Term paper on Violence In Society

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Running head: VIOLENCE IN THE MEDIA AND ITS EFFECTS ON SOCIETY

Violence in the Media and its Effects on Society:

Definitions, Effects on Society, Statistics,

and Prevention

ABSTRACT

This paper discusses the effects of violence in the media and how it effects our society. First a definition of media and violence will be presented. Then an explanation about who violence can effect and what effects of violence are evident in our society today. Finally, various ways of prevention are explored and a discussion of whether these paths are just or appropriate in our present day society.

Violence in the media has been proven to be an ongoing problem in our society. The more relaxed nature that the mass media has been moving toward has caused great disturbances in the minds of the people in our society. In order to understand this problem, if there is one, we must first define what exactly the mass media and violence are. Next, we must see how it effects the people that watch it and examine the statistics to back this up. Then, we will see why our society is attracted to violence. Finally, we should look to see if the ways that we are addressing this problem are actually helping to resolve it.

Definitions

Mass Media

Mass media is defined as “those means of communication that reach and influence large numbers of peoples, especially newspapers, popular magazines, radio, and television” (McKechnie 1976). This means that not only is television at fault for infecting our society, but that everything from movies to comic books are as well (Larsen 1968).

Violence

Violence is defined as “to assault; to injure; also, to bring by violence; to force” (McKechnie 1976). This means any type of fighting, blood, gore, or killing would constitute as violence in the mass media.

Who it effects

This issue undeniably affects virtually everyone, considering that almost everyone takes part in viewing some aspect of the media everyday. The average American spends eleven years in front of the television set during a seventy-two year lifespan (Jeffries 1998). Although this does effect everyone, we should focus on children because it seems that they are the most impressionable viewers.

It seems that “younger and younger children are committing more and more serious crimes”, and that these children are exposed to more and more violence in the media (Larsen 1968). Whether it is an eight-year-old child watching Power Rangers or a fourteen-year-old watching a R rated movie, it seems that our major problem lies in the younger generation (DeGaetano 1998).

Good Effects

Many people think that violence in the media has had only bad effects on our society. However, there are many people who think that violence being shown and discussed has helped society (Barbour 1994). It is obvious that the violence on television is brutal, but the brutality makes for an unsheltered existence. It helps to show that what is going on in the world, may be in your front yard. It helps people understand what effects may come out of certain situations in our every day life (Barbour 1994).

The media is here to inform us, whether good or bad. We have the right to know what goes on in the world and the media brings us this information. Movies and television shows occupy our free time with entertainment, and the daily news keeps us informed with current events (Barbour 1994).

Bad Effects

Through the ages, the media has seemed to loosen its morals and in turn showed more and more violence (Dudley 1999). There are many areas in which this has caused problems. Now I will discuss those problems and their effects on society.

The one major problem that has been brought forward by the many studies done on the effects of violence on society, is the “monkey see, monkey do” factor. This means that if a person, a child in particular, sees something on television, they will imitate it (Keller 1997). Whether this is done because of curiosity, because they don’t think it is wrong, or because they think it looks “fun”, most of the time they don’t know what the after effects are because they are not shown by the media (Larsen 1968). The reason this is a problem is because there are murders every year that have definite connections to programs on television, movies, and comic books (Easterbrook 1999).

The recent murders in Colorado by the so-called, “Trench-Coat Mafia” were connected to the movie “The Basketball Diaries”. In the movie there is a dream sequence in which the main character goes around his school and shoots the classmates which he did not like. This is made attractive because of the rock music played in the background and the smile on his face while he kills his enemy classmates (Easterbrook 1999).

Another reason that we have problems with the violence is the fact that we are numbed to what we are actually seeing (Kim 1998).

Repeated exposure to media violence, especially when found on television, is directly...

Barbour, William (Ed.). (1994). Mass Media:Opposing Viewpoints. San Diego:Greenhaven Press, Inc..

DeGaetano Gloria (1998). Media Violence: Confronting the Issues and Taking Action. [On-line]. Available: http://interact.uoregon.edu/MediaLit/FA/mldegaetano/mediavilonce.html [1999. November 3].

Dudley, William (Ed.). (1999). Mass Media:Opposing Viewpoints. San Diego:Greenhaven Press, Inc..

Easterbrook, Gregg (1999). Yes, the media do make us more violent.—Watch and learn. The New Republic, (1), 26.

Jeffries, Stuart (1998). Television is accused of creating a society of violent, illiterate slobs. Yes, it can show us how to kill – but it can also teach us how to love. New Statesman, 127, (2), 48.

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Kim, Timothy Young (1998). Media and Violence. [On-line]. Available: http://www-edlab.cs.umass.edu/~tkim/media.html [1999. November 3].

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McKechnie, Jean L. (Ed.). (1975). Webster’s New Twentieth Century Dictionary of the English Language. (2nd ed.). USA: World Publishing Co., Inc..

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