Media Influence on Violence in Society

The human condition and its thirst for violence have been around for centuries. Dating back to times of war as early as the crusades and even biblical recordings of Cain and Able. Violence in correlation to evolution has grown and taken different forms to affect the populous. As stated before it was something that was used with a purpose in some respect , one that could be deemed noble, than that of a cause used for pleasure. Entertainment and the promotion of violence have been around for ages.
During times of he Ancient Roman Era, slaves that were turned Into warriors also know as Gladiator, were brought into arenas filled with tens of thousands of spectators and force to killed and use violence to be deemed victorious. With that victory came spoils such as status lavish gifts or in some cases their freedom. This example is used as a highlight to showcase that the violent acts that occurred was very popular and was by its nature considered to be entertaining to the citizens that attended the events and the upper class whom put on the show.
In those times the elite that put on the show did so as means o satisfy a burdened lower class whom otherwise due to conditions of hardships would tool of public violence, though in present time by a reasonable person standard can be found to be immoral, was something that the ruling class used to its benefit. The Exploitation of violence still remains a functional tool used for the powers that be, in present times it has evolved from a means of distraction to a tool with which one can exploit and benefit monetarily.

Which brings to question is the exploitation and marketing of violence and crime by way of violence in media morally irresponsible? To date some of the greatest media shows and films maintain an aspect of violence that is furthered through acts of criminality. Some of the examples include the all time blockbuster of Surface. With the film it depicts a foreign immigrant that rises the top of success through the use of malicious violence and illegal behaviors including the selling of drugs. The film up to date has earned gross income of over a $150 million worldwide. 1) This statistics goes to show how much people prescribed to the viewing of the movie withstanding the profits of secondary promotions of the films brand through researches and other auxiliary outlets. Another great American depiction of crime is that of a famous fictional Mob family the Sopranos. This popular Television show depicts conducted, and how the use and promotion of violence is a necessary means or bi- product in the road to success. This widely loved brand has went on to gross over $160 dollars as per statistic provided through factual evidences shown through TV station A&E actions where committed to paid 2. Million per episode for the brands whole catalog (2). This large amount that a station was willing to pay can be seen as a perfect gaslight to exactly how popular the show was with society at large and what their valuation was really be esteemed to be. Fast forwarding too recent hit with society can highlight the show Breaking Bad. This show finds it overarching plot showcasing classic everyday middle class individual who is force by outside and internal circumstance to go against societal norms and engage in illegal activity and the use violence in the furtherance of such activities.
Through out the show the viewer is enticed by the wins the average man can attain if he Just decided to walk the path of using violence and prescribing to illegal activities. This show more so that the others that proceeded this description is more influential to society at large as society is made up of average people going through problems such as the main character of this show. Hardships coming from economic factors, familial factors, and internal struggles all testify to the connections that bring user back and keep them engaged.
The leading show is vague as per available information. It is easily held that the show would be able to net numbers vastly over that of other hits like the Sopranos. With popular culture acceptance that these shows maintain it is easy to see that present day powers that be studios” are making a killing and stand to continue to profit of the back of the tenants of the use of violence in entertainment. Though these worlds and stories are fictional in nature, society and certain cultures have adapted these tenants to success into their realities.
Statistics show that in 2012 Number of people arrested in the U. S on drug charges were 1. 55 million (4) Number of Americans incarcerated in 2011 in federal, state and local prisons and jails: 2,266,800 or 1 in every 99. 1 adults, the highest incarceration rate in the world. Two thirds is the Fraction of people incarcerated for a drug offense in state prisons hat are majority represented by black or Hipics (5) Are the statistics enough to assert that the these offenses are reflective of content that viewers are taking in with regard to movies and TV shows.
Though hard to say yes as a definitive answer, the supporting and subsequent information that has been obtain is enough to bring validity to the question itself. Articles pulled from the NY Times express that “A study set for publication in the December issue of Pediatrics confirms what some of Hollywood sharpest critics have suspected: The level of gun violence in the top- ailing PIG-13 movies has been rising, and it now exceeds that in the most popular R- rated films.
Violent encounters with guns occur, on average, more than twice an hour in the best sellers in both ratings categories, according to researchers, who worked with support from the Ennobler Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. In all, the researchers examined 945 movies, counting the appearances of overall violence in each five- minute segment of a sampling of films that ranked among the top 30 at the domestic box office from 1950 to 2012. Perhaps not surprisingly, the results ” reported by Brad J.
