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Violence In The Media Essay

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Violence in the Media: The Upside

The word violence has a negative connotation. When you hear the word, you immediately think of people getting hurt, things being destroyed, and the aftermath that is left behind after a violent event has occurred. While violence, most often, is not a positive experience for anyone, there is a misconception that portraying violence in the media leads to more violent acts by people who view it. Parents shield their children from violent video games and the nightly news. While they may be well intentioned, they are unintentionally creating an environment that leads children to believe that violence does not exist. “The rule of the real says that however strong media influences may be, real life is stronger. Real love, real money, real political events, and real life, unmediated interpersonal experience all shape kids’ lives, minds, and behavior more powerfully than any entertainment products. Maggie Cuttler, The Nation” (Haugen and Musser 1) Showing violence in the media is not the cause of the problems in our society. We have a right to freedom of speech, our lives are dictated mostly by our experiences, not by what we watch on television or play on a game, and violence in the media can actually be an outlet for people.

On the other hand, those who believe that violence should not be shown in the media assert that seeing violence can inspire people to do things that will harm others. Many of the school shootings that have happened, such as

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