Violent words in movies have tripled: What it means for viewers

Over the past fifty years, the language of violence in movies has steadily grown, slipping into more scripts and across more genres than ever before. A new study has revealed that not only have depictions of killing and murder become more common on-screen, but the very words used by characters—especially in dialogue—are showing a strong upward trend in violent content.

This research, published in JAMA Pediatrics, offers fresh insight into how the language of violence, specifically verbs like “kill” and “murder,” has evolved in cinema over time. Importantly, the study looked beyond just crime movies and included more than 160,000 English-language films spanning from 1970 to 2020. The conclusion: Violence is more prevalent than ever before—both in what characters do and in what they say.

The researchers used machine learning to analyze dialogue in film subtitles, gathered from the open-source site OpenSubtitles.org. They searched for verbs with the roots “kill” and “murder,” then calculated how often these words appeared relative to all the verbs in a film’s script. This created what they called a “murderous verb percentage.” Only active statements like “He killed him” were counted. Phrases in passive voice (“He was killed”), questions (“Did she murder him?”), or negations (“He didn’t kill her”) were left out.

What they found was both clear and surprising. While about 7% of all movies in the dataset included this kind of language, the use of these violent verbs increased noticeably over time. This wasn’t just limited to crime thrillers or action-packed blockbusters. Even noncrime movies showed a rise in the use of this deadly dialogue.

“Characters in noncrime movies are also talking more about killing and murdering today than they did 50 years ago,” said Brad Bushman, professor of communication and one of the study’s authors. “Not as much as characters in crime movies, and the increase hasn’t been as steep. But it is still happening.”

The analysis is one of the largest of its kind. Previous studies have tracked violent scenes or behaviors visually, but this research focused entirely on language. The use of language in films is just as powerful as imagery, especially when it comes to shaping how people think and feel.

Violent dialogue has grown across nearly every movie genre. This includes drama, comedy, science fiction, and even romance. The study’s authors say this wide spread of violent terms shows how normalized these expressions have become in the film industry.

Another key finding relates to gender. Male characters still account for most of the violent dialogue, but the gap is closing. Women in films are also talking about killing and murder more than they used to.

“Women generally didn’t have as much violent dialogue as men, but they also did show increases over time,” said Babak Fotouhi, the study’s lead author and an adjunct assistant research professor at the University of Maryland.

This trend mirrors broader changes in the types of roles women play in movies. As female characters take on more central or action-oriented roles, their language may reflect the higher-stakes, often more aggressive tone of modern storytelling.

“Our findings suggest that references to killing and murder in movie dialogue not only occur far more frequently than in real life but are also increasing over time,” Fotouhi said. “This is more evidence that violence is a bigger part of the movies we watch than ever before.”

The study goes beyond numbers to explore what this shift in language might mean for audiences. Experts say the way media portrays violence matters. Watching characters talk often and casually about killing can affect how people think, especially when they’re exposed repeatedly over time.

Ample scientific evidence supports the idea that violent media influences behavior and mental health. Decades of research have shown that seeing violence on screen can lead people to copy what they see, become less sensitive to real-world suffering, and even feel more afraid of the world around them. This last effect is known as “mean world syndrome”—a belief that the world is far more dangerous than it really is.

The concern isn’t new. For more than fifty years, scientific and medical organizations have warned about the effects of media violence. What this new research adds is a fresh and broader way to measure violence in film—not through bloody visuals or weapons, but through the power of spoken words.

This approach also highlights the subtle ways violence can be present, even in films that don’t appear violent on the surface. Language matters, and words like “kill” and “murder” carry weight. Hearing them often can change how we react to real-life violence, especially in younger viewers.

One question the researchers can’t answer yet is how much more violent movie language will become. The trend shows no signs of slowing down. In fact, some experts believe we haven’t even reached the peak.

“The evidence suggests that it is highly unlikely we’ve reached a tipping point,” Bushman said. That means the volume of violent language in films may keep growing, as filmmakers continue to compete for attention in an increasingly crowded market.

And why is violent content so persistent? It grabs attention. Studies have shown that violence is one of the most effective ways to hook an audience. Whether through action scenes or tense dialogue, intense moments can make a film more memorable—and profitable.

That’s why researchers are urging audiences and parents to become more aware of what they’re watching. The study suggests a need for stronger media literacy, especially for children who may not fully understand what they hear or see.

“Movies are trying to compete for the audience’s attention and research shows that violence is one of the elements that most effectively hooks audiences,” Fotouhi said.

In the end, the study isn’t saying that all violent movies are bad. But it does raise questions about how much exposure is too much and what kind of stories we’re choosing to tell. As the amount of violent dialogue grows, so does the need for thoughtful conversation about its role in our culture.

Note: The article above provided above by The Brighter Side of News.

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