Violence has always remained a constant within our media by means of literature, television, and as of more recently, videogames. And in the past couple of years, the amount of violence that is portrayed to society has grown drastically, as there seems to be a strong subconscious value viewers contain. As a result, many have questioned whether this type of value is a misconception; that in reality there is little to no value of having excessive amounts of violence in the media at all.

First let’s discuss the primary problem that is being argued. Most people, mostly parents, believe that the more violent media we are exposed to, the less sensitive we become, and it would seem that children are usually the most susceptible to this type of response. Parents are also concerned because violent media seems to be more easily accessible now more than ever to the eyes of media, and more importantly to the eyes of our children who we know are still developing mentally, which usually calls for a bit of concern. Yet after conducting many studies and years of research, there has been no conclusive evidence that violent media directly causes harmful effects for those who observe it. Therefore, after reading the following perhaps we can bring to light what the true problem may be.

            Parents are usually concerned with the idea that our youth is being brought up in a life where crude behavior is viewed regularly, and who wouldn’t after all, I wouldn’t want my kid aspiring to be just like Rambo when he grows up. Yet, unlike most people I don’t believe this is the case, that simply by observing violent media can we actually become less sensitive. And after doing a bit of research regarding this topic I came across an interesting study by Dr. Stanton E. Samenow. Samenow stated when discussing about the effects of violent media he said, “Critical is not what is on the screen or in the game but what already resides in the mind of the viewer, reader, game player, or listener.”  As a result, we cannot automatically assume that everyone who sees violent media will be susceptible to any harmful effects regarding their mental health or behavior. In addition, Samenow goes on to say that “copycat” crimes, (crimes reenacted after the viewer see it in the media), are not the fault of the media because such crimes reflect “a mind that has long been fascinated and excited by crime and violence”.

            Now I know that it may be apparent that Dr. Samenow’s findings may be relative to every individual, and for this reason I also found some evidence conducted by another psychologist, that could further support his claims. Dr. Anjana Madan of the University of Miami conducted an experiment in which she took children around the age of eighteen to view several clips of violent media. What she was recording were the increase in both the children’s heart rate and blood pressure. As expected many of those involved in the experiment recorded a heightened heart rate when viewing the violent material, however there were a few students that actually recorded a lower heart rate. All of students involved in the experiment had reported decent exposure to violent media but when asked about their backgrounds, the less anxious students reported that they had actually been exposed to a decent amount of real life violence, growing up in tough environments or having experienced a traumatizing event. Dr. Madan concluded that violence is actually relative to the individual based on their prior experiences or possible surroundings. Therefore, if anything, we can assume that one desensitizes only from real experiences and not from merely observing violent material.

Even though violent media does not directly lead towards developing aggressive behavior, there are several ways that we could better monitor it in order to ensure psychological health, especially towards our youth. Dr. Keilah A. Worth investigated the demographics of adolescents between the ages of 10-14 that are exposed to extremely violent films, mostly those of the rated “R” level (Worth). Worth’s data revealed that those most likely to watch such films were older males having less-educated parents and/or doing poorly in school. Therefore, the best way to prevent such exposure would be to educate the parents to take responsibility of monitoring what their children are viewing.  The following link, describes several ways of how parents can adequately monitor their child’s media exposure.

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/inside-out-outside-in/201212/violent-video-games-and-movies-causing-violent-behavior

 

According to Dr. Eugene Beresin, parents should always be aware as to what their children are watching, as well as keeping track of their post-viewing behavior. For example, by looking at the ratings of the films and/or games that kids are partaking in, can give parents a better idea as to what type of crude behavior is most appropriate for their child. In addition if one’s child displays more aggressive behavior, or seems to exhibit fear when observing violent media, the parent should stop their children from continuing. The purpose of these suggested solutions are to allow parents to limit the exposure of violence towards their children, being able to give them a healthy balance between what is imaginary, and what is real.

However, I’m aware there are those that are still uncomfortable with the fact that even media meant for children still contains relatively violent material. As a result it may be necessary that we question the standards of the current Movie Rating System.  Yumie Yokota of Harvard School of Public Health, conducted a study in which she quantified and characterized the amount of violence in 74 rated “G” movies from 1939-1999. In her report Yokota accounts that in all 74 films there was at least 1 act of violence (mean duration, 9.5 minutes per film; range, 6 seconds-24 minutes) as well as a total of 125 injuries (including 62 fatal injuries) in 46 (62%) of the films. Characters portrayed as "bad" were much more likely to die of an injury than other characters and a 55% of the violence was associated with good or neutral character dueling with bad character (Yokota). This causes children to believe that conflict always has both a good and bad side, and is a common way of solving problems with there is no consensus. 

