ‘fun’ or even humorous, rather than threatening. In this way, people may respond to violent media in ways that resonate with TMT’s concept of proximal defenses; they are able to dissociate or distance themselves from the unfolding on-screen atrocities. Perceiving death as a form of entertainment is not a new phenomenon. Violent ‘penny dreadful’ novels, featuring sensational stories of killers, criminals, and thieves, were a cheap and massively popular form of entertainment in the 19th Century.7 Shakespeare’s 39 plays have 74 graphically-scripted death scenes.8 Additionally, taking gore as spectacle to the extreme, ancient Romans enjoyed watching real humans die in their amphitheatres.9 In each case, spectators overlook the subjective horror of violence and sorrow of death, instead perceiving these emotionally distant events as entertaining. This perceptual shift spurs individuals to consume more violent media for their own amusement, thereby reducing their sensitivity to reminders of their own mortality.
This change in perception, however, is not the only way to cope with death anxiety. Individuals also manage existential dread by believing in the possibility that they might not really die at all. According to TMT, humans strive to transcend death, either literally (e.g., by believing in an afterlife) or symbolically (e.g., by making meaningful contributions while they are alive).10 This wish to cheat death is often granted in violent media: fallen video game avatars and chess pieces are revivable, and even in Shakespeare’s bloodiest plays, the ‘dead’ characters always return to take a bow. This affinity for revival is also identifiable in children’s film and television. For example, an analysis of 10 classic Disney films found a total of 23 death scenes, but most downplayed death’s finality, often even portraying it as reversible.11
Media depicting death as impermanent does not only provide affirmation for those who believe in an afterlife, which includes 71.6% of Americans, but also for those who may invest in other kinds of immortality.12 Studies show that death anxieties are significantly reduced by belief in symbolic immortality.13 This is also more strongly satisfied when a story’s protagonist survives their ordeals and defies the odds of death (e.g. Katniss in The Hunger Games) than when they irreversibly die (e.g. Gatsby in The Great Gatsby).14 Thus, violent media may be attractive because it entertains the notion that we can cheat death (symbolically or literally), thereby reducing death anxiety.
That withstanding, viewers often do not want certain characters to enjoy eternal life, and would rather see them come to a sticky end. In virtually all forms of entertainment media, protagonists and antagonists are clearly defined. This is especially true in violent media, where viewers often actively wish harm upon antagonists. For example, a 2007 study found that audiences reviewed horror films more favorably when antagonists were killed compared to when they surrendered.15 TMT and Becker’s work may help explain this phenomenon. TMT suggests that people’s worldviews provide meaning to their lives, which shields them from death anxiety. When reminded of their mortality, people hold their values more strongly in order to reassure themselves of their life’s significance.16 They are also more likely to be hostile towards those who hold opposing worldviews, as these alternative perspectives can undermine the validity of their own beliefs. Viewers might gain particular satisfaction from seeing antagonists die because the annihilation of these conflicting worldviews represents the ultimate form of defense.17
In comparison to real life, where opposition perspectives are relatively nuanced and difficult to outright condemn, antagonists’ beliefs in entertainment media are typically altogether abhorrent.18 This encourages viewers to wish the worst upon them, and, when they pay for their wrongdoings, reinforces the validity of the viewer’s values. Consider Beauty and the Beast’s cruel, pompous Gaston, who falls to his death after tormenting the gentle Beast. The aforementioned analysis of Disney films found that many protagonists returned from the dead, but that antagonists like Gaston always suffered permanent demises, usually met with celebration.11 Antagonists challenge the beliefs which give our lives meaning, but their violent fates reassure us that our worldviews are justified, thus helping to mitigate our anxieties about death. In this way, TMT’s ideas of worldview defense may explain why violent media ascribes death as permanent to antagonists who violate our values, and impermanent to protagonists who defend them.
In sum, TMT can help us to understand people’s fascination with violent media, and why consuming such content might make them less afraid of death. According to TMT, violent media has this effect for three reasons. Firstly, it invites a perceptual shift: viewers are encouraged to regard events normally deemed tragic as entertaining after seeing them presented as plot devices or jokes. Secondly, it reinforces viewers’ beliefs in immortality, literal or symbolic, by frequently portraying death as not being ‘the end.’ Finally, it bolsters viewers’ worldviews by punishing amoral antagonists and reassuring viewers that their ‘raisons d’être’ are valid. All of these may help to reduce death anxiety, thus driving the insatiable consumption of violent media.
Tau Nell is currently a third year Psychology BSc student at Royal Holloway, University of London. He became fascinated by Terror Management Theory following a series of lectures on the subject delivered by Dr. Samuel Fairlamb. Tau hopes to complete further studies in order to become a clinical psychologist.
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