Essay about Mad TV: The Impact of Televised Violence on America

After reviewing many case studies about whether excessive or extensive violent television news coverage leads towards violent conduct is up for debate. Interestingly enough many scientific organizations have openly stated that violent media coverage causes aggression, and examined the association between media violence and violent behavior. It has been reported that there has been more than 3,500 research studies to prove that there is in fact a connection between media violence and violent behavior. Out of these 3,500 studies only 18 of them have not been able to relate media violence and violent behavior. Clearly there is overwhelming evidence to prove this relationship is accurate,

There is no question that television and films these days are filled with violence and antisocial behavior. Virtually every show, movie or news story nowadays has some sort of violent theme. Studies have shown that for every hour of television, there are 6 violent exchanges shown, and this number increases to 14 exchanges an hour

Whether it’s a story on the news or a drama at the theatre, violence has become a social norm in the media. Today, companies have significantly relied on the use of violence to ensure that their audiences are still motivated to watch. According to the Media Education Foundation, the level of violence on prime time television has increased 167% since 1998. Although there is a widespread belief that watching fictional violence causes people to become violent, the rise of violence on TV compared to real-world crime statistics over the past 20 years tells a different story.

Violence has become a major social disturbance that is continuously on the rise to become more common within the media. Movies, TV shows, video games and the music in this era are being heavily influenced by violent notions. Some of the most popular TV shows that are aired have a significant amount of violence engulfed in the scripting. Even games and music that are produced are commonly centered on a violent scheme. Media violence has become a sociological issue for many reasons. Media inspires people in dramatic ways, which poses an issue when what is being portrayed is violence. Society grasp ideas through many ways, media being one, and accept them as norms. When media is broadcasting violence, people will accept it as being a normal aspect

The newest forms of media violence are things that we use everyday like the internet, cell phones, music, even video games. Almost all youth spend more time each week watching TV. For example, about 90 percent of U.S. youth aged eight to eighteen watch TV and play video games, with boys averaging about nineteen hours a week. Annual surveys of college freshmen over time reveal that as twelfth graders they spend ever-increasing amounts of time playing video games, watching

We examined the various forms of television violence and domestic violence in America. We provided statistics showing the amounts of violence facts about adolescent exposure. We compared and contrasted the differing effects of both and implemented a study to analyze the similarities. We observed children and gathered data regarding their response to specific kinds of violence and the psychological effects of each. We expected that the effects of television violence and domestic would be strikingly similar to one another and the results of our study prove the similarities and provoke awareness to the differences.

“Multinational, multimedia corporations have a huge financial interest in promoting the consumption of violent media around the world…” (Simmons 13). So essentially all the entertainment companies are banking on the American society, even if it is damaging the minds of some people. Some may argue that these companies are giving the viewers what they want, but how can they possibly know what viewers want when media is everywhere. For example, the movie industry claims to be diverse but seems to follow the same stereotypes and claim this is what viewers want. However, society is never given the chance to express how they feel, but are forced to watch what is produced. The media has complete control over what is mass produced and society. The conglomerates only care about who they advertise to and how they do it for their financial gain. The youth is targeted when it comes to marketing, media and this is accomplished by age compression. Age Compression is the marketing to the twelve and under crowd, pitching violence to gain attention. These corporations will disregard any moral unethical tactics for their own purpose. The multimedia industries have been asked to regulate the violence that is displayed, but this would not help ratings or their pockets.

The suggested relationship flanked by small-screen violence and flesh-and- blood violence is possibly the most looked at of sociological query. It has engaged researchers in as many as three thousand studies in the past four decades. Though only a few hundred have added some fresh information, the National Coalition on Television Violence has come up with some guidelines in being aware for television violence. These guidelines are involving things like a rating system with warning labels before shows air, a marker used for advertising shows, public service announcements about the effects of violence; also includes public health campaigns in schools, that address violence the way current programs deal with drunk driving and/or drugs like D.A.R.E.

