“There is, like it or not, a deeply held suspicion that fictional representations of violence steadily rub away at our sensibilities, so that when the real thing comes along we’re too numb and jaded to react as human beings. The issue is as ancient as creativity itself, but it has lost none of its urgency over the centuries: Just what is the impact of art? Does watching stories about terrible acts desensitize us to the horror of those acts when they actually occur?”