""Because we are a violent species," I added before taking another sip of my wine. Sure, I was watching the movie through melancholic lenses, riding the descending wave of a major depressive episode-but I've found those moments can be unusually revelatory. It is true that people, on a certain level, can be unnecessarily violent. I hope there is more to life than deriving entertainment from the "good guys fighting the bad guys." But at this time, among our species, "us vs. them" sells."
"Social psychology research shows a clear human tendency to distinguish between those who are safe and accepted into the group (the in-group) and those who are different, unsafe- alien (the out-group). In their integrative review, Cikara and Van Bavel (2014) explain that social categorization "allows us to simplify the social world and generalize our existing knowledge about certain groups and new people." We are raised to distinguish between "us" and "them.""
Humans evolved and are socialized to create in-groups and identify out-group members, a tendency that simplifies social cognition and guides behavior. Social categorization allows generalization from known group traits to unfamiliar individuals. Cultural media portrayals normalize conflict framing as 'good guys' versus 'bad guys', reinforcing acceptance of intergroup violence from childhood through adulthood. Such narratives can make violent responses seem entertaining and instinctive despite broader human intelligence. The normalization of otherness contributes to distrust and marginalization of those labeled as different. The documentary "Age of Disclosure" raises claims of concealed evidence of unidentified aerial phenomena, suggesting additional societal concealments.
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