The Fast & The Furious…Torturous?: Examining the Impact of Torture Scenes in Popular Films on Public Perceptions of Torture Policy

Erin M. Kearns and Casey Delehanty

Studies in Conflict and Terrorism, 2024, vol. 47, issue 6, 583-598

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.

Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1080/1057610X.2021.1983211

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