Includes bibliographical references (291 - 292) and index.

The Characteristics of Story: Conflict, Chronicle, and Violence -- The Journeys of Brutal Stories -- Helpless Audiences and The Magic Bullet -- Obstinate Violence -- Learning Violence: The Drama of Aggression -- Mean Worlds and Remorseless Strangers with Guns -- What an Audience Wants: Selection, Gratification, and Violence -- Gender, Hyper-Masculinity, and the Violent Story -- Terrorism, War, and Media Systems -- The Violent Aesthetic.

"Graphic Violence provides an innovative introduction to the relationship between violence and visual media, discussing how media consumers and producers can think critically about and interact with violent visual content. It comprehensively surveys predominant theories of media violence and the research supporting and challenging them, addressing issues ranging from social learning, to representations of war and terrorism, to gender and hyper-masculinity. Each chapter features original artwork presenting a story in the style of a graphic novel to demonstrate the concepts at hand. Truly unique in its approach to the subject and medium, this volume is an excellent resource for undergraduate students of communication and media theory as well as anyone interested in understanding the causes and effects of violence in media"--