Free Essays on Violence In The Media

â€Å"Monkey see, monkey do† has become a well-known saying in today’s modern, media-warped society, but is it correct? What has the world come to these days? It often seems like that everywhere one looks, violence rears its ugly head. We see it in the streets, back alleys, school, and even at home. The last of these, our homes, is a major source of violence. In many living rooms, there sits an outlet for violence that often goes unnoticed. It is the television. The people who view it are often pulled into its realistic world of violent scenes with sometimes devastating results. Much research has gone into showing why our society is so mesmerized by this glowing box and the action that takes place within it. Only a mere sixty years ago the invention of the television was viewed as a technological breakthrough with black and white ghost-like figures on the screen so small, hardly anyone could see them. Today that curiosity has become a constant companion to 90% of the American population (Sherrow 26), mainly, children and teenagers. Unfortunately, it is these violent programs that are endangering our present-day society. Violent images on television, as well as in the movies, have inspired people to set spouses on fire in their beds, lie down in the middle of highways, extort money by placing bombs in airplanes, rape, steal, murder, and commit numerous other shootings and assaults. (Brown 78) Most of what is broadcast or transmitted, even in the news, today is with reference to the chaotic condition of our planet. The more atrocious the event, the more publicity it receives. â€Å"The average American child will witness†¦200,000 acts of media violence by the time that child graduates from high school.† (Sherrow 6) â€Å"Children have never been very good at listening to their elders,† James Baldwin wrote in Nobody Knows my Name. â€Å"But they have never failed to imitate them.† (Sherrow 56) This basic truth has all bu... Free Essays on Violence In The Media Free Essays on Violence In The Media â€Å"Monkey see, monkey do† has become a well-known saying in today’s modern, media-warped society, but is it correct? What has the world come to these days? It often seems like that everywhere one looks, violence rears its ugly head. We see it in the streets, back alleys, school, and even at home. The last of these, our homes, is a major source of violence. In many living rooms, there sits an outlet for violence that often goes unnoticed. It is the television. The people who view it are often pulled into its realistic world of violent scenes with sometimes devastating results. Much research has gone into showing why our society is so mesmerized by this glowing box and the action that takes place within it. Only a mere sixty years ago the invention of the television was viewed as a technological breakthrough with black and white ghost-like figures on the screen so small, hardly anyone could see them. Today that curiosity has become a constant companion to 90% of the American population (Sherrow 26), mainly, children and teenagers. Unfortunately, it is these violent programs that are endangering our present-day society. Violent images on television, as well as in the movies, have inspired people to set spouses on fire in their beds, lie down in the middle of highways, extort money by placing bombs in airplanes, rape, steal, murder, and commit numerous other shootings and assaults. (Brown 78) Most of what is broadcast or transmitted, even in the news, today is with reference to the chaotic condition of our planet. The more atrocious the event, the more publicity it receives. â€Å"The average American child will witness†¦200,000 acts of media violence by the time that child graduates from high school.† (Sherrow 6) â€Å"Children have never been very good at listening to their elders,† James Baldwin wrote in Nobody Knows my Name. â€Å"But they have never failed to imitate them.† (Sherrow 56) This basic truth has all bu... Free Essays on Violence In The Media Violent Lyrics That Cause Violence Since the 70’s, music has been accused of being the cause of violent behavior. During the 70’s and 80’s, several heavy metal bands were being blamed for the sudden outbursts of violent behavior among teens. Back then, Ozzy Osbourne was the choice of blame among the media. They were accusing him of having secret messages in his ‘satanic’ lyrics, which hypnotized and manipulated the minds of young listeners everywhere. During the 80’s, punk bands began to take over the music scene. The media then directed the blame towards the new artists. In 1988, rap was invented. The media also changed their views on who to blame. They broadcast several stories on the news, on how new age music was affecting the lives of the next generation. Soon blame was put on the African American rap artists, believing that they were poisoning today’s youth. Rap music was becoming known as a bleak way for someone to express themselves, labeling rap as the newest r ebel music. People were beginning to believe stories that rap music lead to substance abuse, crime, rape and killing. Between ‘94 and ’95, punk rock was taken to new levels, when Marilyn Manson created the first industrial rock album. His unique style and originality were not welcome among society. The media started to point fingers at Manson as well. But for some reason, youth were attracted to his image. Today’s media, places blame on Eminem. His brutally honest lyrics were taken as insult to a lot of people. The media argues that the lyrics are to shock and offend people, when they may just be something used to catch a listener’s attention. The media has created a pattern by switching the blame from artist to artist. Its no surprise that when the subject of violent lyrics comes up, teens always have a good argument, no matter which side they’re on. There is one thing that is the same with all the artists who have been victims of the me...