It often seems like everywhere one looks, violence rears its ugly head. It is seen in the muggings on the streets, physical assaults in back alleys, shootings at schools, and even at home. The last of these, surprisingly, is a major source of violence. In most living rooms there sits an outlet of the most violent behavior and it often goes unnoticed.
It is the television and the children who view it are often pulled into its realistic world
with sometimes devastating results. More parents are using television as a means of
entertaining their children when they are unable to, and the amount of television that
children are watching is a growing concern in our society. In 1950, only 10% of
American homes had a television and by 1960 the percentage had grown to 90%. Today,
99% of homes have a television. (Note 1) The results of many experiments and research
have all shown that television is a major source of violent behavior in children and that
the two do, in deed, go hand in hand.
As much as society would like to ignore the fact, violence in the media does affect
children. In New York, a 16-year-old boy broke into a cellar. When the police
apprehended him and asked him why he was wearing gloves, he replied that he had
learned to do so from television as to not leave fingerprints. In Alabama, a nine-year-old
boy received a bad report card from his teacher. He suggested sending the teacher
poisoned candy in retaliation as he had seen on television the night before. In California,
a seven-year-old boy sprinkled broken glass into the stew his family was to eat for dinner.
When asked why, he replied that he wanted to see if the results would be the same in real
life as they were on television. These are certainly sobering examples of how television
can affect a child.
The average child spends approximately 28 hours a week watching television;
twice as much time as is spent in school. By the age of 18, one child will have witnessed
over 200,000 acts of violence on television, to include 16,000 murders. (Note 2) One
might argue that these are impressionable children with no sense of right and wrong;
however, some psychologists and psychiatrists feel that continued exposure to such
violence might unnaturally speed up the impact of the adult world on the child.
week. Only 5% of Melbourne and 1% of Sydney households owned a television by 1960. (Carrodus,
Recently, the effect that violent media has on society has been the focus of many psychological studies. According to an article published in the New York Times, research has found that: “Exposure to violent imagery does not preordain violence, but it is a risk factor” (Pozios, Kambam, Bender, 2013). There has yet to be a direct link between violence actually causing people to go on these massive shooting sprees that have been so common lately. It is natural and understandable for the
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.
knew; dont open your door to a stranger, even if he is the police. Make him
"We, as a society, did this to ourselves," said psychologist Dr. David Walsh, executive director of clinics and systems operations for Fairview Behavioral Services in Minneapolis. "Violence grabs the headlines, but violence itself is a result of a society that promotes selfishness, greed and instant gratification" (Peterson). Violence on public television often catches us in a serious debate. Concerned parents fear that viewing inappropriate images presented by the media will corrupt America's youth. They cringe at the idea of our nation's children growing up to be vicious killers due to the brutal violence often seen on TV. Some blame television for most, if not all, of the ills of society and its children. "Truly it accounts for about 10 percent of violence, which means that 90 percent is caused by other things," Leonard Eron says. "Violence is a multi-determined behavior. It's caused by genetic, biological, physiological, macroeconomic and macrosocial factors, all of which can account for some part of the variance." Understanding...
"Violence seems to be something everybody feels they can recognize when they see it, yet it is difficult to define unambiguously. Many different definitions are now in use, and there is much disagreement about them. (Wober 41)" Violent behavior is high due to the sale...
Throughout human history, violence, for the most part, has been a perpetual struggle we’ve faced. It does not discriminate against location, color, or creed, and it has an impact, lasting or not, on each of us at some point during our lives. Living in a Western country, many of us have become accustomed to the idea that true violence only lives in the ravaged lands of warring countries or the dilapidated streets of rundown neighborhoods, but in truth it can be found anywhere. Community center’s, schools, churches, and even the most secluded towns all encounter violence, though sometimes behind closed doors, everyone is vulnerable to it. But what prompts it to occur exactly? Violence itself stems from the causality of several different factors,
Does entertainment influence society's attitude towards violent behavior? In order to fully answer this question we must first understand what violence is. Violence is the use of one's powers to inflict mental or physical injury upon another; examples of this would be rape or murder. Violence in entertainment reaches the public by way of television, movies, plays, music, and novels. Through the course of this essay it will be proven that violence in entertainment is a major factor in the escalation of violence in society, once this is proven we will take all of the evidence that has been shown throughout this paper and come to a conclusion as to whether or not violence in entertainment is justified and whether or not it should be censored.
Before television existed people had to depend on Radio stations to receive their little bit of entertainment and news. But in 1878, the invention of TV began. The first TV made didn’t look anything like the way TV’s look today. It was a mechanical camera with a large spinning disc attached to it (Kids Work). But as over the years, of course, inventions of different TV’s progressed and by the 20th century about 90 percent of our population had a TV in their household (MGHR). Television today is mainly used for people take a break from their life by relaxing and enjoying some entertainment.
... for children. Children are exposed to 20,000 advertisements a year. The average child watches 8,000 televised murders and 100,000 acts of violence before finishing elementary school. By the time children graduate from high school, those numbers more than doubles. Furthermore, television is shown to influence attitudes about race and gender. Pro-social and anti-social behaviors are influenced by television.
Modern violence is present all around us. No matter which way one turns, violence will be there to greet him. Whether it be on the street, in school, or even at home, violence cannot be avoided. The presence of this violence in society leads to stress. This stress is to a large extent the cause of the similarity mentioned earlier, namely drinking. Anyone from the local bully to a armed robber can be representatives of modern violence. Although it is present in everyday life, this violence can be seen easier in any form of media.
What if violence were to be truly considered an epidemic - one with BOTH neurological and sociological explanations? Being a public health practitioner and activist, I am inclined to champion the cause of social scientists and the role that society, economy, and politics play in the make-up of a violent individual. What is the environment that allows an epidemic of violence to overtake a community and how does it initiate in the individual?
American households had a television set, but by the 1960 the figure had reached 90 percent.
In an article written by Kevin D. Browne and Catherine Hamilton-Giachritsis out of Lancet, dated 2/19/2005, Volume 365 in issue 9460, on page 702 a collection of research shows short-term effects increasing the likelihood of aggressive or fearful behavior in younger children, especially in boys. It also shows research stating that there is a very weak correlation directly between media violence and acted out aggression. This article basically states that violent media being watched by children does impression and arouse some, but does not associate strongly with violent acts. This would help explain the fact that millions of kids watch violent television shows and remain nonviolent.
Television is everywhere these days, not just in our living rooms but in bathrooms, kitchens, doctor's offices, grocery stores, airplanes, and classrooms. We have access to TV virtually anywhere and as American's we are taking advantaged of it. Adults aren't the only ones watching TV; children today are watching more TV than ever before. TV has even become known as "America's baby-sitter." (Krieg). Meaning that parents are now using the television as a way of entertaining their children while they attempt to accomplish other things such as cooking and cleaning.