Bushman of Ohio State University, and Patrick E. Jameson, Lana White and Daniel Roomer of the Ennobler center ” showed that violence in American films had more than doubled in that time. But the authors also found that episodes of gun violence in PIG- 13 rated films had been rising since the rating was introduced in the mid-asses, and it now surpasses the violence in R-rated films, which are technically not open to young viewers unless they are accompanied by an adult. Speaking by telephone last week, Mr…
Roomer, one of the authors, acknowledged that the study, by focusing only on the top- selling movies each year, said as much about audience said. “We recognize that, and the movie industry realizes it. ” Mr… Roomer said he believed that movie studios were “taking films that have a lot of violence and putting them into the PIG-13 category. ” (7) This stands as another highlight to the fact that the powers that be “studios” exploit the use of violence in their content to rake in revenue. The information provided above sheds specific light on the practices of gearing the violence to a younger audience.
Smart tactic from a business standpoint in that it builds legacy and cultures your view to what you would like them to, and in a sense locking in continued sales for a longer period of time. Though a good business tactic to gain profits morally it can be seen by the reasonable man to be irresponsible. Viewer of that age range tend to be more impressionable and violence or depictions of violence should be the last thing that is being fed to them during a movie experience. Supporting information obtained from the Rewets also express the new found statistics on the how violence in PIG-13 movies are at an all time high.
The article states Research shows that teens frequently choose to watch extremely violent films. Among the top-grossing films in 2012, rated PIG-13, were such violence- packed dramas as ‘Safely’, ‘The Avengers’, ‘Taken 2’, ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ and ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’. According to the study, conducted by the Ennobler Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania and Ohio State University, violence in films has more than doubled since 1950, while gun violence in PIG-13-rated films, especially popular among younger people, has more than tripled since 1985.
The article goes on to express that “Seeing guns in films might also provide youth with scripts for using guns,” the authors of the study ‘Gun Violence Trends in Movies’ warn. The article really hammers home the reality that comes with violence in movies when it continues by expressing It’s disturbing that PIG-13 movies are filled with so much gun violence, We know that movies teach children how adults behave, and they make gun use appear exciting and attractive,” says study co-author and the director of the Ennobler Center’s Adolescent Communication Institute, Dan Roomer. It the goes into the theory of the weapons effect conveying.
A number of scientific studies have previously concluded that the mere presence of guns can increase aggression, a phenomenon dubbed the “weapons effect. ” 00″By including guns in violent scenes, film producers may be strengthening the weapons effect and providing youth with scripts for using guns,” the authors of the study, published in the latest issue of the US Pediatrics Journal, emphasize. The article finally wraps up its case by giving prime example of the effect of violence in movie having real world consequences through the recent case of the James Holmes and the Dark Knight movie massacre.
The article states They give an example when movies have served as a catalyst for violence. In July 2012, James Holmes bought a ticket to see the new Batman movie in Colorado. About 20 minutes after the show started, the 25- year-old left the theater and returned dressed in full tactical gear, equipped with several guns and a huge amount of ammunition. Holmes, who later identified himself to the police as ‘The Joker’, launched two canisters that emitted tear gas and began firing into the crowd, killing 12 and wounding 70 others. Rewets. Com) Though that example is a horrific and unthinkable reality, movie influence on sack to times before the ox’s. The Hollywood reporter highlights a gang fight that broke out on the scene of a drive in theatre to the movie the Warriors. The article states Ata drive-in theater in Palm Springs, members of the Blue Coats, an African- American gang, got into it with members off white gang, The Family. A 19-year-old member of The Family was shot to death. (Wholeheartedly. Mom) As stated before it is very hard to exactly determine if any of these violent acts can be directly and wholly attributed to violence depicted in films, but a reasonable person would be able to infer that the violence showcased maintains an influential ole in effecting its viewers. It now brings to table the debate on whether acting in this manner should be something that maintains protections under the freedom of speech/expression amendment or if it should Just be deemed negligence on the part of the studios who load the films with violence and market it too public who may later act upon the viewed behaviors and events in the picture.
Movie studios may contend that they maintain no liability as to the actions that are later committed by a viewer of a movie, they may also contend that having violence in the movie can help n effort to fuel and evoke emotions and feelings off particular scene. Though true with a valid basis it’s hard to find in favor of the studios and their art defenses as they as proven above with information blatantly market their violent content to a younger demographic. One that does not by regulation need a parental figure to be present in order for them to view it.