Violent Media: Does It Cause Violence?

1754 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Does violent media influence people

Violent Media: Does it Cause Violence?

Media is something used in the daily lives of society for entertainment. The media ranges from music, movies, and video games. However there is a lot of controversy over whether or not violent media promotes violence in real life. Most of society believes it is just used for entertainment, nothing else. Others believe, with the recent shootings and bombings, that the violent media links to theses events. Violence in media is just a risk factor that can cause aggressive behavior among observers. So to an extent, violent media does cause violence in real life; however, knowing the difference between reality and fantasy is also a factor.

Music is a form of media that plays a huge role. Music varies differently among other people. Although some prefer to listen to more violent music compared to others, it doesn't mean that the person is considered a violent person. The controversy is that researchers believe listening to violent lyrics in music helps encourage listeners to act out violent acts. According to Erika Wittekind, less research has been conducted on whether or not violent music causes violent behavior in reality (Source A). A genre of music that some believe to be a main cause of this is gangster rap. Gangster rap is a subgenre of Hip Hop that contains lyrics about the life of an “American Gangster.” The songs are about the low-income lives that the rappers come from. The songs are about the things that have conflicted with their lives and the things that have been accomplished to support themselves. The artists rap about their lives and use it as self expression about the life of a poor income citizen. Rappers use rap to express feelings and conflicts in life. Some, however, do no...

... middle of paper ...

...Giovacchini, Anthony M. “The Negative Influence of Gangster Rap and What Can Be Done About It.” The Negative Influence of Gangster Rap And What Can Be Done About It. EDGE, 4 June 1999. Web. 02 May 2014.

Harvard Mental Health Letter. Volume 27, Number 4. Harvard Mental Health Letter, Harvard Health Publications, 2010. Print. 02 May 2014.

“Ohio State Professor: Violent video games can make players more aggressive-The Lantern.” The Lantern 22 Apr. 2014.

Parks, J. Peggy. Video Games. San Diego, CA: Reference Point Press, 2009. Print. 02 May 2014

ProCon.org. “Video Games ProCon.org” ProCon.org. 10 Mar. 2014. Web. 22 Apr. 2014

Wittekind, Erika. Violence as Entertainment: Why Aggression sells. North Monkato, Minnesota: Compass Point Books, 2012. Print.

Show More
Related

  • Autism Explored in What's Eating Gilbert Grape?

    2800 Words  | 6 Pages

    American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition. Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Publishing.

    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

  • Essay On Violent Video Game Stereotypes

    1225 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Study: Violent Video Game Play Makes More Aggressive Kids.” 2011. SIRS Researcher. Web. 23 Mar 2011.

    Read More

  • Media Portrayal of Mental Illness in America

    3886 Words  | 8 Pages

    middle of paper ... ... Retrieved June 16, 2002, from http://nimh.nih.gov/publicat/numbers.cfm. National Mental Health Association. 2000 May 15.

    Read More

  • Hip hop wars

    951 Words  | 2 Pages

    “The Hip Hop Wars What We Talk About - And Why It Matters” by Tricia Rose explores what hip hop has done to society in recent years and what people think it has caused. Though it has become one of the most commercially successful genres in mainstream music Tricia Rose explains that the topics in hip hop music have narrowed. Commercial hip hop mainly consist of black gangstas, thugs, pimps, and hoes. In the book she looks into the different points of views of people who think whether hip hop invokes violence or if it reflects life in a black ghetto and if it slows down advancement for African Americans in US. The author goes back and forth with the opinion of the mass on hip hop, she says people view hip hop as a music like heavy metal which people associate with violence but she refutes most of these points by showing the positives of hip hop.

    Read More

  • Racial Stereotypes Associated With Rap and Hip Hop Music

    682 Words  | 2 Pages

    A race issue that occurs within the rap and hip-hop musical genre is the racial stereotypes associated with the musical form. According to Brandt, and Viki rap music and hip- hop music are known for fomenting crime violence, and the continuing formation of negative perceptions revolving around the African-American race (p.362). Many individuals believe that rap and hip-hop music and the culture that forms it is the particular reason for the degradation of the African-American community and the stereotypes that surround that specific ethnic group. An example is a two thousand and seven song produced by artist Nas entitled the N-word. The particular title of the song sparked major debates within not only the African-American community thus the Caucasian communities as well. Debates included topics such as the significance and worth of freedom of speech compared with the need to take a stand against messages that denigrate African-Americans. This specific label turned into an outrage and came to the point where conservative white individuals stood in front of the record label expressing their feelings. These individuals made a point that it is because artists like Nas that there is an increase in gang and street violence within communities. Rap and hip-hop music only depicts a simple-minded image of black men as sex crazed, criminals, or “gangsters”. As said above, community concerns have arisen over time over the use of the N-word, or the fact that many rappers vocalize about white superiority and privilege. Of course rap music did not develop these specific stereotypes, however these stereotypes are being used; and quite successfully in rap and hip-hop which spreads them and keeps the idea that people of color are lazy, all crimin...

    Read More

  • What is a Sex Addiction?

