Media Violence vs. Societal Violence Essay Example

"musical training is a more potent instrument than any other because rhythm and harmony find their way into the inward places of the soul." Music profoundly influences our moods, attitudes, emotions, and behavior.

Studies show that modern music lyrics in the United States have progressively become more explicit (6). For instance, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony's "Crept and We Came," a song adored by Mitchell Johnson, who perpetrated a school shooting killing five people including a teacher, and Nine Inch Nails' "Big Man with a Gun," which portrays sexual assault with firearms (6). Moreover, Slayer, the death-metal band's music glorifies "Carnage, Satanism, and torture," and their devotees sacrificed Elyse Pahler (84).

Slayer's lyrics in "Altar of Sacrifice" depict a high priest who is holding a dagger and waiting.

Joseph Fiorella and his friends Jacob Delashmutt and Royce Caset were summoned by the lyrics of a song that promoted spilling pure virgin blood and Satan's slaughter as a form of ceremonial death. According to Fiorella's court report, the music's influence went beyond just being a song and penetrated his thoughts, altering his way of looking at things (Steyer 84).

Steyer (84) reports that a man selected Elyse as his sacrificial virgin, and after 60 days, she was strangled, stabbed with an antler-handled knife, stomped on the neck and left to die from bleeding. In addition, Steyer (85) emphasizes the importance of examining both music lyrics and visuals in adolescent socialization.

Experts warn that violent media, including video games, television, and film, can have a negative impact on children. Parents are worried that exposure to fantasy violence in video games may lead children to engage in real-world violence. It's not just about teaching kids how

to kill but also about encouraging them to enjoy violence (United States 2). Studies indicate that the more often kids commit violent acts in virtual worlds, the greater their likelihood of acting out in reality (United States 7). Furthermore, excessive exposure to violent video games can heighten a child's level of aggression (United States 7).

Researchers from Stanford University found in a 2001 study that playing video games is linked to violence. By reducing the time spent on video games, elementary school children experienced a 50% decrease in physical aggression. This improvement was most significant among the most aggressive children (Steyer 77). Our nation has alarmingly high rates of homicide, violent crime, juvenile delinquency, and imprisonment which puts our children at risk. Children who have multiple risk factors and cannot differentiate between reality and fantasy are especially vulnerable (Steyer 82). Prior to their Columbine High School shooting in Littleton, Colorado, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold created "back story" videos.

According to Steyer's book, Harris referenced his favorite shoot-em-up video game "Doom" when discussing the massacre that was to come (70). Similarly, Michael Carneal, who murdered three girls in a high school hallway, learned from the movie The Basketball Diaries (70). Barry Loukaitis, who killed two students and a teacher, was influenced by Natural Born Killers (71). The shooters were driven not only by revenge but also by the desire for attention, a motivation that was shaped by violent movies, music, and videos they consumed (72). Thus, both access to guns and exposure to violent media contributed to the occurrence of school shootings.

Media companies are placing children in harm's way by providing violent guidance. There is no

single cause or answer to why kids turn to violence but studies have repeatedly shown that exposure to violent media leads to increased aggression and violence towards others. This perpetuates the "mean world" syndrome that causes a crippling fear that violence is normal in the world (Steyer 72, 76).

According to Steyer (72), the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg School for Communication's George Gerbner links this condition with frequent TV watching. Similar to how each cigarette increases the likelihood of eventual lung cancer, every exposure to violence escalates the possibility that a child will display more violent behavior than they normally would (United States 5). For decades, society has been worried about children's exposure to violent media (Media Violence). Nowadays, violent acts on TV and in movies seldom result in any consequences. There are no mourners, and no one is held accountable (American). The protagonist is often the one who resorts to violence to solve problems.

Professor Levin asserts that the prevalent message is that violence is pleasurable and can resolve interpersonal conflicts. This assertion is reinforced through the marketing of TV-related action figures and toys aimed at children. Besides, Levin posits that young children's playtime serves as a testing ground for learning violent behaviors witnessed on screen. Nevertheless, the media's tendency to show unrealistic outcomes of violent acts exacerbates young children's inability to comprehend the relationship between actions and consequences (Steyer 81).

"Media Violence and Social Neuroscience" reveals the diverse effects of media violence on children, causing them to become desensitized to violent content in TV shows, movies, music, and video games. This leads to aggressive behavior towards others and a perception that violence is

acceptable without consequences. Therefore, media violence is seen as a significant factor in the increase of societal violence.

The Association for Psychological Science published an abstract on January 15, 2008, that included .The following URL belongs to a PDF file containing abstracts from 2005 to 2009 by Dr. CAA, who is a faculty member in psychology at Iowa State University: .The book titled "The Other Parent" by James Steyer was released in 2002 and published by Atria in the United States.The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on September 14, 1999, concerning children, violence, and the media.On the 15th of January 2008, the link "http://judiciary.senate.gov/oldsite/mediavio" was available.

html>Violence portrayed in the media was discussed on February 19, 2004.

The issuance of a statement occurred on January 15, 2008 by the American Psychological Association.