The Mean World Syndrome

This week, we watched The Mean World Syndrome, which argued, among other things, that people who consume a lot of media -- especially television and more specifically, television news -- believe the world is a far more dangerous place that it actually is.  This creates a sense of anxiety, fear, and anger that is out of proportion with reality.  This insecurity often leads to a greater desire for protection from this perceived danger and threat, which makes people more easily manipulated, more willing to give up rights and freedoms, and more likely to want to protect themselves in any way necessary; hence, the proliferation of guns and gun violence, the scapegoating of minorities and immigrants, the erosion of civil liberties, the increase in surveillance, and the absurd number of people who are incarcerated (and, in my opinion, the proliferation of for-profit prisons).

(http://bigthink.com/risk-reason-and-reality/aurora-and-the-mean-world-syndrome)

We currently have a person occupying the White House who is a heavy viewer, defined as someone who watches more than four hours of television per day.  In fact, his aides are concerned about the amount of television he consumes.  If we agree with George Gerbner and accept that Cultivation Theory is plausible, then we not only believe that television has a cumulative and overarching impact on the way we see the world and ourselves in it, we must also believe that it has an effect on the person who is currently making political decisions that will impact us all (e.g., the Muslim ban and assumption that all Muslims are terrorists, the claim that Mexicans are rapists and criminals and drug dealers that warrant building a wall, the threat of military intervention in Chicago--CHICAGO!!--to curb urban violence).  That is a scary prospect.

While violence has always been present in storytelling and is sometimes necessary to the message of a particular story, what is troubling about today's media violence is that it often lacks consequences.  It is glamorous or humorous and typically leads to a happy ending, a highly unrealistic view of the actual consequences of violence.  He calls this "happy violence."

"It has to be highly entertaining violence. That means that theyʼre thrilling, that theyʼre swift, that theyʼre often glamorous, that theyʼre certainly spectacular, and they always lead to a happy ending." ~George Gerbner

What is "happy violence?"  Describe it in your own words.
What are some examples of happy violence from movies or television that you've seen recently?  Provide examples and share links (or images or screenshots).  Why are these examples of happy violence?  How do they make violence glamorous or humorous?