The use of violence is media is becoming more and more visible in today’s society. We see in our television programming, the movies we watch, the video games we play, and we even hear it in our music lyrics. Children’s programming isn’t even void of this trend. As the death toll and violent situation count rises, a debate arises. What does this say about our society?
Some people believe that the escalating violence in the media has led to escalating violence in real life. People are taking their cues from what the see and hear. The situations we observe in a fictional reality bring out the worst in us. People try to reenact stupid things they see on TV, or they put the blame on violent song lyrics. If a person goes on a shooting spree in a video game, they will be more apt to try it in real life. It maintains that these media artifacts bring out the worst in our human nature. Basically the media breeds a more violent society. Society perpetuates the violence it sees.
Another theory claims the opposite. It does not put all the blame sole on the media outlets. This theory maintains that media is a reflection of the society that created it. Humans by nature are violent beings and the media shows us that every day. In this theory people are not inherently good. Our strong virtues are not compromised by what we see and hear in our media artifacts. The media perpetuates the violence it sees in society.
I tend to believe the second theory. I am more inclined to say that humans as a whole are not good natured. I see the violence found in media to be a dramatized extension of our societies morals in real life. People in general are greedy, and that is even more apparent in big media bosses. They understand that facet of human behavior. They know that people do not want to watch “real” life. Even reality TV is casted, set up and even edited to give it a more dramatic and tension filled appearance. People do not want to see a show going through the average day in the life of a character. Regular people go through life with that every day. Real life is boring. They need to do something to make their product more appealing. In many cases violence may be the answer. If the media draws upon our more violent nature, they know there is a good chance they will make more money. They make money, and we get the entertainment we want, its win/win right?
Maybe I’m too pessimistic in my view. Maybe you don’t agree. Take time, do some research, and be media literate. Take a closer look at what you are exposed to on a day to day basis. Look at your favorite action flick. Take away the violence. Would you still watch it? Does watching it make you more aggressive? Does it push you to things you never would have thought of before? Be educated and aware and make up your own mind.
