Gratuitous violence and gratuitous sexual violence in films

Have I covered these subjects already?

I guess this is where I'm having some other issues on this film: it's packed with violence, bad language, racist and sexist characters, and misogynistic attitudes. I'm a bit concerned that the way it ends up isn't going to be something that just glorifies or glamorizes violence and misogyny, that's all. Not saying it will: just concerned to know that it won't. I'd hate to think that I might contribute to some girl's rape or some kid's murder through my implicit approval.

Don't get me wrong: if subject matter is handled well, I think there's an enormously important place for violence in movies. Same with sex, all the "isms" and even misogyny. Films like American History X come to mind, as well as The Godfather, and even Pulp Fiction. Where I have a big problem is when either are being used just as entertainment, or as some kind of titillating "side order" to attract young, impressionable people. Excitement is one thing: when the extremes of human conflict are used as a device to keep people's attention we have a big problem. And at the end of the day I think that the movie industry really does have a responsibility to make films that have some kind of moral backbone.

Anyone can make some crass movie that gets your adrenaline pumping. Making a movie that actually makes you think, and actually moves you, is another.

What was brilliant about the early Scorcese movies - Taxi Driver, Mean Streets etc - is that the violent characters did at least have real conflict. And the misogynists weren't the heroes. There was all kinds of violence, but there was depth to the movies, conflict and resolution in the characters. The characters were real, and the problems and attitudes, lives they lived were real.

Something we don't see enough of lately, it seems. As Michael Moore once said, films used to have a reason. They were important, and not just entertainment, or "chewing gum for the eyes".

BUT AGAIN...how is this all going to help me make the movie I want to make?

I have to stay positive.