Is violent cinema influencing teen gangs?

A teenager watches an on-screen hero step into a room, silence everyone with a stare, counter humiliation with violence, and leave as the most powerful man in the room. While this is considered entertainment, such scenes may be problematic for teenagers to view. They convey that being violent is not bad, but rather something to aspire to in order for one to become powerful.

This serious concern deserves more attention as Dhaka struggles with a growing teen gang culture. Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) have reportedly identified 159 active teenage gangs involving more than 3,000 members in the capital. It would be simplistic and unfair to blame films for this crisis. A film does not turn an otherwise well-adjusted child into a criminal. Family circumstances, peer pressure, dropping out, drugs, unemployment, and proximity to criminal networks can all contribute to juvenile delinquency. But that does not mean we should ignore the cultural environment in which young people learn what constitutes power, masculinity, courage, and respect.

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During Eid earlier this year, a movie named “Prince: Once Upon a Time in Dhaka” entered cinemas with its gangster-styled protagonist, dark visuals, and a narrative centred on power and intimidation. Its promotional line, “He doesn’t chase power; power follows him,” illustrates why popular culture deserves scrutiny when the real-life environment already contains thousands of vulnerable young people searching for identity and status.

The point is not that filmmakers should stop making films with crime as a central theme. Crime, violence, and the underworld are legitimate subjects to be explored in art. Indeed, cinema can be used to expose the brutality of crime rather than glorify it. The issue arises when the criminal plays the role of the protagonist, violence is shown as a means of extorting respect, and power is gained by committing crime.

A 2025 research study in the International Journal of Environmental Sciences depicts a picture of the relationship between exposure to media violence and later aggression, although researchers note that the causal relationship is complex and reciprocal. Another study reveals that media exposure to extreme violence at an early age may be connected to violent behaviour later in adulthood. Such media could shape the future choices of teenagers. That evidence, however, does not justify saying that consuming a violent film makes a child criminal. It establishes that media can play a role, among many other factors, in affecting behaviour.

Even after a film ends at the theatre, short reels featuring aggressive scenes are seen on social media platforms and watched by young people. This means that teens are not just watching a movie but also being further influenced by an algorithm.

In Bangladesh, freedom of thought, conscience, speech, and expression are guaranteed, subject to reasonable restrictions prescribed by law, under Article 39 of the constitution. Reasonable restrictions include those relating to public discipline, decency, morality, and incitement to a crime. Therefore, any attempt to regulate action-themed films must align with artistic freedom and cannot be grounded in vague moral ideas.

The constitution also requires the state to provide free and compulsory education to all children and to adopt measures that support children’s development. Article 17 puts education at the centre of national policy. The wider promise of the constitution, about dignity and social justice, also makes the state promise to take children’s welfare seriously. Moreover, Bangladesh has also shifted from a censorship‑oriented approach towards film certification. The Bangladesh Film Certification Act, 2023 has replaced the old censorship framework and introduced a system that aims to make films available according to the suitability of the audience. However, the real challenge remains to make that system effective, not just an administrative exercise.

Furthermore, the Children Act, 2013 offers an alternative to a purely punitive response. This act recognises children in conflict with the law as a group and gives options such as diversion, probation, social investigation, and child-development institutions. Additionally, it specifically requires that a child’s family, social, cultural, economic, psychological, and educational circumstances be taken into account with the causes and background of the offence.

First, Bangladesh needs to invest in research into how much media people consume, how they use social media, and how these factors connect to young people getting involved in gang activities. We need to stop talking based on guesses and start getting information from here. Furthermore, the film certification system should consider age restricting certain films. Violence in films should not be banned outright. Instead, children must be kept safe from content that is not suitable for them.

Furthermore, schools must introduce media-literacy programmes. Children need to understand the differences between fiction and reality. By spending quality time with children, family members could play a significant role in this regard. In addition, social media platforms must take accountability for spreading violent content among teenagers.

Lastly, the youth need access to sports grounds, activity clubs, libraries, vocational training, counselling, and safe community spaces.

Action films do not produce an offender. But are we doing our best to make sure teenagers learn that courage does not come from violence, respect is not equal to fear, and that power is not a weapon? We need to teach children that violence does not equal heroism.

Md Nazmul Hossain Sefat is a researcher and former lecturer in the Department of Law and Human Rights at University of Asia Pacific. 

Views expressed in this article are the author's own. 

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