Bowling for Colombine

The question is not, how could they do this? It is, why did they do this? In the film Bowling for Columbine, the story was shared of two students at Columbine high school who killed 12 students, two teachers, and then turned the guns on themselves. What influenced them? Teens are negatively influenced by, the media, the negative social interactions with peers, and the U.S. Government.

The media is a very bad influence on teens. A lot of what is portrayed in the media is sex, drugs, and violence. Violence is the big one. We even see violence on cartoons like Bugs Bunny, when the hunter is trying to kill the rabbit (Bugs). Violence is in almost every television show and video game these days, at least the ones that sell, and have good ratings. What is the weapon shown most on television? the gun. In video games there are a lot of guns as well, except in a video game you get to control the gun yourself, therefore causing violence and killing things. How often do teens watch television and play video games? In the last five years the percent of time teens spend watching T.V. in a day has gone up from 16% to 26%. That is 26% of every day teens expose themselves to violence, which is more time then spent in school. 31% of families have the television on through most of the day. 63% of families have the television on during meals. 68% of youth have a T.V. in their room, and 49% have some form of video game system. Its not just T.V. and video games though, some types of music are just as bad. You have musicians like, Marilyn Manson and Ozzy Osbourne, who make teens feel more comfortable with violence and sex and drugs. “I eat innocent meat, the housewife I will beat”. “There’s no time to discriminate, hate every mother fucker that’s in your way”. These are some quotes from two of Marilyn Manson’s songs. He is not only influencing teens to do violent things, he is also making them feel proud of it, and angry at the world. Not every teen will allow themselves to be absorbed in this type of music, but the ones who are, are isolated, and feel that people like Marilyn Manson and Ozzy Osbourne are the only ones who understand them.

Teenagers can be cruel. Although violence is taught by the media, the way other teens act towards these isolated Marilyn Manson fans, can be the real motivation of violent acts. Teens will call each other names, spread rumors and so much more. It is natural that angry feelings and suicidal thoughts would become a big part of someone who is a victim to this. Scientists have proved that when a teenager becomes angry, s/he in a way loses the part of the brain that controls logical reasoning.