MEDIA VIOLENCE

BY LAUREN BENNETT
 The study ofviolencein massmediaanalyzes the

WHAT IS degree of correlation between themes ofviolencein

mediasources (particularlyviolencein video games,
television and films) with real-world aggression
IT? andviolenceover time.
 Multiple risk factors are likely to cause aggressive
behavior.
Substance abuse
Conflict at home
DOES EXPOSURE Aggression
MAKE KIDS Arguments
MORE Abuse
Violent media
AGGRESSIVE?
Computer & Video games
Films and T.V shows
YouTube videos
 LOONEY
TOONS (CAR.
NET. AND (1930-PRESENT) In the show, Looney Toons/Tunes, guns and explosives are a

BOOMERANG)
popular prop used by every single character. Coyote hides dynamite under bird-
seed and sets out a FREE BIRD SEED sign in a failed attempt to trick Roadrunner,
because he is after that bird for nothing other than FOOD! But Roadrunner always
outsmarts Coyote, which results in Coyote always being badly hurt. He either falls
off a cliff, gets his head clobbered by boulders, or experiences other injuries that, if
it happened in real life, could actually kill you. The hunter is always after Bugs
Bunny and Donald Duck because he claims its rabbit/duck hunting season,
although he will probably eat them later if he ever got his hands on them.
Sylvester the Cat is after Tweety Bird for the same reason that Tom and Coyote are
after their prey: FOOD! Again, Sylvester is hungry so the gun is used for attacking
and Tweety Bird is trying to escape so the weapon/trap is to stall the cat. There are
many episodes with either homicide or suicide: Sylvester with a gun against his
temple (4th picture), Donald Duck threatened by Mickey Mouse with a gun, and a
small man dressed up as a baby who is pointing a gun directly at a surrendering
Bugs Bunny.
 TOM &
JERRY
(BOOMERA (1940-PRESENT) This show involves the cat (Tom) and the
mouse (Jerry) continuously chasing each other around and

NG)
fighting. The cat is after the mouse for nothing other than
food. The mouse is simply attempting to protect himself by
fighting back. There is not one episode where violence
doesnt occur. If Tom uses butcher knives, an axe, a gun,
mouse traps, etc. in an attempt to catch, murder, and eat
him, then Jerry lashes back with other weapons, a luring
trap, and poison in food, as he tries to escape.
 REN AND
STIMPY
(NICKELODE
ON) (1991-1996) This show involves a short-tempered,
asthma-hound Chihuahua (Ren), and a dimwitted,
happy-go-lucky, 3-year-old cat (Stimpy) who act as
best-friends, but get in arguments/fights a lot. These
so-called play-fights can have choking, blood,
threats thrown around, or just physical/verbal violence
in general. The humor is mostly absurdist and
slapstick. Though there might be a lot of violence in
this show the characters seem to ENJOY doing it.
 THE
POWERPUFF
GIRLS (1998-2005) In this show, The Powerpuff girls (Bubbles,
(CARTOON Blossom, and Buttercup) actually attend Pokey Oaks
Kindergarten, which would make them either five or six
NETWORK) years old since they are triplets after-all. These children act
as superheroes against all of the evil monsters that roam
the world. They hit, kick, punch, bite, use their super-
powers, etc. to try and keep everyone safe. The amount of
blood/gore, explosions, dangerous situations, and times
that they could have been killed, is endless. But even after
being knocked down so many times, they tend to always
get back up and fight.
COURAGE T
HE
COWARDLY
DOG (1999-2002) This show is most likely one of the most
disturbing things to be shown on television for children.

(CARTOON Not only are nonrealistic bugs and monsters shown, but
also a variety of weapons (knives, swords, axes,

NET.)
hammers, etc.) are used by Courage (the pink dog) to
fight against them or defend himself and family. The
dog is not courageous but he attempts to act that way
in order to save his beloved owners.
 SPONGEBO
B
SQUAREPAN
TS (1999-PRESENT) Although SpongeBob Squarepants
isnt as violent as some of the other past and present

(NICKELODE shows, some parts of it can appear as violence due to

the amount of blood and gore. Something interesting

ON)
that I learned is that this show was originally going to
be a T.V. show for adults, but was then made for
children instead. This might be why some scenes seem
controversial in some ways.
HAPPY TREE
FRIENDS (1999-PRESENT) This show is contains a wide variety of
(MTV AND mostly cute and cuddly animals, from Cuddles (the yellow
bunny) to Giggles (the pink chipmunk). They appear as these
YOUTUBE) completely adorable, innocent, and harmless creatures, but
this is nothing but a simple mask. The gist of the show is
woodland creature having graphic and violent adventures.
Blood and gore is shown in every single episode, and the
animals put on a smile as they do these brutal acts as a way
to make the audience laugh.
THE EFFECTS Children are constantly either outside playing at
OF the park, a playground, in water, etc. or inside
with their toys. The moment you turn your back on
HAPPY TREE a baby/child of any age is when the most shocking
things could happen. Kids will always be curious,
FRIENDS and they will also always try to test you. This is
a HUGE reason to always keep our eyes on them
ON and to shield them from any

CHILDREN
 The moment you turn your back on a baby/child of any age
is when the most shocking things could happen. Kids will
always be curious, and they attempt to test you to see
what you are capable of. Its almost as if they are analyzing
you. Children soak up information, which is why we have to
be careful what we do or say around them. For instance, if
we are watching a violent television show or a movie with
curse words in it the child will not only want to join us, but

HOW TO
they will also try to MIMICK the behavior.
EXAMPLE By the time my little brother was three
years old, he knew how to turn on the computer, work
SUPPORT the mouse, put in and play the Baby Mozart CD on there.
When he was five, he got ahold of an adult pair of
CHILDREN? scissors and proceeded to cut up the curtains. This was
the same kid who would dart out of the grocery store and
into the parking lot, which of course gave my mother a
mini heart attack. He also enjoyed hiding from my
parents for long periods of time, because it just amused
him. The cause and effect here would be: cartoons and
behavior (acting out).
 Children under the age of 7 may imitate cartoon
violence because they may not be able to tell the
difference between fantasy and reality.
HOW DOES Children who watch violent television shows and movies
MEDIA VIOLENCE are more likely to be aggressive and be convicted of
violent crimes (in the future), such as child abuse and
EFFECT murder.
CHILDREN?
 https://

THE LIST en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Research_on_the_effects_of_violence_in

_mass_media

OF https://
www.commonsensemedia.org/violence-in-the-media/does-exposu
re-to-violent-movies-or-video-games-make-kids-more-aggress
REFERENC ive

ES http://
www.ocd.pitt.edu/Files/PDF/Parenting/TvAndMovieViolence.pdf
https://www.cmu.edu/CSR/case_studies/tv_violence.html