Violence+in+the+Media

= = = = Violence has always been a fascination of people all over the world.When the media was introduced, it began to satisfy the public’s hunger for violence with its vivid graphics and its technology that always strives to be bigger and better. By doing so, it has enhanced the violence we see and hear in the media, and it has negatively affected the public, especially our youth. It heightens that fascination with violence that burrows deep within many people.
 * __Violence in the Media __**

**__Table of Contents__** = = = = = = = = =**Violence in the Media and its Effects **= Whether it is a movie that gruesomely massacres rows of soldiers or a video game where the objective is to kill as many characters as possible, countless studies have proven that violence in the media tends to have a negative impact on viewers/users, especially (particularly) on children. Two important studies held in the 1960s revealed a direct correlation between aggression in kids and violent films. Albert Bandura of Stanford University did a study on preschoolers in which he played “stimulus films” and observed their behaviors after viewing. Another study performed by Leonardo Berkowitz at the University of Wisconsin showed violent films to college-age students and observed their behaviors after viewing. In both cases, the psychologists concluded that the control groups acted more violently toward each other than they had before viewing the violent films. As for video games, according to Douglas Gentile, a scientific expert on the consequences of violence in the media, the preference for violent video games leads to hostile activity, arguments with parents and teachers, and more physical fights in children. Based on a survey from 1999, 2/3 of kids prefer violent video games over non-violent ones.
 * 1) Violence in the Media and its effects
 * 2) Roots of Violence in the Media
 * 3) Violent Video Games
 * 4) Violence in films
 * 5) General Aggression Model

= = =Roots of Violence in the Media= =Though violence in the media usually refers to media from the last century, violence can be found in early forms of media as well, such as plays, poetry, and stories. Even Plato's criticized violence in the media when he suggested the censoring of children's fairy tales. Major problems didn't start until the 1940s, when comic books started featuring violence such as excessive horror scenes, gore, crime, and sadism, which upset a large percentage of the public, especially parents. In 1956, the Comics Magazine Association of America initiated a code of self-regulation, thus reducing the amount of violence in comic books. Still, while comic books became less violent and began to fade into the background, a new source of violence in the media made its appearance. That source was television, which became common in households during the 1950s. It gained popularity quickly during the 50s; by 1955, 65% of all American households contained a TV, and that number rose to 90% by 1960. =

= = = Violent Video Games = The first violent video game, called //Death Race,// was invented in 1976. The objective of the game was to run the characters in the game over with your virtual car, a concept that outraged and shocked many parents. During this first generation, Altari was the primary gaming system, whos founders vowed not make games where characters killed each other, even though they invented many games that involved killing imaginary creatures or destroying inanimate objects. This didn’t last long because makers of video games (especially makers of the new gaming system, Nintendo) soon began to realize that violent games sold better than those lacking violence. //Wolfenstein 3D// was a game that led the way in a new type of violent video games called “first person shooter” games, in which the game is seen from a character’s point of view, so that gamers feel like they’re involved in the game’s action instead of watching it from a distance. Also, //Wolfenstein 3D// was the first video game where characters fell to the ground and bled when they were shot, instead of simply disappearing. The games //Dragon//, //Mortal Combat, and Doom// also marked the start of a new and more violent era of video games with their extensive graphic detail. //Mortal Combat// (1992) was so violent that it instigated a congressional hearing to discuss violence in video games. This led to the initiation of video game ratings. = =

=Violence in Films = Like video games, violent films have evolved throughout several generations. Their content has shifted to new topics, and their violence has become increasingly graphic and gory. One of the first violent films made was //Bonnie and Clyde//, a movie about two lovers on the run from a series of violent robberies. When it was first released, the general public was shocked by its violence. Another one of the first violent films was //The Wild Bunch//, released in 1969. At that time, Western movies were experiencing a downfall from their recent popularity, and //The Wild Bunch// represented this well. Its plot revolved around a group of veterans that mourn about the loss of the “wild west” and search for adventure. Throughout the film, the group becomes involved in several battles without any clear reasoning for doing so. In one scene, the veterans fight a Mexican army, brutally killing entire rows of soldiers. This theme of killing people in movies without legitimate reasoning or motives proves to be a common theme in films that are considered violent. The movie //Cannibal Holocaust// (1980) was a movie that appalled a new generation of viewers. Critic David Carter commented that it was basically a “commentary about civilized society” because of the uncivilized behaviors and savage killings seen throughout the film. The movie was so gruesome that it was banned in 50 different countries. it involved graphic violence, violent sex, and the actual killing of animals on-screen. In some cases, such extreme matters had never been seen in films before, which is what lead to a new era of violent films. Present-day films are constantly finding new ways to become more violent and graphic, such as in the movie //300// (2006), which was about the ancient Persian army, and the Spartan army in the battle of Thermopylae. Almost the entire movie involves gruesome combat, and there often seems to be no motive behind the killing that occurs. After its release, the film was constantly compared to the conflict in Iraq by critics and the general public, and it angered the Iranian government because of the negative portrayal of Persians. = =

=General Aggression Model = A professor named Craig Anderson created the General Aggression model, which shows reasons for aggression in people. The model is broken down into separate situational factors that affect aggression, media violence being one of those factors. The model clearly shows the effects of violence in the media on thoughts, feelings, actions, and emotional desensitization to violence.

