The Impact of Motion Media on Youth

1489 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Effect of media and films on society

Natural Born Killers is a famous Hollywood film, which was directed by Oliver Stone in 1994. William Oliver Stone is one of the most innovative film directors in the Hollywood film industry. Stone tends to use strong and violent images in his films, to shock, affect and capture the attention of the audience. Inspired by Joseph Conrad's novel Lord Jim and George Harrison's music, Stone taught English at the Pacific Institute in South Vietnam, while serving time in the Army. After his return, he eventually graduated from film school at New York University in 1971. Stone has won three Academy Awards. His first Oscar was for Best Adapted Screenplay for Midnight Express (1978). Natural born Killers is Oliver Stone’s most infamous masterpiece. Despite the broad variety of his work, Stone’s fame is synonymous with Natural Born Killers, a film notorious for both its content and its effect. The film is about two youngsters, who suffered from similar traumatic childhoods, fell in love and became mass murderers; furthermore, their actions are recklessly glorified by the media. The film outraged large sections of the public, and was blamed for scores of tragedies throughout America. On the surface, Natural Born Killers has lots of implications of brutality, and may seem as advertising violence. However, it is unfair to blame any movie for crimes committed by other people. If taken the time to look into human development, it is clear that a viewing of such entertainment could trigger violent acts, but definitely not initiate them. A critical question that the society has been struggling with for the past two decades is who is to blame?
The film revolves around Mallory (played by Juliette Lewis) a teenage girl who is abused by her awful family...

... middle of paper ...

...ovie Natural Born Killers by announcing “If ever a film deserved to be banned, this is it”, causing a level of hysteria around a film not seen since Kubrick’s controversial classic A Clockwork Orange was released in 1971. The movie is still cited in murder cases as the trigger for teenage killing sprees, and is mentioned in dispatches whenever Hollywood is criticized for its levels of violence. However, it is unfair to place blame any one individual or movie. If taken the time to look into human development, it is clear that such ruthless and inhuman acts of murder cannot be gained by watching one movie. A viewing of such entertainment could trigger acts, but definitely not initiate them. If the society wants to make a difference and change the perception of the youth, then better education should be promoted and moral-life lessons should be taught to youth as well.

Show More
Related

  • Pointless Violence in the Movie (Film), Natural Born Killers

    564 Words  | 2 Pages

    According to Time magazine's Richard Corliss, Natural Born Killers is "the ideal recipe for a Stone-crazy parable of greed and abuse." Corliss describes with great enthusiasm the main characters of the film -- Woody Harrelson and Juliette Lewis -- as "love-thugs. . . two doomed maniacs busy mythologizing themselves"; Tom Sizemore as a "brutish detective" hoping to capture them; Robert Downey, Jr., a tabloid reporter who wants to "exploit their exploits by turning them into media darlings"; and Tommy Lee Jones as a "crazed wa...

    Read More

  • Essay On Differences Between Native Son And Natural Born Killers

    2160 Words  | 5 Pages

    Richard Wright’s novel Native Son and Oliver Stone’s film Natural Born Killers are works that focus on the act of murder. Native Son deals with the large impact that race has on the way society sees both white and black communities. Natural Born Killers shows how one’s past and the media one is exposed to can affect ones view of violence. Throughout both the novel and film killing becomes natural to the characters due to the way society has conditioned them.

    Read More

  • Violence in the Media

    1064 Words  | 3 Pages

    Gina Marchetti, in her essay "Action-Adventure as Ideology," argues that action- adventure films implicitly convey complex cultural messages regarding American values and the "white American status quo." She continues to say that all action-adventure movies have the same basic structure, including plot, theme, characterization, and iconography. As ideology, this film genre tacitly expresses social norms, values, and morals of its time. Marchetti's essay, written in 1989, applies to films such as Raiders of the Lost Ark and Rambo: First Blood II. However, action-adventure films today seem to be straying farther away from her generalizations about structure, reflecting new and different cultural norms in America. This changing ideology is depicted best in Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers (1994), which defies nearly every concept Marchetti proposes about action-adventure films; and it sets the stage for a whole new viewpoint of action in the '90's.

    Read More

  • History of School Shootings in US

    893 Words  | 2 Pages

    Today’s society thrives on violence. Young children made pretend guns and shot at siblings, teenagers enjoyed video games which praised the player for kills, and adults flocked to see the latest horror movie, few people asked what effect this has on people and society. Some psychologists have started researching this effect. A study by Dr. Ferguson;...

    Read More

  • Media Violence: Censorship Not Needed

    1589 Words  | 4 Pages

    Valenti, Jack. "Violent Movies Do Not Make Children Violent." Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. 4 May. 1999. Rpt. in Violence in the Media. Ed. James D. Torr. San Diego: Greenhaven. 2001. 72-74.

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis Of Natural Born Killers By Grisham

    453 Words  | 1 Pages

    Grisham tells us that two youngsters killed 2 unrelated people after they watched the film, Natural Born Killers, and learned the violent behavior showed in the film and commit crimes afterwards. And he comes to conclusion that this kind of violent movies that will cause bad effects among young people should be not allowed to made. The detail he provides is that nothing in the two perpetrator’s past indicated violent propensities. Stone’s essay is the response to Grisham’s indict. His central idea is that the movies should not be blamed as reasons people commit crime. The details he provides are that: There are many related factor involved if people are guilty, such as their upbringing, parents, schools, and peers, but not films; Teenagers spend more time on watching TV, which also include violent depictions and have effects on teenagers, so TV should have more responsibility on the crime than Natural Born Killers does.

