Unsk -

I don’t think there is a direct correlation between the two (crime rate & movie graphic-ness), given that the crime rate in the U.S. during the 1920s and early 1930s was likely skewed by Prohibition-related crimes.

However, the overall point — that coarse popular culture coarsens the culture overall — I agree with. It wasn’t that there weren’t plenty of movies “for adults only” in those days … “Double Indemnity” and a lot of the other film noirs showed a lot of human depravity. But if you’d taken your kid to see those films, the worst that could have happened was he’d be bored to sleep or throwing popcorn by the end of the first act. You wouldn’t have had to cover your kid’s ears and eyes.

I don’t think the entertainment industry should be able to continue having it both ways. Either entertainment influences thought & behavior, or it doesn’t. So either stop cranking out the filth (if it does influence), or stop with the naked liberal political advocacy already (if it doesn’t influence).