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By:
Ryan Hagens
Joe Santamaria
Jack Adamson
Dewey Bunfill
12/15/06
NEEDS INTRO
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I. MUSIC
Before one can discuss the effects of specifically violent music on children and
adolescents, one must first examine the main idea of music, and the role it plays in
today’s society. In short, what is the overall purpose of music itself? Ralica Radeva
writes, “A lot of the time people choose music based on how they are feeling at the
moment. They also choose to listen to music that suits their moods and activities. People
also use music to inform others about themselves…music is the language of all people.”
Whatever the reason, it is evident that music in today’s culture tunes into people’s
emotions and feelings in one way or another. But how does this idea relate to
adolescents?
A survey taken of junior high and high school students in Northern California
asked students which type of media they would choose to take with them, if forced to live
on a desert island. “At all grade levels, music media was preferred over television…by
eleventh grade, music was selected by a margin of two to one.” (Roberts 1) In addition to
its importance, music takes up an immense amount of time in a child’s life. On average,
“For most young people, music use is driven primarily by the motivation to
control mood and enhance emotional states.” (Roberts 4) Music itself has a way of
changing an adolescent’s mood or emotional state. When a young person has feelings of
anger, listening to violent music can elevate this emotion. Although for many it might
seem that violent lyrics in no way influences any violent actions, young people in
particular are more easily influenced. C. DeLores Tucker, chair of the National Political
Congress of Black Women, says that many kids are “unable to separate the twisted
fantasies on records from the realities of life.” (Chappell) They have not yet reached the
stage where they are able to decipher music and its content from their own lives and their
own actions. In a sense, they often take their music to heart. Many also feel that music
“makes them feel less alone when they are by themselves.” It can also have social
implications, per say, acting as almost as social influence rather than just an activity.
movies for example. A few decades ago, parents and children alike were absolutely
terrified to see the breathtaking scenes of blood and murder, even though the murder
being committed was never actually shown. Today, old movies like this may seem
“corny” to most kids. The new age horror movie shows every little bit of the gruesome
murder intact and in full color, no detail left behind. Adolescents are constantly being
exposed to this type of media, and have become almost numb to what violence and gore
sends a signal that violence is normal and that lawlessness is glamorous.” (Brownback)
adolescents. In one particular study, high school students were asked to rank music
among other moral influences. These included parents, teachers, co-workers, friends, and
church leaders. Twenty-four percent of these students ranked music in the top three.
some extent. They take the words to heart, often committing them to memory. Although
violent lyrics alone will not necessarily make someone immediately violent, they do have
an influence – especially for those with predisposed violence in their lives. “Listeners
that influence how they use music, how they interpret messages, and whether, when, and
how they act on what they have learned.” (Roberts 8) For example, a deeply depressed
child will interpret lyrics about suicide (in heavy metal music for example) much
differently than a normal child would. An angry child would be more likely to act out
Summing up, it is clear that music plays a role in how some children think, feel,
and sometimes act. In some cases, violent music can “desensitize” adolescents to the
violence they see in other types of media. Although this is true in some instances, many
adolescents will listen to this type of music without any negative effects. They simply
enjoy listening to the music. “That said, for most kids, most of the time, music is a source
of pleasure (even angry music!). They listen not to analyze lyrics and learn about the
world, not to sort out emotions and feelings, not to facilitate social interaction, but
because they like it.” (Roberts 18) Music has always been, and always will be the
II. TELEVISION
Another area in which violence in mass media affects the development of children
is television. The U.S. Surgeon General stated this as a fact when he said, “televised
violence, indeed, does have an adverse effect on certain members of our society”
(Blakey). Over 3,500 studies have examined the relationship between violence portrayed
on TV and violent behaviors by viewers and all but 18 have shown a negative
show the correlation between TV aggression and violent actions, research is also being
done to find a tangible connection between the ages of the viewers, the duration of
watching, and the intensity of the actions affected by observed violence. Negative effects
of violent TV viewing can be split into three main classes: aggression, desensitization and
fear (Murray). These categories will be explained in the next few pages as the
what they see on TV. Recent surveys show that the typical American child watches
sleeping, the activity of watching television consumes more time than any other activity
including school for most children especially very young kids. Over time those thirty
hours a week translate into witnessing 8,000 murders by the time he or she completes
elementary school at around age 11. This repetitive viewing affects the children by
increasing general feelings of hostility amongst young viewers and can lead to
Observations and research has shown that TV violence may be the initial cause of
violence and not the effect. Psychologists L. Rowell Huesmann, and Leonard Eron have
found through their research that children who watched many hours of televised violence
in elementary school were much more likely to commit acts of aggression when they
children did not predict viewing violent TV as a teenager. Huesmann and Eron suggested
that this observation could be proof that TV watching may more often be a cause than an
From this knowledge about TV and violent behaviors, we can begin to understand
elevated heart rate, stimulated brain activity, and others, people are attracted to violence.
