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.
“In any assembly the simplest way to stop transacting business and split the ranks is to appeal to a principle.”
“I never had the influence of any other singer in my music, so I sounded like myself all the time.”