pornography

Pornography. The world itself is troubling.
Right out of the gate, we're dealing with a pejorative. Which is troubling to those who know that the human body is anything but dirty or indecent. Come to think of it, the rise of the word "erotica" has probably stemmed from the desire to destigmatize sexuality and the human form. So perhaps we are heading to a day when "pornography" will refer only to things that are truly indecent ("exciting" action movies that have body counts in the hundreds?). But the problem with that is...who decides what's "indecent"? If somebody enjoys images that someone else finds "dirty", but no one is getting hurt, who's qualified to sit in judgment?
With the body-count films, an argument is made that watching a violent film allows us to live vicariously, releasing our animal violence in a way that gets no one hurt. Similarly, the thinking goes, if we watch sexual movies, we'll be less needful to go out and have sexual relations that might pose a threat to the fabric of our society. Hm.
Or do violent images merely desensitize us to real violence, the horrific conclusion my reasonable younger mind came to?
Do images of violence and sexuality make us more violent and sexual, or less?
For my own part, i loved playing army when i was a kid. Neighborhood wargames. A shout of "bang" meant you fired, and anyone "killed" had to take themself out of play, until one team emerged victorious. I was good at it. Nobody was better. Later, the toy guns were replaced by super soakers. Wonderful times.
Was i sublimating violent needs, or just having a good time? Some concerned parents have argued against children having toys of violence at all, a position i've been very sympathetic to. But for myself, i would have rebelled against anyone who tried to shut down our wargames. Did these games turn me into a violent human? By any measure, the answer is a profound "no". I've never killed, never struck another person in anger. I've even rejected eating animals, in part because i'm not comfortable inflicting pain or death on any thinking, feeling creature. I'm a pacifist who has always been ready to face jail rather than kill. I generally don't play wargames as an adult, but this hasn't diminished my pacifism. So have i merely transferred my sublimated urges into onscreen violence? Possibly. I've always avoided slasher films, or films that glamorize violence. For instance, i loved RESERVOIR DOGS, but found KILL BILL to be gratuitous and horrific. But for some, DOGS was the one that crossed the line. I also find most violent video games to be disturbing and artless. But i do adore some films that have violence. TOMBSTONE, for example, because of the artistic expression and human realism. But hm, i also love ALIENS. Not much human realism there. I'm bothered by films like TOP GUN, with their flag-waving and childlike glorification of violence. But i love some war films, like PATTON and THE BRIDGE AT REMAGEN. Now, as i watch these films, do i feel any sort of violent "release"? I want to say NO, but i suppose it's possible that on a subconscious level, things are going on i'm not aware of. One way of addressing this question is to project a world free of violent images. Would i feel a psychological frustration, and seek another avenue in which to let my violence "breathe"? I strongly want to say no, but...i'm not 100% sure.