One way of watering down the effects of violence is to approach it in a more lighthearted way. I don't mean to say that you laugh when somebody has their arm sawn off, but you can diffuse fear with humour.
“An album is such a personal thing. It's something I always wanted to do. It's me doing me, singing as me.”
“We added Medicare Part D to a system facing bankruptcy and gave no thought to means testing it.”