Violent media

 Debbie Wysong

Article 1

               Violent Video Games (summarized)

 

   There has been an enormous amount of research on violent video games, and if they have an impact on children. Years of documents implying aggression in children from playing violent video games. The lack of parents concerned about media violence is clear. Evidence, that media violence increases the likely hood of aggression and violent in both short term and long term contexts. In 2004 pediatricians were surveyed, over 98% believed the media does affect child hood aggression. This message failed to be delivered to the average American parent.

    Although there has been a lot of research on effects from watching violent television on aggressive behavior, there has been less research on violent video games and how it has a strong connection to the negative effects on children.

   “Pong” was the first video game released in 1972. It opened up a great opportunity for developers. They then began to push the creative and technological side in order to gain profits and market shares. The developers worked to create better technological capacitys and graphic abilities, but also experimented with content to see what the market could handle, including violent content.  The first violent video game was released in 1976, it was called “Death Race”. The goal in the game was to run over people. The violence in this game made a public outraged, communities then banned it.   

      Researchers define aggression as a form of behavior that is intended to harm another individual and is expected by the perpetrator to have a chance in actually harming that individual. In other words violence is just a form of physical aggression.  That might be enhanced into aggressive behaviors from playing violent video games.

    The public wanted standards set, that included no violence, sex or excessive blood. Even though it was clear that games sold better with more violence in them, developers then produced more.  

    Eventually Congress passed a law that made movie and video producers make a rating system. Citizens were hoping that now that there was a rating system, producers of video games would stop making such violent games. Unfortunately now that there were ratings, producers no longer had to make games for just one age group. Games initially got more violent.

 

 Debbie wysong

Article 2

           

     Harvey Weinstein vowed to back away from making ultraviolent movies. He made bad and good movies. But he never tried to sell anything he didn’t believe in. Weinstein was passionate about his movies, his company and political causes that he supported.

   Media tried pressing him for what he thought about his violent movies. He told them ‘In this peculiar era when violent crime overall has declined but spectacular mass shootings’. Weinstein was also a longtime liberal Democrat and supported of the National Rifle Association.  He reflected the fact that no one really understands the whole question of media violence and its relationship to

 

Debbie Wysong

Article 3

 

     It’s sad to see how the media always looks for reasoning when something violet happens. The media’s turning criminals into heroes, by putting them on the covers of “Time Magazine”. Making them idol’s for kids that get bullied all the time. When it comes down to who is to blame, (when an adolescent shoots up a school) media looks for a reason. Even though there is no reason.