Levels Of Violence In The Mass Media example essay topic

Juvenile Delinquency Jeremy C. Newell Active Learning Activity Video in Class = 20 pts. Wednesday, March 6, 2002 The video hosted by Bill Moyer that we watched in class on March 4th involved violence in the mass media and the effects that it may have on children in modern day society. Video games sometimes display graphic violence as well as violent verbal messages that often convey a message of appeal to children. Movies often combine humor, violence, and / or sex in order to be more appealing to the audience. Usually two or more of these factors are used. Whether it is through these sources or as something as simple as the evening news, violence is everywhere in the media today and displays messages of approval that American society may not realize.

Social learning theory tells us that through association with or exposure to others, delinquency is learned just as conformity is learned. Many of the movies and television programs that are seen today contain a fair amount of violence in them, whether it is a cartoon or an R-rated movie. In either situation, children imitate what they see on the television or in the Movie Theater. Just as children learn the difference between right and wrong through punishments and rewards, children also learn an underlying theme of good and evil. In this theme, certain acts of violence are acceptable if they are for the "good guys". The crowd in the theater watching a film may applaud or shout messages of approval when the "good guys" blow up the 'bad guys'.

As a consequence, children exit the Movie Theater aiming their fingers like guns and shooting their friends, parents, and / or siblings. They learn that the behavior is acceptable and they imitate it. Not only is this detrimental to their sensitivity to violence, it also teaches them that there are exceptions to the rules of society and that conformity is not always the easiest way to solve a problem. Living in American society, the easiest and fastest way to solve a problem doesn't always mean that the solution is morally right or that everyone will approve of the methods one takes to accomplish it. I would also like to address the levels of appeal that Moyer points out in the film.

Within each kind of scene, violent acts are often accompanied by sex or humor. Not only can this be used to bring a higher level of acceptance to the viewer, but it also brings a level of gratification or appeal to the scene. A scene that graphically displays a woman dying could be very disturbing to many viewers. However, when Arnold Schwarzenegger delivers the punch line directly afterwards that brings out a comedic relief, the scene is instantly approved by being scene as funny and not violent. This kind of relief can also be seen with the smiles that often accompany a gun shot or a final blast. The "good guy" finally gets to the person that he has been chasing throughout the movie, and he has a grin on his face when he finally eliminates his opponent.

Similarly to the Schwarzenegger line, the smile conveys the message to the viewer that there is a level of gratification by committing such violent acts. Again social learning theory tells us that over a long period of time being exposed to this kind of violent appeal, one would become, not only desensitized to the levels of violence in the mass media, but approving of the methods that are taken in order to reach a certain goal. Strain theory is also pertinent here because through it we can see how violent acts would be approved ways of accomplishing one's goals that he or she may have had such high levels of strain. Control theory shows us that these types of films will send the kind of messages that alleviate the need to conform to the rest of society. These films convey the message that internal control and direct control is irrelevant as long as the goal is accomplished in the end. Many of these movies show the rest of the crowd approving in the end even though most of them are frightened or threatened by the methods that the "hero" chose to use in order to accomplish his or her goals earlier in the movie.

I believe that this movie underestimates the amount of violence in mass media. Although it gives excellent examples throughout the film, there are still many other sources of violence in the media. I would have liked to have seen particular news broadcast that exemplify more readily than necessary the amount of grotesque scenes and violent scenes in their daily stories. Sometimes the amount of violence in the news broadcast that parents watch with their children contains scenes that are more graphic than the parents actually realize. To them, the news is an informative broadcast that updates them about the world that surrounds them. To the children, the news may seem boring and relentless, but contains car chases and murder scenes that desensitize a child just as much as a mildly violent movie.

This film gives an excellent spectrum of examples and clips, but I would have liked for the spectrum to cover more areas of the media that contain violence, such as modern comic books or modern Japanese animation.