    Read More

  • Hollywood Stop Exposing Our Kids To Violence Analysis

    439 Words  | 1 Pages

    The author of “Hollywood, Stop Exposing Our Kids to Violence” claims that filmmakers need to stop producing violent movies. The article argues that many children pick up bad habits from watching violent

    Read More

  • The Great Imagination Heist Essay

    584 Words  | 2 Pages

    One could easily dismiss movies as superficial, unnecessarily violent spectacles, although such a viewpoint is distressingly pessimistic and myopic. In a given year, several films are released which have long-lasting effects on large numbers of individuals. These pictures speak

    Read More

  • Violence in Television

    1911 Words  | 4 Pages

    When families sit down to watch television, they expect to watch family type of shows. Family type shows meaning rated PG or PG13, sitcoms and movies that do not include weapons, killing, foul language, and non-socially accepted actions. When children killing, they start to believe that it is accepted. Do children think that killing and hurting others and themselves have little meaning to the real life, children can become traumatized. Most killers or violators of the law blame their behavior on the media, and the way that television portrays violators. Longitudinal studies tracking viewing habits and behavior patterns of a single individual found that 8-year-old boys, who viewed the most violent programs growing up, were the most likely to engage in aggressive and delinquent behavior by age 18 and serious criminal behavior by age 30 (Eron, 1). Most types of violence that occur today links to what people see on television, act out in video games or cyberspace games, or hear in music. Media adds to the violence that exists today and in the past few decades. It will continue in the future if it is not recognized as a possible threat to our society. When kids go to a movie, watch television, play video games or even surf the web, they become part of what they see and hear. Soaking violence in their heads long enough becomes a part of the way they think, acts, and live. The line between pretend and reality gets blurred.

    Read More

  • Media Violence

    1852 Words  | 4 Pages

    In 1989 the results of a five year study by the American Psychological Association indicated that the average child has witnessed 8,000 murders and 100,000 other acts of violence on television by the time he or she has completed sixth grade. In further studies it was determined that by the time that same child graduates from high school he or she will have spent 22,000 hours w...

    Read More

  • Televised Aggression: Effects on Children and Behavior

    874 Words  | 2 Pages

    Through movies, talk shows, cartoons and more, our television screens have plainly become littered with violence. According to The National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center (2008) “61 percent of television programs contain some violence, and only 4 percent of television programs with violent content feature an ‘antiviolence’ theme” (para. 1).

    Read More

  • Unnatural Killers

    1034 Words  | 3 Pages

    In John Grisham’s essay “Unnatural Killers” he weaves a story of two love-struck teens (Sarah Edmondson and Benjamin Darras) on a killing spree that claimed the lives of one of Grisham’s close personal friends (Bill Savage) and the mobility of another woman (Patsy Byers). Grisham claims that these teens were influenced by Oliver Stone’s film Natural Born Killers and that “there exists a direct causal link between the movie Natural Born Killers and the death of Bill Savage”(577). Even though I must concede some of Grisham’s points, I still think that, whether the movie (Natural Born Killers) had an influence on the two teens or not it’s still their personal choices to shoot those people. The blame should be laid on Darras and Edmondson because of their decisions, not Oliver Stone because of his movie’s possible influence.

    Read More

  • Violence on Television

    1250 Words  | 3 Pages

    Today’s society is heavily influenced by television. The violence disrupts a child’s learning process and can alter the moral beliefs that an older person has. Children view more violence on Saturday mornings than any other time. The cartoons aimed at little children influence youngsters to mimic violent acts because their parents do not fully explain the effects of the stunts. It is pathetic that in such a technology based society, such a simple thing as television can have a negative effect on people.

    Read More

  • We Need Censorship

    1929 Words  | 4 Pages

    "Monkey see, Monkey do." Everyone has heard this phrase sometime in his or her life. This phrase is simple, yet very applicable to today's debate. When a child sees someone or something doing something. They will of course follow suit and imitate the action being performed. Children do not know any better. Therefore they are innocent and deserve to be respected. It is for these following reasons that we argue for the censorship of harmful materials that could influence a child or children into violent acts, expressions, and other dangerous actions. Through television, video games, and movies, children and teens view countless acts of violence, brutality, and terror as part of entertainment. They become conditioned to associating violence with entertainment. First-person shooter video games develop our children's skills in operating weapons. The games reward marksmanship, and further reinforce the association of killing with entertainment. In the past, the heroes of movie and television shows were usually people who strictly followed the law. Now, heroes are often people who take the law into their own hands, who see an injustice or evil and seek to rectify it personally, sometimes brutally, regardless of the consequences. Such portrayals signal, to a child, society's approval of that behavior.

    Read More

  • The Influence Of Horror Movies

    678 Words  | 2 Pages

    When you’re with your friends, one fun way to pass time is to watch a movie. But you probably have a long debate about which type of movies you want to watch. Some like romance some like comedy and others like horror movies. Horror movies are the latest trend amongst teenagers. Every while a horror movie is released in the theatres and they all make big hits, grossing a lot of money. Some people just cannot seem to get enough of violent, disgusting movies. They crave these movies like they crave food. In the past, horror movies were usually avoided, but today they are one of the most popular types of movies watched. This weird portent is accompanied by a really gruesome and sad phenomenon. Throughout history, the number of horror movies released increased, so did the number of real life crimes. But these crimes are abnormal in the way that they are mimicking the horror movies. We all heard the stories of the boys who tried to be like Chucky, horrifically killing a two year old, or the teenagers that brutally murdered a woman in an attempt to mimic Ghostface from the hit horror movie franchise Scream. As a result of these shocking murders, a lot of controversy and debates emerged discussing the role that horror movies played in the execution murders. Some blamed the movies and others said they had nothing to do with it. That said, one question has been the center of this problematic dilemma; Do horror movies create psychopaths, or do they rather push someone with inherent psychotic traits to commit a murder?

    Read More

More about The Impact of Motion Media on Youth

Open Document