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<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">The increase of violence in movies and video games since the 1940s follows the same trend as the number of interstate conflicts since that time. This shows that violence in the media can be related to the amount of wars and violent events throughout history. A graph showing the increase in interstate conflicts is shown below along with the General Aggression Model. **__<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 18pt;">The Analysis __** <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 17px;">After American soldiers came back from fighting in World War II, America became a very different society. People were ready to live their lives to the fullest by buying houses, having babies(resulting in the baby boom), and finding jobs, both for men and women. They also started to question traditional values, and divorce rates increased. Because of these changes, traditional family structures began to change dramatically. Families spent less time together due to the increase in single-parent households or households where both parents worked long hours. In 1993, 80% of kids spent their afternoons after school alone while parents were at work, versus 50% of kids in 1976. **<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Violent Gangs (early effects of violence in the media) ** =<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 19px;">Violent gang activity first became common after 1940, which also happens to be <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 19px;">the time perio d when television was released to the public, and people started watching violent shows. Based on the conclusion that violence in the media leads to increased levels of aggression, the invention of television and violent TV shows can be connected to the increased violence and gang activity seen in the 1940s. A good example of the effects of violent television is an episode from the show //Happy Days,// in which two of the main characters tried to join a gang called //The Demons.// Shortly after the episode was released, a group of kids started a gang called //The Demons,// named after the imaginary gang from the episode. The presence of so many violent gangs and other violent acts in the 40s caused the homicide rate for teens to triple between the years <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 19px;">of 1940 and 1946, leaping from 1.28 deaths per 100000 inhabitants to 3.45 deaths per 100000 inhabitants. Four decades later, in the 1980s, violent video games and movies experienced new revolution in which graphics became more detailed, and the games/movies became more realistic. During this time, the presence of violent gangs increased again, and methods of violence in gangs shifted. Instead of using handguns and pocketknives, gangs started using automatic weapons and larger guns. This reflects on the increased technology of the 80s, both in weaponry and in movies and video games. During the 1980s, //Castle Wolfenstein// and //Beyond Castle Wolfenstein// were developed, which were games that introduced new levels of violence and equipment such as grenades and large guns. They also inspired the revolutionary //Wolfenstein 3D// of 1992. = **<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">School Shootings (later effects of violence in the media) ** <span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">During the year that //Wolfenstein 3D// was invented, 1992, school shootings started to gain public concern because of their sudden peak. All over the country, school shootings were occurring, much more so than in recent years. In fact, more school shootings occurred in 1992 than in any other year throughout history. This year also marked a new revolution of violent video games which included more graphic content and “first-person shooter” games. The intent of “first-person shooter” games was to make <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">the gamer feel more involved in the action, as if he/she were actually a part of the game. This new innovation made video games more realistic, not to mention the new graphics that games in 1992 contained, which were unlike any others in previous video games. The new graphics were also much more realistic. According to research by German psychologists Werner H Hopf, Gϋnter L Huber, and Rudolf H Weil, they proclaimed that television is more influential than video games because it is more realistic, believable, and relatable to real life. Though video games cannot compare to the realism of television, “First-person shooter” games enhanced all three of these elements in video games, and they brought a new aspect to video games that was unlike anything else in media violence. Though television can make one feel like what they are watching is real, “first-person shooter” games simulate the feeling that you are actually involved in the violence, and from this aspect, violent video games can be more influential than violent television, hence the sharp escalation of school shootings in 1992. (Video games could have been part of the reason for this sharp escalation, though there are obviously other factors as well.) In 1993, a video game called //Doom// was invented, which became widely popular amongst children and helped in the skyrocketing popularity of video games. Soon, the sales of video games exceeded the sales of box-office videos. Several significant shootings occurred during 1993 in Springfield, Illinois; Paducah, Kentucky; and Littleton, Colorado. In each of these cases, studies of the murderers showed that they all loved playing the game //Doom.//
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 27px;">Post-World War II: A changing society **

**<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Murderous Children ** <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 19px;">Besides school shootings, an alarming amount of children began murdering other children in the 1990s. This is extremely abnormal behavior for a child, and it is almost always the result of heavy violent influence in the child’s life. In most cases during the 1990s, investigators found that one of the primary influences was violence in the media. For example, in a case where a 9-year-old boy stabbed a college girl and then killed himself, investigators found more than 90 horror films in his room. In another case where a 9-year-old shot a gun at an office building, he told police that he had learned how to load a gun by watching “a lot of TV”. In the murder of a 2-year-old by several 10-year-olds in a shopping mall, investigators learned that they had recently watched the movie //Child’s Play 3//, a movie about an infamously murderous doll named Chucky.



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