On Killing

Buy On Killing

The twentieth century, with its bloody world wars, revolutions, and genocides accounting for hundreds of millions dead, would seem to prove that human beings are incredibly vicious predators and that killing is as natural as eating. But Lieutenant Colonel Dave Grossman, a psychologist and U.S. Army Ranger, demonstrates this is not the case. The good news, according to Grossman - drawing on dozens of interviews, first-person reports, and historic studies of combat, ranging from Frederick the Great`s battles in the eighteenth century through Vietnam - is that the vast majority of soldiers are loath to kill. In World War II, for instance, only 15 to 25 percent of combat infantry were willing to fire their rifles. The provocative news is that modern armies, using Pavlovian and operant conditioning, have learned how to overcome this reluctance. In Korea about 50 percent of combat infantry were willing to shoot, and in Vietnam the figure rose to over 90 percent. The bad news is that by conditioning soldiers to overcome their instinctive loathing of killing, we have drastically increased post-combat stress - witness the devastated psychological state of our Vietnam vets as compared with those from earlier wars. And the truly terrible news is that contemporary civilian society, particularly the media, replicates the army`s conditioning techniques and - according to Grossman`s controversial thesis - is responsible for our rising rates of murder and violence, particularly among the young. In the explosive last section of the book, he argues that high-body-count movies, television violence (both news and entertainment), and interactive point-and-shoot video games are dangerously similar to thetraining programs that dehumanize the enemy, desensitize soldiers to the psychological ramifications of killing, and make pulling the trigger an automatic response.


The War Game/Culloden (DVD)

Two powerful BBC-produced films by Peter Watkins about war and their consequences are collected here. Commissioned by the BBC in the mid-1960s to dramatize the effects of a nuclear attack on Great Britain, WAR GAME is a film of monumental devastation, which so shocked the heads of the agency that it was never shown on television. CULLODEN is an intriguing restaging of the 1746 battle of Culloden--the last battle fought on British ground, in which Bonnie Prince Charles was defeated by the Royal Army of King George II--using amateur actors, and capturing how the bloody struggle might have looked to the nation if television had existed at the time.
The War Game/Culloden (DVD)
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Charmed - The Complete Second Season (DVD)

Debuting in 1998, the Aaron Spelling-produced television series CHARMED follows the adventures of three modern-day witches juggling their supernatural abilities with the demands of everyday life. The Halliwell sisters (originally played by Alyssa Milano, Shannon Doherty, and Hollie Marie Combs) use their magical powers to protect innocent people from evil demons, who, in turn, attempt to steal the sister's powers for their own purposes. In order to shield the world from darkness, Piper, Phoebe, and Prudence must protect their own powers from the lords of the underworld, and also rise above the childish bickering of sisterhood to work together as a team. This collection features all 22 episodes of the show's second season.
Charmed - The Complete Second Season (DVD)
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Tom and Francie (DVD)

This uproarious parody takes children`s TV conventions and spins them on their head. Although the budget is low, the laughs come thick and fast as a talented cast sets out to lampoon some of the customs that we`ve come to accept as standard in children`s television.
Tom and Francie (DVD)
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The Original Television Holiday Classics 3-DVD Gift Collection (DVD)

A collection of original Rankin& Bass stop-motion animation holiday classics, featuring SANTA CLAUS IS COMIN' TO TOWN, THE LITTLE DRUMMER BOY, RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER, FROSTY THE SNOWMAN, and FROSTY RETURNS. See individual titles for further details.SANTA CLAUS IS COMIN' TO TOWN: Kris Kringle (Mickey Rooney) is a young boy with an immense desire to do good things for others. In his home village of Sombertown, Kris has started a gift factory where he builds toys and gives them to all the local children. But when the evil ruler Burgermeister Meisterburger (Paul Frees) bans toys from the land, Kris is forced to go directly to Mother Nature and beseech her for assistance. With the help of magical elves and several special reindeer, Kris works hard to overcome the Burgermeister and deliver toys to all the children of the world, earning him the name Saint Claus, or Santa Claus. This timeless tale by Jules Bass and Arthur Rankin is narrated by Fred Astaire.RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER:... The Original Television Holiday Classics 3-DVD Gift Collection (DVD)
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City

When Clark Kent and Lex Luthor head to Metrolopolis for a visit, they suddenly become the target of kidnappers, yakuza assassins, and a psychopathic alien hunter, and the only way for Clark to save his friend may be to publicly reveal the secret of his extraordinary powers. Original. (A WB Network television series) (Science Fiction & Fantasy)
City
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Jiminy Glick in La La Wood (DVD)

Multitalented comedian Martin Short brings his character Jiminy Glick, the Butte, Montana entertainment television reporter, to the big screen in the comedy JIMINY GLICK IN LALAWOOD. A little sweaty and a lot excitable, Jiminy`s finally headed to the big time: the Toronto Film Festival. With his wife Dixie (Jan Hooks) and twin sons Matthew and Modine in tow, Jiminy is poised to realize his celebrity-worshipping dreams by becoming an industry player. After he scores an interview with reclusive, bad-boy actor Ben DiCarlo (Corey Pearson), Jiminy is catapulted to sudden fame and everyone wants in on the action. A famous actress on the decline, Miranda Coolidge (Elizabeth Perkins), seeks Jiminy out, but their new friendship appears to have a deadly result. Can gentle journalist Glick have a hidden violent side?
Short, who co-wrote this film with Paul Flaherty and Michael Short, first introduced Jiminy Glick via his Comedy Central television program PRIMETIME GLICK. Here, in a feature-length... Jiminy Glick in La La Wood (DVD)
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