In this sense, violence in television can be compared to drugs. You are addicted or
attracted to illicit substances but are ultimately injured or harmed by them, however, you
continue to use them and further damage yourself. I found an example of this downward
spiral in the Wall Street Journal Magazine called Smart Money. One article in the May
edition shed light upon a way in which News programs contribute to the spread of
aggression. Most local news stations rely on “sweeps” to track viewership and is thus a
major factor in marketing. During the month or week for which the “sweeps” lasts,
reports and stories involving crime skyrockets. The news stations play to their advantage
because they know that “if it bleeds, it leads” (Derringer). Although views would like to
see local TV news to be more responsible and comprehensive, research shows that the
highest ratings go to the newscast that isn’t. The Project for Excellence in Journalism
issued a report stating that approximately 25 percent of local TV news content is directly
vulnerable to the adverse effects of media violence because they are more easily
impressionable and have a more difficult time distinguishing between fantasy and reality.
This becomes a great problem because young children do not understand the pain and
suffering of violence which is most of the time left off screen. Children at this age also
have trouble discerning the motives for violence and are very strongly influenced by what
they observe. This is also a huge problem because children often imitate the actions that
they see and if violent people are being portrayed as “cool,” then they will want to be just
The first of three possible negative effects of violence is aggression. This effect is
the most obvious and usually the most drastic. From the research after the shootings,
investigators have made ties between media violence and the shooting which occurred at
Columbine High School. Not all violence in media is detrimental however. It is all in
how it is presented. Take Saving Private Ryan for example, the violence in the movie is
accompanied by the pain and sorrow that violence of that nature is associated with. In
this case views learn about the sadness, suffering, and loss victims and perpetrators suffer
when committing these actions. It is unfortunate though, because most shows use
violence as entertainment for immediate thrills without valuing human cost. This usage
of violence is very dangerous and can easily lead to aggression because it associates
This particular consequence is extremely troubling because it starts to strip the value of
life away from people’s minds. In continuation of our analogy earlier, violence is like a
drug because you build a tolerance to it. TV has gotten more and more violent and gory
over the past decade because in order to achieve the same effect, producers must up the
stakes. This is such a potent effect because it desensitizes all of us to real life violence.
The last detrimental effect violence in TV has on people is fear. Coupled with the
aggression it is spurring, TV violence can be blamed for cultivating the “mean world”
syndrome. Under this condition, people’s outlook on society is overrun with violence
and hatred and therefore the affected person begins to fear the world and view it as a
dangerous place. For some children exposed to extreme amounts of violence at a young
age, anxiety, depression and in severe cases, posttraumatic stress disorder can inflict the
child. Fear overcomes these people and causes them to take defensive steps like carrying
a weapon, or even aggressive behavior and the attitude of “get them before they get me.”
There is no doubt that violence in TV has and adverse affect on people and most
and fear amongst everyday television viewers. The only way to overcome or prevent
these effects from happening is to simply not watch them until you can fully understand
images, they can’t compare to the virtually interactive world of video games. As children
play video games they are not only watching and listening to graphic events, but they are
taking part in them and dictating their outcome. Rather than seeing the killer kill his
victims, they become the killer and follow story lines that force them to act accordingly.
