Laughs Up, Mayhem Down

By C. Young

10/25/2001 at 02:33 PM EDT

The first principle of show business is to give 'em what they want. And that's always what producers claim to be doing when watchdog groups object to violence in the media. Now it turns out that audiences (even before Sept. 11) don't much enjoy violence either. According to a survey conducted by the Entertainment Industries Council, 83 percent of their randomly selected respondents said that comedy would "make me want to see a movie/TV show more." Special effects ranked second and adventure ranked third with about three quarters of the survey saying those factors would draw them to a television show or movie. Sex and romance got the approval of 55 percent of the audience. Gun violence came in last with 19 percent wanting more flying bullets and gore, and 44 percent saying they would shun such entertainment. "Though some in the industry may see guns as audience magnets, just the opposite seems to be the case," said research director Barbara Demming Lurie to Reuters. "Given the prevalence (of gun violence) on screen, you would think there would be some kind of driving need out there. But we didn't find it."