Violence in the Media

‘Violence in the Media’

It is the question that has been asked by authorities, educational institutes and parents alike. Does violence in the media influence the behavior of society? Some say yes, others say no. To fully comprehend these questions we must first understand what is meant by violence in the media, and whom it effects, if anyone at all. Also, did violence in the media come first, or was it derived from violence in the ‘real world’? There are arguments that can be stated from both sides. Some say that escalation of violence in society is a symptom of deteriorated value systems and poor parental instruction. Others say, and this is backed with factual evidence, that violence that is seen on television, in the movies and in video games is directly linked to the violence in society

Violence has become an ordinary way to be entertained, settle arguments, or blow off steam. Violence results when many different things come together, and we know that violence in the media is one of those things. Children spend more in a week time watching TV than doing anything else, other than sleeping. Violence, however, isn't limited to TV-it can be found in music, video games, comic books, newspapers, and magazines. Exposing children to violence can desensitize them to violence and make them more fearful of others, causing them to act more aggressively.

The term mass media can be used to describe television, cinema, video games, books, music, the Internet, newspapers or magazines. Everyday we are confronted with violence that is portrayed in the media. Everywhere billboard we go past, every movie we see, every magazine or newspaper we pick up will inevitably have violence in it. Whether it is informing us about it, or using it as entertainment, people are susceptible to this violence. There is too much violence in the mass media and the outcome of this can in no way, shape or form be of a positive nature. Fortunately, most media violence can be unplugged.

The main age group that is influenced most by violence in our media is young children. Since they are exposed to violence in the media from such a young age, they believe that violence is praised, even funny. They presume that after they hit someone on the head they will stand up laughing, or if not then the child is a ‘hero’. It is this type of situation that is the most worrying, as when these young children grow up to be adults, they will keep the same mentalities about violence, imitating it, and this could turn fatal.

Imitation includes more than simply applying a criminal technique the individual learned by watching television. Fictional media of crime can inspire potential criminals. ‘John Hinckly drew encouragement in his attempt to shoot President Reagan from the dozens of times he watched Taxi Driver, a movie about an assassin who stalks a presidential candidate and wins a young woman’s affection. The man who murdered 22 people in Luby’s Cafeteria in Killeen, Texas, in October 1991 was found with a ticket to the film ‘The Fisher King’ in his pocket; the film depicts a mass murder in a restaurant’ (Kopel, David B, Spring 1995)

Devastatingly enough, the murderers are now as young as 11 years old. In England in 1993, a pair of eleven-year-olds murdered two-year-old James Bulger. The last video rented by the murderers was ‘Child’s Play 3’. In the film, a baby doll comes alive and its face is splashed with blue paint before being killed. The murderers put blue paint on James Bulger’s face. The film includes kidnapping, and Bulger was abducted before being killed. The climax of the film shows two boys killing the doll and subsequently mutilating the doll. James Bulger was murdered, mutilated and then left on a railroad track to be run over.

The relationship between media depictions of violence and violent behavior is extremely complex. “There are a number of interacting variables which influence who will be affected, by what material, and in what way. These include: the context in which the violence is portrayed; the age of the viewer; and the participant’s ability to differentiate between fantasy and reality, and justified or unjustified use of force: (Melanie Brown, June 1996).

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