Violence in the Media

Paper Summary:

This paper first establishes the amount of violent content in childrens' shows. It then looks at the effects that exposure to such violence has on children and establishes a need for change in current programming. It cites several examples of violent or abusive programs and asks whether censorship is necessary by the authorities or whether the responsibility lies on the parents to either control what television their children watch, or to educate them accordingly.

From the Paper:

"In 1993, a 13-year-old boy sat on trial for sexually assaulting his 10-year-old stepsister. Scar faced serial killer Freddie Krueger was cited as a major source of blame for such a horrid act. This notorious killer made popular from the 1980's Nightmare on Elm Street movies is known for his stylized and gory killing of female victims, and was a favorite of the aforementioned young boy. However, Krueger did not take the blame alone. Rap performer Bobby Brown was also cited as a contributing factor for the abuse by making the 13-year-old sexually aggressive with the song "Humping Around" (Redfern 1). Bobby Brown and Freddie Krueger are certainly not the only pop culture icons to be blamed for violent or sexually aggressive behavior in children and teenagers. The media has been targeted time and time again for providing violent and sexually explicit programming that causes equally adverse behavior in it's viewers. Most notably, children's programming is constantly being evaluated for it's violent content and the effects it has on its young viewers. Some feel that blaming the media for the recent surge in aggressive acts by young children and adolescents is inappropriate. However, I disagree. I feel that violent programming is an extensive problem in broadcasting today, and very much to blame for the surge of violent children. In particular, I feel that violent content contained in children's television programming is quite possibly the largest problem that faces out current broadcasting system. By examining the violence in children's shows as well as the impact that watching such violence has, it becomes clear that change is needed in our current television programming."

More papers on Violence in the Media:

• Term Paper # 133992 : "Violence in the Media and Its Impact on Children"
• Term Paper # 121722 : "Violence in the Media"
• Persuasive Essay # 9939 : "Violence in the Media"
• Argumentative Essay # 104207 : "Sex and Violence in the Media"

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