Media Controversy
With the nation's violence rate increasing over the past few years, one must ask, "why?" Harold Lasswell formulated the core of questions of content analysis: "Who says what, to whom, why, and to what extent and with what effect?" The issue of media content has become an increasingly popular, as well as controversial, topic. There have been many concerns from parents regarding exposure of their children to inappropriate themes in the media. An overall increase of violence and crime in America suggests that the children are being exposed to violence too early, allowing them to become comfortable in seeing and ultimately portraying violence. Prolonged exposure to such media portrayals results in
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In addition, high rated movies and games were found to be easily accessed by under-aged children. Furthermore, different ratings systems for each medium (television, movies, music, and video games) make the ratings confusing, because they have little similarity or relationship to one another.
One point of concern in the media relates specifically to the music industry. Recently, many new artists have made their debut with a new genre called ?rap?, which portrays the life of gangsters and ultimately, violence. This new genre has become increasingly popular and many children are led to believe that a life of violence is ?hip? and ?cool?.
This could also explain the increased gang related activity over the past few years. Parents have been concerned about the fact that "they don't write songs like they used to." When asked about the issue, one rapper said: "Being from the hood, neighborhood, I can tell you that violence didn't start from a cassette that might have been popped into a home or car stereo system.? While the fact that violence did not start from music might be true, it does not help the situation any further. If anything, it advocates violence and portrays it as something honorable to the children. As a result of many complaints, record industries have agreed to a ?parental advisory: explicit
This qualitative study takes a look at the relationship between gangsta rap music and violent behavior because there is little research devoted to this area.
Violent media exposure of children or adults to violent media is a cause of aggression and violent behavior has been one of the most intensely debated issues in criminal justice and the broader populace. Concern have come and gone that media such as comic books, as well as television and movies, would lead to waves of rebelliousness, violence, and moral degradation. Sherry
Like many musical genre before rap, some people believe that rap music influenced teenagers in a negative way that could lead to violence. Some criminals have blamed movies, books, and music as inspiration for their crimes. However, one cannot solely rely on these sources as the main reason for any act whether good or bad. “Millions of heavy metal and gangsta rap fans spend hours with their chosen music genres and never threaten others or themselves. Moreover, most researchers concerned with the causes of suicide and violence point to a broad array of risk factors unrelated to popular culture (e.g., depression, access to guns, substance abuse, etc.) that seem to be precursors of such
Violence has become extremely prevalent in the media and continues to be a controversial issue. In today’s society, anything marginal is likely to receive a negative connotation before it receives an optimistic one. There have been multiple studies on the negative effects that violence can have on children, but Gerard Jones takes us on a journey to explore the alternative route; a self-esteem building passage for children. He creates an intense feeling of understanding through both pathos and logos. Throughout the article he makes the reader remember the benefits that violence provided for them during childhood. He examines the life of a teenage girl who endured a “chaotic family situation” by listening to “gangsta rap.” (Jones 287) For the young girl, this music served as an escape from reality, an in her mind she was powerful, invulnerable, and a “leader to among her peers.” (Jones 287) This is soft evidence that verifies violence can be beneficial. But, he also acknowledges the fact that “violent
Many Americans today embrace the culture of hip-hop. Since hip-hop became mainstream its influence has surrounded most Americans. People engage in social issues from the hip-hop culture In his recent work, How Hip-Hop Holds Blacks Back, John H. McWhorter have offered harsh critiques of hip-hop for delaying and marring the success of black people. McWhorter asserts hip-hop music “celebrates a ghetto life of unending violence and criminality(10).” He believes hip-hop contributes to the stereotype nearly all Americans maintain in regard to black people. Reflecting on harsh song lyrics McWhorter attempts to strengthen his argument. McWhorter acknowledges not all hip-hop promotes violence in people. He concedes “not all hip-hop is belligerent
In fairy tales, children are pushed into ovens, have their hands chopped off, are forced to sleep in coal bins, and must contend with wolves who've eaten their grandmother. In myths, rape, incest, all manner of gruesome bloodshed, child abandonment, and total debauchery are standard fare. We see more of the same in Bible stories, accentuated with dire predictions of terrors and abominations in an end of the world apocalypse that is more horrifying than the human imagination can even grasp.