The use of Video games in order to turn children into trained killers now has a
Lyndon LaRouche “New Violence” arose following a series of school shootings and
shootings is the Columbine High School massacre that occurred in April of 1999. Two
social outcasts killed thirteen of their peers and teachers, before turning the guns on
themselves. These kids were addicted to the popular first person shooters Doom and
Quake, both games with extremely vivid and graphic detail of people being mutilated by
heavy machine guns and blown away by bazookas and shotguns. As the two high school
students moved from room to room killing students, the tactics they used resembled those
of Special Forces units and SWAT teams. Why? Because the military, as well as police
forces, use violent video games in order to desensitize recruits to killing and gore while
simultaneously training them in what is, essentially, a simulator. The Army uses MACS,
a Multipurpose Arcade Combat Simulator, as one of there more effective and widely used
simulators. MACS is only a modified Nintendo game, much like Duck Hunt. “The point
of all of this is to create a stimulus-response that becomes engrained into the soldiers and
police officers heads,” says David Grossman, Military psychologist and author of the
book On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society.
Grossman was proven correct in February of 1999 when Amadou Diallo was gunned
down by four police officers in New York City. Diallo was a West African immigrant
(Michele Steinberg) with no police record. At close to midnight Diallo was entering his
house when four off duty officers approached him. They later claimed that Diallo was
“acting suspiciously”. Flashing their badges they asked for identification. When Diallo
went for his wallet one officer yelled “Gun!” and all four of them opened fire on him.
The stimulus for the officers was the way that Diallo reached for his wallet. The
deliberate motion of his arm toward the rear of his pants and out of the officers view was
reminiscent of the motions made by the virtual “perps” in the Fire Arms Training
Simulator (FATS) which is nearly identical to the popular arcade game Time Crisis. The
immediate response of the officers was to draw their weapons and open fire. A total of
forty-one bullets were fired at Diallo, the standard police hand guns generally hold
between eight and twelve bullets. This means that the officers nearly unloaded an entire
clip each. In Time Crisis a player burns through clip after clip, without ammunition
discipline, and reloads by simply shooting off of the screen. Is there a similarity between
the shooting of Diallo and Time Crisis? Or was it just a misjudgment on the officers’
part? The only thing that can be sure is that when the police opened fire on Diallo they
Not only do violent video games train elite killers, they can be linked to anger and
aggression.” (Mothering Magazine). The reason for the increase in violent behavior and
aggression can be found in simple learning techniques. Video games deal with repetition
as well as practice, reinforced by reward. For example, in the game Road Rash the more
opposing riders you knock off of their motorcycles and the more pedestrians you run over
the more points you get and the cooler weapons you receive. Upgrade yourself from a
bat to a sledge hammer to a chainsaw, and increase your stopping power. However,
should you be knocked off your bike you lose points, time, and your weapon of choice
(Mothering Magazine).
But, perhaps the most infamous game to ever be produced is, by far, Grand Theft
Auto. The most popular game ever conceived is also the most violent. The story line
begins with you working your way through various mafias and gangs by stealing cars,
killing pimps, selling drugs, and raping hookers in order to ultimately rule the “Liberty
City” criminal underworld. The more innocent people you kill, ranging from gangsters to
grandmothers, the more respect you earn from rival gangs and the more you will be
called upon to help start gang wars and carry out high profile hits on politicians and
business owners. If that wasn’t enough, there is also a secret code in the game, which can
be accessed through a download, which allows the main character to engage in virtual sex
acts, uncensored and uncut. The game is so popular that it has stemmed an
unprecedented number of sequels and knockoffs. However, its controversy has also
stemmed legislation and lawsuits that threaten to put a ban on violent video games.
In 2002 Senator Joe Lieberman proposed the Protect Children from Video Game Sex and
Violence Act which would make it a federal crime to sell violent games to minors (Mary
Jane Irwin). Though the bill did not pass, it was the first step in numerous other bills
passed at the state level. In Illinois a fine of $1000 is the penalty for selling violent games
to kids under 17 years old (Mary Jane Irwin). Rating labels on game covers are meant to
deter parents from purchasing violent video games for their kids. Even though 83 % of
parents claim to be involved with buying and renting games, only 40% understand the
ratings and only 53% use them as buying guides while 90% of households in the United
States have owned or do own video or computer games (Mothering Magazine, Mary Jane
Irwin).
