Cartoon Violence

According to Moore, children need violent entertainment so that they are better able to express feelings they were taught to hide and convert those feelings into problem solving and social skills (79). I can personally relate to Moore’s statement because I have grown up with a little brother. Cartoons such as Looney Tunes, Tom and Jerry, Scooby-Doo and Power Rangers had a big impact on mine and my brother’s relationship. For example, I can remember after watching Power Rangers we would make up a game and pretended to protect the city, us being the super heroes that defeated the bad guy and saved the day! The violence created and presented in the cartoons that we watched enabled us to find a common interest between one another. I can’t help but think that those cartoons have also had the same effect on millions of other children around the

In the article, “It’s A Duel: How Do Violent Video Games Affect Kids?” by Shankar Vedantam it says, “ What we found is for people who were exposed to a lot of violent video games, their brains did not respond to the violent images. They were numb, if you will.” This illustrates that when the kids were shown the violent images their brains did not respond to the pictures, because they are used to the violence. Some of the kids played the violent games so much that their brains link violence to something harmless not problematic. Others may think that, the person was already

* Forty-six percent of all television violence identified by the study took place in children's cartoons. Children's programs were least likely to depict the long-term consequences of violence (5%) and they portray violence in a humorous fashion 67% of the time. (14)

In his article “Violent Media Is Good For Kids,” comic book author Gerald Jones, claims that violent media such as comic books and cartoons can have a positive effect on our children because children use violent stories to meet their emotional and developmental needs. Jones argues against other people’s views that violent media will have a negative influence on children. Gerald Jones had many strengths in his article which helped support his argument and could possible make his argument effective. His strengths were mainly the use of emotional appeal like story telling and personal experiences to help convince his audience. While Jones’s essay started off strong, he only gave a few weaknesses like the lack of examples and how he only used one reference, his life, to justify his point of view which in the end did not help persuade the audience.

​ Children who are exposed to violent media may be more likely to behave in aggressive or harmful ways toward others. Children may become less sensitive to the pain and suffering of others as they deal with killing and cruelty most of the time. All shows and games need the kid to kill his enemy to win, he feels happy after killing or destroying whatever facing him to reach the top. That's why I'm not surprised when they become violent or cruel, they enjoy the surfing of others and this moves with them psychologically from media to reality. This is the moment when the kid starts to change into a monster. Also, children who watch a lot of violent T.V shows are more likely to think that the world is a mean and dangerous place. Imagine, when your life is full of fear, running, killing and blood, what will you feel. Of course you will be afraid of living in such world. You will expect harmful actions from outside world all the time and as a result you will be terrified and live in fear from the entire world. Violent shows or video games are really harmful not only for children but for all the family, society and the world as well.

Television is the mainstream of our culture. Violence on television has been a topic of conflict since before 1950. There have been repeated debates on how to protect children from the harmful effects of violence on television. Television is one form of modern media that influences the everyday lives of people. Televised violence has a major effect on how children perceive the world and how they behave. "American television has become the most violent in the world. It is for this reason why researchers have focused their attention toward television violence" (Cantor & Hoffner 424-4-25). Children enjoy watching television and now with the increased technology of cable and movie

Violent media; a strikingly relevant phenomenon millions are becoming captivated by. It’s everywhere you go, on your phone, the TV or on the computer. As much as people try to avoid it, they soon realize it’s ineluctable. Gerard Jones, a comic-book author, released a brief report, “Violent Media Is Good for Kids” that argued violent media is not only beneficial to children but also inspiring. He goes on to support his claim by sampling his own personal experiences. However, not all forms of violent media are necessarily helpful. Some are more preferable while others can harm them. To an extent, violent media can help children by helping them release built up emotions, learn lessons regarding the real world, as well as create something for themselves.

Children who watch television shows in which violence is very realistic, frequently repeated or unpunished, are more likely to imitate what they see, ( p.25). Children with emotional, behavioral, or learning problems may be more easily influenced by TV violence (Bandura, 1977). The impact of TV violence may be immediately evident in the child's behavior or may surface later, and young people can even be affected when the family atmosphere shows no tendency toward violence (Cantor & Wilson, 1984). Therefore, while TV violence is not the only cause of aggressive or violent behavior, it is clearly a significant factor. The Good in Television Not all television is bad. There are several excellent programs dedicated to young children. Some programs incorporate entertainment and education to help children learn and identify characters, shapes and colors. Programs such as Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood and Sesame Street also help promote good behavior and cooperation. Dr. Ernest Boyer, President of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and former US Commissioner of Education, stated: "Television sparks curiosity and opens up distant worlds to children. Through its magic, youngsters can travel to the moon or the bottom of the sea. They can visit castles, take river trips, or explore imaginary lands. . .With selective viewing, television can richly contribute to school readiness." (Chen, p. 122) Unfortunately, most