With Yokota’s findings we might need to consider that although the movie rating system accounts for the age of its intended viewers, it should not be overlooked and there’s possible room for reformation not only for ratings, but for the entire industry. Now we must not get too excited when trying to come up with such solution because, let’s face it, violent media sells. Below I’ve left sales charts of both Call of Duty as well as a link for the top ten highest grossing movies worldwide.

 

With sales like these, you could understand as to why the film/gaming industry would never want to completely halt or alter their production. However social groups such as Common Sense Media and Center of American progress are continually bringing their concerns to the film/gaming industry with surprising results. The most notable, being the creation of voluntary guidelines towards minimizing the amount of violent material they market to consumers. It’s a small step, but it’s in the right direction nonetheless. Even Harvey Weinstein, co-chairmen of the Weinstein Co. has acknowledged such criticisms, as he has stated that his production of films “glamorizing guns” has come to an end.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FiqvjXRFgQ

It’s undeniable that throughout the years, violence has remained in the scope of the media. However there’s a difference between what we truly know and what we think we know. And despite the numerous studies, and countless inquiries, the lack of evidence supports that there is no correlation between one being violent and his exposure to violent media. As Texas A&M professor Christopher Ferguson put it, “we simply do not know”, that is, it is too difficult to determine how every individual will psychological react to violence because such responses are unique for everyone. However maybe there is a misinterpretation of the real problem at hand. Instead of stating the violent media leads to more aggressive behavior, maybe it is more the lack of monitoring or censorship that is agitating those whom already have a troubled psyche. Rather than trying to eliminate violence all together, perhaps we should put our focus in better educating society on how to properly limit the exposure they face, as well as understanding the modern ratings system. Through such solutions we may see a possible decrease in the amount of influence violence has within the media, and its viewers.

Feel free to comment and give your insight or opinion towards this blog, there more responses the better.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Works Cited

 

O'Hehir, Andrew. "Salon." Saloncom RSS. N.p., 1 Feb. 2014. Web. 15 Feb. 2014. http://www.salon.com/2014/02/01/weinstein_tarantino_and_the_standoff_over_movie_violence/

 

Madan, Anjana, SylvieMrug, and RexWright. "The Effects of Media Violence on Anxiety in Late Adolescence." Journal of youth and adolescence Journal of Youth & Adolescence. 43.1 (2014):116-126.

 

Anderson, C. A., Berkowitz, L., Donnerstein, E., Huesmann, L. R., Johnson, J., Linz, D., Malamuth, N., & Wartella, E. (2003). The influence of media violence on youth. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 4, 81-110.

           Samenow, Stanton E.. Inside the criminal mind. New York: Times Books, 1984. Print.

 

"Tarantino: ‘Disrespectful’ To Newtown Victims To Link Shooting To Movies." CBS Connecticut. N.p., 4 Jan. 2013. Web. 16 Feb. 2014.

<http://connecticut.cbslocal.com/2013/01/04/tarantino-disrespectful-to-newtown-victimsto-link-shooting-to-movies/>.

 

 

Yokota, F.. "Violence in G-Rated Animated Films." JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association 283.20 (2000): 2716-2720. Print.

 

Worth, K. A., J. Gibson Chambers, D. H. Nassau, B. K. Rakhra, and J. D. Sargent. "Exposure Of US Adolescents To Extremely Violent Movies." Pediatrics 122.2 (2008): 306-312. Print.

 

Beresin, Eugene. "Inside Out, Outside In." Violent Video Games and Movies Causing Violent Behavior. Psychology Today, 22 Dec. 2012. Web. 25 Mar. 2014. <http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/inside-out-outside-in/201212/violent-video-games-and-movies-causing-violent-behavior>.

 

Emmons, Sasha. "Is media violence damaging to kids?." CNN. Cable News Network, 21 Feb. 2013. Web. 16 Apr. 2014. <http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/21/living/parenting-kids-violence-media/index.html>.

 

24, October. "More Experts Than Facts on Kids, Media Violence." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 24 Oct. 2000. Web. 17 Apr. 2014. <http://articles.latimes.com/2000/oct/24/entertainment/ca-40899>.

 

 

Huesmann, L. R., Moise-Titus, J., Podolski, C., & Eron, L. D. (2003). Longitudinal relations between children's exposure to TV violence and their aggressive and violent behavior in young adulthood: 1977-1992. Developmental Psychology, 39, 201-221.

 

Gentile, Douglas A., and Brad J. Bushman. "Reassessing media violence effects using a risk and resilience approach to understanding aggression.." Psychology of Popular Media Culture 1.3 (2012): 138-151. Print.

 

Ferguson, C. J., Rueda, S., Cruz, A., Ferguson, D., Fritz, S., & Smith, S. (2008). Violent video games and aggression: Causal relationship or byproduct of family violence and intrinsic violence motivation? Criminal Justice and Behavior, 35, 311-332.