How does Martin Scorsese use Violence in his films?
Well you have to look at the characters. yes they are very often violent but they live in a violent world usually. Take Gangs of New York as an example. Violence is really a means to survive as well as a means of control. Might is right and the strongest survive. Even though Butcher Bill is a horribly violent man he is also a product of the society he comes from. Also importantly violence is used as a means of acceptable justice, and it is the accepted system of civilisation in which the characters live. Violence is a normal part of everyday life. This results in a very acute kind of escapism, the director allows you to feel as though you are looking into a completely different world with different values, a world that you would not want to be inside, but is fascinating to watch.
