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How Is Violence In The Media Perceived In Society Essay example

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The world today has a variety of problems and violence is one of the most prominent. It is seen on the front page of the newspaper and as the “Top Story” on the eleven o’clock news. Unfortunately, it is also widely used for entertainment purposes. In the New York Times a 1998 article by Faye Fiore stated: "On average last year, one act of serious brutality was found for every four minutes of entertainment." Today, violence is a major part of electronic games, television, and the film industry. Violence becomes such an everyday scene for us that many believe it desensitizes us to the real world. That is why the majority of the time violence is perceived as the cause of many of society’s ills. One …show more content…

Whether we admit it to ourselves consciously or not, violence is and has always been entertaining. In ancient Rome, citizens filled the coliseum to see gladiators fight to the death. In medieval times castle courtyards were packed with people trying to witness the public executions. Today we are able to witness violent acts in the comfort of our own homes. If we want to see some gladiators fight to the death we can just go find one of our favorite movies or
Playstation games. This shows that main perception of violence in society is that it is entertaining and accepted for its entertaining qualities.
Not all representations of the media perceive violence as entertainment. One representation is in the film “Full Metal Jacket”. Violence is shown to be a somewhat necessary evil that society can not escape. In one specific scene containing violence, the squad comes upon an apparently deserted city only to find out that it is occupied by a hidden sniper who quickly disables one squad member to the horror of the rest of the squad. They want to help the fallen soldier but they would be putting themselves in danger of being sniped. The sniper, who realizes this, continues to shoot the fallen soldier to try and lure his squad in to help him. This torture is to much for one member of the squad to handle. This soldier then attempts to rescue his fallen comrade. Unfortunately he is

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