    1023 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Gale Encyclopedia of Mental Health Ed. Kristin Key. Vol. 2. 3rd ed. Detroit: Gale, 2012. p1397-1399. COPYRIGHT 2012 Gale, Cengage Learning Tish Davidson

    Read More

  • Violence In Rap Music

    1262 Words  | 3 Pages

    Although this original face of rap music was murdered at the young age of 25, Tupac’s expressions of dreams for black social justice, along with his declaration of “thuglife,” have contributed to his beloved legacy by hip culture, even 19 years after his death. He was considered a figure of empowerment for urbanized communities because of his support in black nationalism that aims to “define, defend, and develop of Blacks as a people,” especially because he grew up in the impoverished intercity (Stanford, 2011, pg. 4). In “Violent” he raps,

    Read More

  • Media Violence Does NOT Cause Violent Behavior

    2929 Words  | 6 Pages

    In fairy tales, children are pushed into ovens, have their hands chopped off, are forced to sleep in coal bins, and must contend with wolves who've eaten their grandmother. In myths, rape, incest, all manner of gruesome bloodshed, child abandonment, and total debauchery are standard fare. We see more of the same in Bible stories, accentuated with dire predictions of terrors and abominations in an end of the world apocalypse that is more horrifying than the human imagination can even grasp.

    Read More

  • Children and Violence: An American Media Controversy

    1027 Words  | 3 Pages

    As censorship of the American media has broken down over the years, the amount of violence allowed to be shown in movies, on television, and in video games has skyrocketed. From coast to coast in our nation, this saturation of hostility in our media has caused many contentious debates between scholars, parents, students and government officials alike. In this controversy, the central argument revolves around the effects violent media has on our society. The question that most researchers strive to answer is this: does watching or participating in violent media cause violent or other harmful behaviors? There are those who would say yes, it does promote destructive behavior in real life. On the other hand, there are those who argue no, violent media is simply a reflection of what is already occurring in our society.

    Read More

  • Parental Responsibility in the Regulation of Violent Video Games

    1258 Words  | 3 Pages

    "Games: Improving the Economy." Entertainment Software Association. Entertainment Software Association. Web. 25 Oct 2013. .

    Read More

  • rap

    2825 Words  | 6 Pages

    "Rap music is a black cultural expression that prioritizes black voices from the margins of urban America. Rap music is a form of rhymed storytelling accompanied by highly rhythmic, electronically based music. It began in the mid-1970s in the South Bronx in New York City as a part of hip hop, and African-American and Afro-Caribbean youth culture composed of graffiti, breakdancing, and rap music. From the outset, rap music has articulated the pleasures and problems of black urban life in contemporary America. Rappers speak with the voice of personal experience, taking on the identity of the observer or narrator. Male rappers often speak from the perspective of a young man who wants social status in a locally meaningful way. They rap about how to avoid gang pressures and still earn local respect, how to deal with the loss of several friends to gun fights and drug overdoses, and they tell grandiose and sometimes violent tales that are powered by male sexual power over women. Female rappers sometimes tell stories from the perspective of a young woman who is skeptical of male protestations of love or a girl who has been involved with a drug dealer and cannot sever herself from his dangerous life-style. Some raps speak to failure of black men to provide security and attack men where their manhood seems most vulnerable: the pocket. Some tales are one sister telling another to rid herself from the abuse of a lover.

    Read More

  • Rap Music's Influence Upon Teenagers

    1389 Words  | 3 Pages

    McWhorter, John. “Rap Music Harms the Black Community.”Popular Culture. Ed.

    Read More

  • Hip Hop Music Essay

    937 Words  | 2 Pages

    In order to assess the impact of hip-hop on criminal activities, this essay examined data from major hip-hop sites such as Hip-hop DX, rap basement, and rap rehab. Information on these websites revealed that the hip-hop culture accommodates violence throug...

    Read More

  • Rap Music Influence

    1487 Words  | 3 Pages

    Have you ever watched a rap song’s music video? If yes, what did you notice about it? The amount of drugs, alcohol, and violence in it, or the swearing, stacks of money, and highly expensive items? Rappers mainly associate their music with very negative aspects to life. A great example of this is the excessive talk of alcohol and drug abuse throughout their music. Drugs and alcohol are both substances which humans use in order to become intoxicated. With a boundless use of either substance, it can lead to overdose and even bring irreversible effects onto the user, such as organ damage, and in extreme cases, death. However, in rap music, drugs and alcohol are commended. This gives teenagers the impression that substance abuse is fun and cool. This contributes to the curiosity youth will have about drugs and alcohol, and can influence them to begin experimenting. On top of that, the rap industry likes to incorporate much violence and glamorize gang life in their music. For instance, many rap artists have taken part in the west coast versus east coast rivalry. This rivalry has led to the deaths of several famous rap artists, including Tupac Shakur and The Notorious B.I.G. The type of behaviour shown inside the rivalry influences teenagers to believe that a violent, gang related lifestyle is okay, when in fact it is

    Read More

More about Violent Media: Does It Cause Violence?

Open Document