There are several law suits pending with the video industry. One as a result of the
Heath High School shooting in which the killer fired eight shots and which hit eight
student sin the chest, neck, and face. The killer had only practiced with his weapon once
and had never fired a gun before, but he played numerous first-person shooters. The
other comes after 20-year old Devin Moore killed three police officers in Alabama in
2003. Devin was addicted to Grand Theft Auto. He was sentenced to death by the courts,
but the families of the deceased are suing Rock Star Games, Sony, and THQ, who created
and manufacture the game. Despite the attempts by legislation and rating labels the fight
against violent video games is still losing. All bills proposed at the Federal level have
been denied. And those four cops that killed Diallo, they were acquitted of all charges
IV. MOVIES
Violence in movies is a major issue in American society, and reaches all the
spectrum of the American public. Why is violence in movies such a huge problem in our
society? According to Clint Cooper “part of the answer lies in the simple fact that people
have always been attracted to the gross and the sensational.” Clint Cooper also brings up
an extremely questionable notion by stating “In the 18th century, French citizens took to
the streets to witness beheadings. In the 20th century, there is an endless fascination with
even the most marginal aspects of the lives of Hitler and Stalin.” Basically Cooper is
saying that the reason for this violence is that it is due to human nature. Subconsciously
people enjoy watching others struggle. Also it is questionable that people are so used to
this behavior that it does not even phase them. Cooper states “As a result, our society has
become desensitized enough to such content that we're willing to accept it in a dramatic
format such as film, but not so desensitized that it doesn't titillate.” What Cooper is
saying is that we do not even pay attention to these violent acts in film because we are so
used to them. The fact at hand is also that directors are choosing to make films including
violence, Cooper states “Filmmakers, ever the ones to go where no one has gone before,
have never had such freedom in expressing their deepest and darkest fears, desires, and
proclivities.” These facts suggest that violence in movies are desensitizing the American
public. (Cooper).
It is evident that Americans' like films with violence, or else these films would not
be so successful. The question is, is how many Americans enjoy violent films?
“Criticism of film content was extraordinarily high: Eight in 10 respondents said most
new films have too much violence and too much profanity in them.” This suggests that a
good number of Americans think that there is too much violence in movies. Moreover
this article states that “Fifty-six percent overall said the quality of movies has been
getting worse over the years. That sentiment ranged from 42 percent of the youngest
group to 76 percent of the oldest.” This statement proves that both younger generations
and older generations believe that the quality of movies has decreased due to an excessive
amount of violence.
Another question to ask might be, “is the violence in movies due to the amount of
violence in culture?” According to David J. Slocum, “Over the last twenty or so years,
and especially during the 1990s, popular cinema generally and film violence specifically
have continued to evolve.” This commentary simply states that American Cinema is just
reacting to the American culture. Although in past eras there was just as much violence
pertaining to war, but there was not as much violence within the American society. In the
few past eras we have seen an upward trend of the formation of gangs and other groups
of crime. The question in this scenario is, “Who is influencing Who?.” According to
David J. Slocum “Beyond recognizing the historical claims made by (and familiar
representational forms used in) contemporary films in their depiction of specific events,
the challenge is to explore how the representation of historical violence affects viewers'
relationship to cinema and cinema's relationship to the society the history pertains to.”
(Slocum). He is simply stating that the challenge of this predicament is exploring the
Through research, another intriguing issue is how people fight against violence
in movies, and how long they have been doing so. According to Kay S. Hymowitz
“Protests against the supposedly corrupting effects of mass entertainment are nothing new
in America.” Early 20th-century reformers fretted about nickelodeons, with their garish
crime stories and come-hither starlets; the Chicago Tribune denounced them as
indicates that what is seen as violent and pushing the envelope today, will be seen as a
social norm tomorrow. This is true in the movie industry, what we perceive as violent
today, probably will not phase us within a few years time. This holds true that violence in
movies has a desensitizing effect on American citizens. This also proves that violence
does effect our society, whether it is positively or negatively, it creates issues for our
society and causes many to challenge the way the film industry is ran.
_______________________________________________________________________
NEEDS CONCLUSION
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