Reading Between the Lines of American Entertainment
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- Date Submitted: 04/09/2010 08:21 AM
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READING BETWEEN THE LINES OF AMERICAN ENTERTAINMENT
Multimedia corporations have bombarded our youth with billboards, glorified killers and epic cinema thrillers of violence. These corporations have formed a cast of expected stereotypical teen horror flick roles among the average Joe. So why are these expected villainous roles of the master minded murderers, the victims, and the damsels in distress so enticing to younger generations?
Could it be the adoration of the murderous screen play? Or is it the infatuation of man imitating a forbidden art of blood and gore? Whatever the reason may be, the main stream media has proven to be the sole source of two of the most shocking juvenile violence cases mentioned In Michael J. A. Howe’s essay “Television and Children”. He states “Research shows that television is a major source of violence for children. The effects have been seen in a number of cases. One example, from Alabama, was when a nine-year-old boy received a bad report card from his teacher. He suggested to one of his friends that he send the teacher poisoned candy as revenge. He had seen the same scenario on television the night before. In California, a 7 year old boy sprinkled ground-up glass into the lamb stew the family was to eat for dinner. When asked why he did it he replied that he wanted to see if the results would be the same in real life as they were on television”(72).
Although these instances may seem outrageous to just blame on the television networks time slot selections; Douglass Carter’s essay “T.V. Violence and the Child” states, “Some psychologists and psychiatrists feel that continued exposure to such violence might unnaturally speed up the impact of the adult world on the child. This can force the child into a kind of premature maturity. As the child matures into an adult, he/she can become bewildered, have a greater distrust towards others, a superficial approach to adult problems, and even an unwillingness to become an adult” (14)....
Multimedia corporations have bombarded our youth with billboards, glorified killers and epic cinema thrillers of violence. These corporations have formed a cast of expected stereotypical teen horror flick roles among the average Joe. So why are these expected villainous roles of the master minded murderers, the victims, and the damsels in distress so enticing to younger generations?
Could it be the adoration of the murderous screen play? Or is it the infatuation of man imitating a forbidden art of blood and gore? Whatever the reason may be, the main stream media has proven to be the sole source of two of the most shocking juvenile violence cases mentioned In Michael J. A. Howe’s essay “Television and Children”. He states “Research shows that television is a major source of violence for children. The effects have been seen in a number of cases. One example, from Alabama, was when a nine-year-old boy received a bad report card from his teacher. He suggested to one of his friends that he send the teacher poisoned candy as revenge. He had seen the same scenario on television the night before. In California, a 7 year old boy sprinkled ground-up glass into the lamb stew the family was to eat for dinner. When asked why he did it he replied that he wanted to see if the results would be the same in real life as they were on television”(72).
Although these instances may seem outrageous to just blame on the television networks time slot selections; Douglass Carter’s essay “T.V. Violence and the Child” states, “Some psychologists and psychiatrists feel that continued exposure to such violence might unnaturally speed up the impact of the adult world on the child. This can force the child into a kind of premature maturity. As the child matures into an adult, he/she can become bewildered, have a greater distrust towards others, a superficial approach to adult problems, and even an unwillingness to become an adult” (14)....