Common sense seems to dictate that, because the media today primarily focuses on portraying acts of aggression and violence, it has been seen that young children often mirror and imitate such actions. In the book Contemporary & Classic Arguments, Psychologist Melanie Moore and comic author Gerard Jones write an article titled, “Violent Media is Good for Kids” and examine this relationship between violent media and its effects on children. They state, “For the past three years she and I have been studying the ways in which children use violent stories to meet their emotional and developmental needs- and the ways in which adults can help them use those stories healthily.”(Jones pg.78) The essence of Moore and Gerald’s argument is that kids need this type of entertainment to maintain a healthier lifestyle. Not only does it make children vigorous but it also helps them develop: emotionally, intellectually, socially, and

Over the past two decades, hundreds of studies have examined how violent programming on TV affects children and young people. While a direct "cause and effect" link is difficult to establish, there is a growing consensus that some children may be vulnerable to violent images and messages.

This is because they view it all the time, so it becomes commonplace to where they are no longer affected by it. This can cause them to embrace these acts, which can lead to them becoming aggressive. The disadvantages of adolescents being desensitized to violence are being less likely to help someone in a life-threatening situation, lack of empathy and encouraging violent behaviors. This is supported by Sullivan, stating “ The media’s influence on young people is arguably the most corrosive of all factors cited and by far the most difficult to contain.” (Sullivan 619). This shows that not only is the media a dominating force, it’s detrimental and problematic to contain and refrain from. When children are watching cartoons like Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner and the popular Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles; where the characters blow each other up with TNT and fight with swords and daggers, they are not wincing at the mayhem, instead they’re laughing and applauding the antics because they think it’s funny and cool. Because their children seem to be entertained, parents are not intervening for the reason that their kids now have something to occupy their time. As a result, this may send mixed signals to adolescents causing them to believe that these outrageous acts are

Saturday morning cartoons contain twenty to twenty-five violent acts per hour (Stranger & Gridina, 1999). Pediatricians warn that media violence can be especially damaging to children under age eight because they cannot readily tell the difference between real life and fantasy. Many violent acts are perpetrated by the "good guys," whom kids have been taught to emulate. Even though kids are taught by their parents that it's not right to hit, television says it's OK to bite, hit, or kick if you're the good guy. This can lead to confusion when kids try to understand the difference between right and wrong. And even the "bad guys" on TV aren't always held responsible or punished for their actions (Nemours, 1995-2009). “These violent behaviors are learned,” said Dr. Slutkin (Herbert, 2010, p. 1). “They are largely formed by modeling, the almost unconscious copying of one another (Herbert, 2010, p. 1). And then they are maintained by the social pressure of peers (Herbert, 2010, p. 1). It becomes normal to reach for a gun (Herbert, 2010, p. 1). TV is full of programs and commercials that depict behaviors such as sex and substance abuse as cool, fun, and exciting. Studies have shown that teens who watch lots of sexual content on TV are more likely to initiate intercourse or participate in other sexual activities earlier than peers who don’t watch sexually explicit

Becker-Olsen, Karen L., and Patricia A. Norberg. "Caution, Animated Violence." Journal Of Advertising 39.4 (2010): 83-94. Business Source Complete. Web. 9 Sept. 2015

Today’s society is heavily influenced by television. The violence disrupts a child’s learning process and can alter the moral beliefs that an older person has. Children view more violence on Saturday mornings than any other time. The cartoons aimed at little children influence youngsters to mimic violent acts because their parents do not fully explain the effects of the stunts. It is pathetic that in such a technology based society, such a simple thing as television can have a negative effect on people.

Children view violence in different ways when they watch it on television, whether it is cartoons or a type of drama and action programming. After children have watched these television shows, they may have interpreted the meaning into a negative behavior. It could influence them by becoming aggressive, afraid of the world that surrounds them, or it may lead to confusion. When it is said that children may become confused because their parents teach that violence is wrong. When they view someone in a “superhero” position participating in violence, they may see that as it is all right for the simple fact the good person does the action. According to the American Academy of Children and Adolescent Psychiatry, “the impact of TV violence may be immediately evident in the child's behavior or may surface years later (AACAP, 2011).”