Entertainment Violence Term Paper

Entertainment Violence

In recent years, politicians and citizen groups have criticized the entertainment industry for its violent content, claiming that it is responsible for violence in society. However, many claim that this consensus is overblown and unfounded by substantial research.

There is considerable sociological and statistical data that suggests that violence begets violence and the root factor in the United States has been war, a continuous experience in one zone or another and one that has become "embedded in daily life through a highly militarized culture" (Cockburn 27). Japan, for example, has extreme violence on its TV and mobile screens, yet has a very low level of social violence (Cockburn 27).

According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, statistics show that school violence is at its lowest level in years despite the increase in violent video game sales, therefore, how can there be a correlation between violence in media and youth crime (ACLU pg). A two-year study by the government funded National Research Council cited in its 400-page report that the determining factors for violence in society were "poverty, access to weapons, communications skills and drug use," exposure to violent entertainment media was not even listed (ACLU pg).

According to Henry Jenkins of MIT, criminologists rarely consider media violence to be a serious contribution to crime, rather they consider "access to weapons, mental health and poverty...media consumption ranks very low on the list" (Newit pg). Yet, while crime and violence has actually been decreasing, the news coverage of it has doubled in recent years with stations routinely reporting of incidents outside their area (Cockburn 27).

The entertainment industry appears to be simply a scapegoat for more serious issues facing society, such as poverty, healthcare, access to weapons, and education incentives.

Works Cited

ACLU Sees Political Opportunism, Not Science, In Report Linking Pop Culture and Youth Violence." American Civil Liberties Union Freedom Network. http://archive.aclu.org/features/f091300a.html.(accessed 06-28-2003).

Cockburn, Alexander, When U.S. politicians get fired up about screen violence, it has to be election year: real causes of social crime in the United States." New Statesman & Society. Volume 9. May 17, 1996; pp 27.

Newit, Annalee. "Blame Game: Gamers say social problems, not video games cause violence" San Francisco Chronicle. January 14, 2002 http://www.sfgate.com/cgibin/article.cgi?file=/gate/archive/2002/01/14/gameviol.DTL.(accessed 06-28-2003).

Cite this Document:

"Entertainment Violence" (2003, June 28) Retrieved April 23, 2024, from
https://www.paperdue.com/essay/entertainment-violence-152187

"Entertainment Violence" 28 June 2003. Web.23 April. 2024. <
https://www.paperdue.com/essay/entertainment-violence-152187>

"Entertainment Violence", 28 June 2003, Accessed.23 April. 2024,
https://www.paperdue.com/essay/entertainment-violence-152187

Related Documents
Violence in the Media and
PAGES 6 WORDS 2389

The industry knowingly takes advantage of this recent cultural shift in parent-child relationships. And finally, the industry knows that children and youngsters are more likely to be influenced by violent movies, TV shows, and games and are more likely to get addicted to violent imagery, becoming potential customers for future media products and games that glorify violence (Mean world syndrome, 2009). It is fair, therefore, to say that bombardment

Violence in America
PAGES 5 WORDS 1260

Violence in America Education The purpose of this paper is to research violence in America in relation to Education and to make a determination of 'who' is responsible for the growing violence, if in fact it is growing. The United States Crime Index Rates per 100,000 climbed from 1,887.2 in the year of 1960 to 5,897 in 1991 in which year the crime rate was at its highest. According to the report: "Crime

Violence in Titus Andronicus and Macbeth One of the remarkable characteristics of Shakespeare's plays, particularly his tragedies, is that they are frequently incredibly violent. In many of his plays, this violence is seen abhorrent, with characters not only suffering societal consequences for their violent actions, but also experiencing deep regret and remorse for their violent actions. In fact, in many of his plays, Shakespeare's violent characters are impacted more by their

" Professional sports operates at a higher level than college sports, but these athletes are more likely to face legal action. Dale Hackbart of the Denver Broncos attempted to block Charles Clark of the Cincinnati Bengals during an interception by throwing himself on the ground in front of Hackbart. Hackbart, out of frustration, hit Clark with his right forearm on the back of the neck. The force of the blow was

Violence in Video Games Unlike movies, video games are not regulated by the Federal Communication Commission (FCC), which is ironic because there are a wealth of studies indicating children do not distinguish between fantasy and reality in a gaming environment (Ferguson, 2011). Simply put, the more time children, adolescents and teenagers spend playing a video game the more they see their reality as the gaming environment (Boyle, McLeod, Rojas, 2008) (Hartmann,

Given that people engage in sporting events for a wide range of reasons, the authors assert that it is time for athletes to develop a moral code that embraces higher standards of conduct that will help reverse these recent trends and once again provide American sports with a sense of fair play and respect. Fredenburg, Karen, Rafer Lutz, Glenn Miller et al. (2005). "Dismissals and Perceptions of Pressure in Coaching