Actor James Faulkner has blamed the rise in U.K knife crime on the type of onscreen violence displayed in his former show Game Of Thrones.
The veteran actor, who played battle commander Randyll Tarly in the hit HBO series before coming to a fiery end in season 7, has spoken out against the prevalence of violence showed in TV and film. The series, which is in its final season, has been criticised over the years for its graphic portrayal of sexual violence and torture. But in an interview with DailyMail.com at the 2019 Movieguide Awards in Los Angeles, Faulkner claimed it’s ilk is influencing children to become violent in real life.
“I am sure you’re aware that at the moment, there’s a great deal of discussion in the U.K. about the amount of knife crime amongst young people and that is because violence is just a matter of fact these days and it’s on your TV screen and in your movie theatre every day of the week,” the 70-year-old told the news outlet. “Of course there is a link between screen violence influencing young people’s actions, because violence is represented to them on television.
“It’s easy to become used to it, immune to it, and it teaches you a great deal about how to handle yourself in a street fight and what to do and what moves are available to you and what weapons are available to you.”
Faulkner shared his concerns in a newly emerged video from the 2019 Movieguide Awards which took place in February (19), and he praised the event for celebrating films which promote positive messages.
“It is rather important that Movieguide has another take on the movie business. We have a real responsibility in this industry to make films that celebrate the better side of human nature and not continue to explore violence and unpleasantness and hatred,” he continued. “And I would like to see a great many more films, which are a pleasure to watch, which are uplifting for the human spirit.”