Media violence, in some cases, can be a real issue in today 's society. However, we can not blame all of the reality violence on media portrayals. Media Violence is just as it sounds, the art of violence through media. (1)The official definition of media violence is visual portrayals of acts of physical aggression by one human or human-like character against another. As there are many things that can promote violence in the world we live in today, this could be part of the reason that what happens, happens. However, There are many things that happen on our world that can, or do spark off reason as to why we live in such a violent place. Media violence has increased by a certain amount since the 1960’s, and shows no signs of slowing down. I personally have two different views on if media violence is the reason that violence occurs so often in real life today. My first view on this is that no, I do not think this is the ultimate reason violence is so common in today 's society. I do not think that this is so, because with the population of people that are exposed to this media violence, I feel like violence would be yet even much more common than it already is. However, there are always those crazy people who do get a wild hair from some t.v. show they enjoy, or some video game they play, that promotes violence, causing them to learn from it, and acquire a violent behavior, which is what I ultimately believe is the case for most people.

     Comparing two specific instances in isolation tells us nothing. How can you isolate one specific set of television images from the effects of the other available images? Furthermore, how do you go inside the brains of the people doing acts of violence and find out the actual causes, when even asking won’t give you a sure answer of why? Studies linking TV violence with real violence try to reduce human behavior to stimulus and effect. It may work with rat psychology, but it doesn’t work with human psychology. We are not robots which are programmed. We learn, chose what we focus upon, change our minds, ignore what we like or believe, focus on what we like and believe. If someone is prone to violence, then they will probably seek and obtain violent images and if it isn’t broadcast on TV, it will be sought and obtained otherwise. If there is any valid criticism of TV, it’s the same one that can be brought against drugs: both can be distractions designed to dull the pain of living in a stupid, painful, and hope destroying society. TV, not religion, is today’s tranquilizer of the masses. If you

Violence in media today is almost as common as a teenage girl knowing the name of the actor Channing Tatum. In America, we practically grow up on movies that display countless acts of violence against one another. This is a major way in which human society as a whole has changed from growing up in an environment with a lot of real life violence sporadically around the world, to having some sort of physical conflict involved in every movie or TV show. In the past there have been several cases where people have seen a violent action through a media source and then tried carrying out an action similar to the one seen, except in real life. This is proof to an existence of the presence of violence having an impact on certain viewers. Violence

"TV to blame for rising violence, says police chief' an article taken from the Times on 28th June 2002."

Torr 64). After near exhaustion of the criminal theme, medical dramas began to dip their toes into the pool of television programming. The seemingly chaotic kindling of crime on television sent the content of programming into a regrettable downward spiral of quality. The same old violence was no longer as entertaining, which caused networks to increase the magnitude of the violence on their shows (J. Torr 66) in order to continue engaging viewers. This progression has brought programming to where it lies now: in trouble. The effects and solutions to the violence displayed on television are important due to the ever increasing viewer base of certain types of programming. Through a sundry of studies, spanning many years, from several sources, comes the debate on just what all this violence displayed for anyone and everyone to see is doing to the viewers and how we can solve it.

A vast majority of researchers believe there is too much violence portrayed through media such as television, movies, and video games. This violent content is also perceived as harmful and is having a negative effect on those who consistently view it, especially our youth. Therefore, rating systems and content blocking devices have been designed to warn viewers of graphic content or to place inappropriate out of reach for those not suited to view it. Yet, if there is so much concern circulating violent media, why is it that companies continue to create such content and push the envelope? It’s similar to the concept of junk food, it’s bad for you but people love to eat it; violent content is bad for the viewer but a majority of viewers are attracted to violent media. It’s not easy to say why people are attracted to violent content, it could be for various reason, including social norms and wanting what you can’t have. No matter the reason, marketers and companies have found ways to make violence appeal to all markets, ultimately “giving people what they desire”.

I walked into my living room, plopped down on the couch and picked up my television remote. When I turned on the television I arrived just in time to witness a man being violently shot in the head as a product of a drive by shooting. To my dissatisfaction, I quickly changed the channel to the supposedly child friendly Cartoon Network to view a more decent program. Unfortunately, not even Cartoon Network could save me from the hideous and gruesome truth of the society need for violence. The creatures on the cartoon steadily continued shooting futuristic weaponry and promoting acts of vandalism. Whatever happened to morality and values in television? Taking a look back in time I realize violence in the media appears much more evident than it did fifty years ago.