An art instillation by Emily Moorhead, a candidate for Master of Fine Arts in the art school, titled “American Patriotic,” aims to answer that question by highlighting the role of violence in movies and the influence of those movies on American society.

In the piece, which she will present in the Danforth University Center (DUC) Tisch Commons on Thursday from 1 to 4 p.m., Moorhead will place three televisions side by side, each showing scenes from violent American films such as “Kill Bill,” “The Departed” and “No Country for Old Men.”

Instead of the film’s soundtracks, Moorhead will play American patriotic music over the movies and audio footage of news stations covering the Columbine shootings of 1999 and the shooting at Virginia Tech last year, among other shootings. In addition, she will play a recording of Charlton Heston’s speech to the National Rifle Association given the week after the Columbine shooting.

Moorhead seeks to make Washington University students aware of how they assimilate the values and imagery projected by the movies into their lives.

“What I’m really interested in [is] the effect that these kinds of violent media and pop culture have on our culture and society,” she said, pointing to recent college shootings at Northern Illinois University and the University of Central Arkansas.

Moorhead also wants to heighten students’ sensitivities to these movies, which she claims have been blunted by the quantity of violent films released.

“You don’t really think about the effects that that one violent movie has on you, but when you think about all the movies you see in your lifetime, you have this message that this is a desensitized area for civilization,” she said.

In addition to screening the films and audio, Moorhead will take part in the installation, acting as a bystander to the college shootings and pretending to be a victim of them as well, lying on the ground while covering herself with fake blood.

Because of the piece’s provocative nature, Moorhead has had to work with the University’s police and facilities departments to show her work on campus. She doubts, however, that her poject  will cause a violent disruption.

“They were concerned that I would create mass panic,” she said. “This is an intelligent school, and I think that it’s their right to see works that are controversial. They can handle something that’s not a beautiful art piece in a museum. It’s more important to me to be able to address a larger group of people.”

“American Patriotic” comes soon after the Art Council (ArtC) hosted Art Week at the DUC, a series of programs aimed at helping students create art on the Danforth Campus. Junior Jenny Murphy, president of ArtC, acknowledged the differing goals of Art Week and “American Patriotic” and expressed appreciation for Moorhead’s intentions.

“Art Week projects were meant for public participation, but this is a specific artist making a statement,” Murphy said. “It gives students an impression of the way the art world works. You’re forced to deal with what’s going on.”

Murphy added that she would like to see more installation art on campus.

“This is public artwork, so it’s meant to be in the face of the public,” she said. “That’s how Emily’s project becomes most effective in getting her point across. It shouldn’t be isolated if she want to communicate her ideas.”

Although she wants the public to be conscious of the effect of violence in the media, Moorhead does not believe that violence in society is the fault of these movies alone.

“It’s not just television and movies,” she said. “If you even look at toys today and action figures, it’s a problem that’s been in the state ever since it was created.”