A new study shows that movies have more violence in them than ever — or at least, movie characters are more interested in talking about it.
Published as a research letter in JAMA Pediatrics Monday, the study applied machine learning to a trove of 166,534 transcripts of films, charting how often words like “murder” or “kill” appear in spoken dialogue across five decades of cinema.
The result: Across all genres, researchers say so-called “murderous verbs” have become more common, in a trend that may reflect a rising interest, or perhaps a fading squeamishness, to on-screen violence.
“References to killing and murder in movie dialogue not only occur far more frequently than in real life but are also increasing over time,” said lead author Babak Fotouhi in a release announcing the study results.
“This is more evidence that violence is a bigger part of the movies we watch than ever before.”
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