Thesis:Rap music does not promote violent actions by teens because rap music is a very diverse genre, it is mainly for entertainment purposes only, and part of the music is involved in anti-violence efforts.
In the media there is a great deal of violence and nobody can really deny that. However, the effects media has on children and young adults have been debated for years. In this paper I will be discussing the effects of media violence, the other factors, and the possible solutions to alleviate this global issue.
The corruptness of music today seems to be linked to the crude language and aggression found particularly in hip-hop and rap music. Some rap artists use vulgar language in their lyrics that are easily adoptable by teens (Holden). Not only have certain lyrics influenced the way teens speak but also their actions. An article on Headliners.org stated that “lyrics in the music are too violent and are to blame for many problems.” The problems range anywhere from suicide and aggression towards women to underage drinking and drug use. Lyrics are not only to blame, but also what people see in artists’ music videos can affect what they do (Doaks). The urge to emulate these rap musicians has escalated quickly causing a spike in rebellious tendencies among teens.
Hip-Hop is an extensive and a broad conglomerate of various artistic forms that ultimately originated in the South Bronx and then quickly spread throughout the rest of New York City among African-Americans and other African-American youth mainly from the Caribbean and from Jamaica during the 1970’s. Over the course of decades and recent years, controversy surrounding Hip-Hop and rap music has been the vanguard of the media. From the over hype of the East and West Coast rivalry to the deaths of Tupac, Biggie, and even Michael Brown and Trayvon Martin, it seems that political and broadcasting groups have been injudicious to place essentially the blame on rap and Hip-Hop music for a superficial trend in youth violence.
Rap music, also known as hip-hop, is a popular art form. Having risen from humble origins on the streets of New York City during the mid-1970s, hip-hop has since become a multifaceted cultural force. Indeed, observers say, hip-hop is more than just music. The culture that has blossomed around rap music in recent decades has influenced fashion, dance, television, film and—perhaps what has become the most controversially—the attitudes of American youth. For many rappers and rap fans during it’s early time, hip-hop provided an accurate, honest depiction of city life that had been considered conspicuously absent from other media sources, such as television. With a growing number of rap artists within this period, using hip-hop as a platform to call for social progress and impart positive messages to listeners, the genre entered a so-called Golden Age
Media violence is one of the most debated public issues society faces today. Television screens are loaded with the glamorization of weapon carrying. Violence constitute as amusing and trivialized. Needless portrayals of interpersonal violence spread across the television screens like wild fire. Televisions spew the disturbing events such as children being assaulted, husbands inflicting domestic abuse on their wives and children succumbing to abuse by their parents. Scenes of betrayal, anguish, infiltrate the television screen. Unfortunately, a child becomes subjected to media violence. Everything a child sees or hears in the media affects them in some way or another. The precise effects of media violence on children are
Throughout the decades, music has gone from early rock and roll to popular rappers like Drake and other rappers heard today. Therefore, when the music changes, so does the theme and the lyrics that are contained in these songs. Many of the rappers and artists today primarily focus on three things: violence, drugs , and sex. For example, an analysis of around 350 rap songs were reviewed and around 60 percent of the songs contained violent themes and images and 45 percent contained references to drugs and alcohol (Epps). Not only are the lyrics harmful and suggestive, the music videos are as well. Today’s popular and trendy music has taken a turn for the worse with the use of foul, explicit language and suggestive themes that are more violent .
In today’s world, there is an endless amount of information available to people everywhere around the globe. Mass media is definitely shaping our world, whether it is in a positive way or a negative way. Television and the radio waves provide us with hours of entertainment. The emergence of the Internet allows us to access thousands of pages of information within the reach our very own fingertips. But with the convenience of all this information comes along a certain level of responsibility. As a society, we Americans must decide what is appropriate information and entertainment for the masses to access and enjoy. But does today’s society give too much leeway in what it thinks as “appropriate?” Does increased
In the book Critique of Violence ,author Walter describes Violence as "The intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against oneself, another person, or against a group or community, which either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, male development, or deprivation .The violence that is portrayed in the media has been debated for decades ,and it has rose a question about how does it influence the youth?. From movies to video games society has been accustom to seeing violence in their everyday entertainment. Since children are easy to be influence by their environment, it is safe to say that violence in the media can and will contribute to violent behavior.