posted on Apr, 14 2004 @ 07:26 PM
Kids are screwed up whether the watch TV or not. It is simply a function of their inexperience with the world. But even though they are screwed up
relative to the adults that function reasonably and positively in the world, they are learning at an alarming rate comparatively. This is the
problem.
It is not the violence that kids are learning from TV and music and movies, it is the resolutions that come from them. In some cases such as in music,
there is no resolution, leading kids to believe that there are no consequenses for violent behavior.
But more troubling is the fact that in television and movies, the violence portrayed leads very quickly to a resolution positive in nature. To watch
television shows or movies that tend to culminate with the good guys getting the bad guys or justice being served within an hour or an hour and a half
tells kids that violence actually works. It is unrealistic, and it sends the message that short stints of violence may be beneficial in all
instances.
I don't think that kids are the only ones that are prone to this negative education. Just after September 11th, we heard nearly the entire country
cry out for our President to do something about the terrorist threat, which he did, but just a few months, maybe even weeks later, the scale seemed to
tip back to the peace stance. I think American have a false sense of security as a result of our celebration of violence in the media.
In the media, true violence that exists in the world is not portrayed in a realistic manner. No one seems to notice that the violence that exists in
places such as the Balkans, Israel, Kashmir, and most regions of S. America and Africa have been protracted for decades, with no real resolution.
And the thought that violence on TV and in movies desensitizes people to it is false. Only violence desensitizes people to violence, if anything, and
even still, some people are never desensitized even after long exposure to it. In many cases, violence tends to make one mentally disturbed for the
rest of their life.
Violence in the media does nothing more than to feed the American sense of instant gratification by showing us that within an hour or two, such
violence may lead to the positive resolution it seeks. On the other end of the spectrum, there are those who believe that violence can solve nothing,
and abhor any and all violence wherever it may occur, whether real or fictional. This is another unfortunate example of unrealistic thinking.
Sometimes violence is necessary.
A recent thread asked if video games based on warfare were actually an education for the future warriors of the world. Until a video game can help you
reach a target training heart rate and maintain it for at least 45 minutes, and instill character traits such as self-discipline, honor, integrity,
and candor, all these video games will do is further imbed the false notions of the effectiveness that violence has on the positive outcome of dicey
situations.
Does media screw up the kids? Yes. In fact, it screws up everyone equally.
It's FICTION!
DeltaChaos