Violence in America: The Representation of Violence in the Media

Modern America’s increased fascination with crime dramas can be attributed to the majority’s desire to see good triumph over evil. The hunting, processing, and eventual punishment of evil evokes feelings of satisfaction in viewers, as justice is one of the moral principles ingrained in our society. In popular media, law enforcement is oftentimes presented as being insufficient in upholding justice, calling for the intervention of a hero; a figure capable of recognizing and punishing evil without the restrictions of the law. The television show Dexter portrays the glorification of the anti-hero through the romanticizing of vigilante-style justice and the mind of a psychopath.

Violence is a behavior involving physical force intended to hurt, damage, or kill someone or something. Violence has been a huge issue in America for a while. Nowday's violence is all over the place. Violence is seen in media, TV, video games, etc.

It is evident that tensions between truth and representation exist in all manner of situations. It can be argued that such tensions as represented through media are more influential than others.

Oliver Stone’s 1994 classic, Natural Born Killers, excited and traumatized its audiences while also causing controversy. The tale of white trash lovers caught up in a realm of chaos that includes a continuous murderous rampage from state to state, draws in audiences with its graphic violence and riveting pulse inducing music. Yet, the message of this film seems to be much deeper than just exposing audiences to yet another chaotic action movie filled with guns, blood and mayhem. Stone’s Natural Born Killers examines the subject of media’s investment in serial murder very thoroughly, and so it seems likely that it has the potential to offer a more rigorous interrogation of the nature of the American public’s fascination with the serial

Violence has been a part of society ever since the days of the caves men, but only recently has television lifted its ban on the graphic depiction of violence. American children and adolescents are being exposed to increasing amounts of media violence, especially in television, movies, video games, and youth-oriented music. Video game violence, children's cartoons, and music lyrics have become increasingly graphic. In movies, action films depict vivid precise murders, rapes, and assaults; with each sequel, the number of deaths increases dramatically. Although media violence is not the only cause of violence in American society, it is the single most easily remediable contributing factor. It is these social networks

Human beings are completely desensitized to violence due to the excessive amount of violence portrayed in the media. It is common to see murders, suicides and satanic rituals especially in today’s horror films. I’m guilty of finding most of these movies entertaining and I am not desensitized to any amount of violence I view. The media does not accurately portray images of the reality of crime-and-justice through the different forms of media and this is labeled as ‘’backwards law’’ of media, crime, and justice. (Surette, 2015.) The media also decides what factors in someone’s life they can enhance, and which they can downplay. For example, in the news, while talking about underage criminals, they will focus on the violence that they have participated,

On December 14, 2012, a troubled youth walked into Sandy Hook Elementary School. He shot and killed twenty children between the ages of six and seven. He also shot and killed six adults, and earlier in the morning, had fatally shot his mother as well. It was the deadliest mass shooting at a grade school in the history of The United States. Why did this happen? What made him do this? What caused him to be this violent? How can we stop this from happening again? Right away, people start to look for something to blame. Upon investigation, it was found, that this troubled youth played violent video games. When youths commit violent acts, it is often blamed on violence in the media; however,

Violence in the media tends to be compelling to people across America. The average American has seen 200,000 acts of violence, including 40,000 murders, on television by age eighteen. Often, the media plays a pivotal role in the way violence is portrayed to citizens. The media can decide which pieces of information to include or expunge from a broadcast. People soak up the incidents that are happening in other neighborhoods across the United States because it does not affect them personally. Violence shown on television can often be manipulated to fit one side of the story, and is tolerated by the public because emotional detachment is simpler when the violence occurs halfway across America from one’s home.

Everyone sat, with eyes wide open, staring at the tv, wondering what 's going on. Everyone calling everyone asking if they are ok and what 's going on. No one knew but tv broadcasts said that a deadly virus has broke out in Washington. The broadcast explains that the virus is turning people to zombies and then the zombies have been infecting people by eating them. Suddenly a fence is ripped apart by zombies behind the broadcast, the zombies start heading towards the broadcast people. The women speaking says, “may God be with us all” and then the broadcast abruptly cancels. We all know what has happened and that we need to prepare ourselves.

Violent behavior is something that is innate to the human brain. It has been an instinct of humans since the beginning of our creation or our evolution from a primal state in order to primarily survive and maintain our supremacy atop the hierarchy of all living organisms. We are naturally violent creatures, and this natural tendency for us to exhibit violent behavior isn’t helped by the extreme lack of shelter from and glorification of violent actions through mainstream or alternative news outlets as well as depictions of such actions through other forms of media such as: movies, entertainment television, cartoons, and video games. According to the professing of multiple studies the violence in today’s massive multimedia culture is to be blamed for much of the violence of which we witness on a daily basis within our country. The professing of these studies is reflective of the drastic increase in societal violence in the United States during 1965. A year that marked the first time a generation raised on television would come of the average age of committing violent crimes. (Bushman, 2001, Media Violence and the American Public, pg. 478) These copious amounts of violence that are depicted in our cultures mass media outlets have negative effects on both adults and children. While we exercise our naturally violent minds through seeing and hearing such acts of violence on a daily basis, not only do we

Violence has become a serious problem in America. From Sandy Hook Elementary to the Aurora Colorado shootings, terrorism has crept deeper into the culture. From 1982-1992 there were eight incidences of terrorism. From 2002-2012 there have been seventeen (Geigner). The growth at which these events are spreading is exponential. Modern terrorism did not begin until approximately the 1950s when it changed from guerrilla tactics used by a nation to the to the type common today, non-state terrorism. These assailants fight for no flag, have no rules, and will do whatever they feel like at any given moment (Zalman). The violence these radicals produce is cataclysmic. However, instead of being distressed by this violence, citizens latch onto the offenders. They give the assailant the fame and popularity that he or she desires. For example, within hours of Boston Bombings, the faces of the two assassins were broadcasted everywhere in the media, and rightly so. The police needed the help of the public to find and capture these criminals. But constant media coverage three weeks after the event was unnecessary. Many say that sensationalist media, not gun control is the reason for attacks of violence. Those who terrorize the nation are held up almost as heroes. Their names are plastered on every news station around the world. Assailants will always find ways to kill even with the extreme control of guns. But, without the publicity and the fame, psychopaths would not need to kill innocent

What makes the Roadrunner and Coyote cartoons so funny and memorable? Of course, the explosions, hits and falls the Coyote takes while in pursuit of the Roadrunner. Pediatrics, a pediatrician read magazine, wrote an article on the influence violence, such as that in cartoons and other forms of media, has on children from ages 2-18 titled “Media Violence.” “Although recent school shootings have prompted politicians and the general public to focus their attention on the influence of media violence, the medical community has been concerned with this issue since the 1950s,” says American Academy of Pediatrics, the author of the article in November of 2001. The article calls for a need for all pediatricians to take

Periodically committed, violent acts from individuals whom are motivated by influence lead us to question western culture’s addiction to violent coverage and its enablers. Exposure to violence is not only limited to real-life experience, exposure can be extended through media outlets, enablers, who may increase the harmful effects of exposure to such violent acts. The media exploits society’s increasing dependence on technology to further supply western culture’s lust for violence. Violence in the media and its debated influence is an important topic because of its ability to manifest into negative, tangible consequences. Among the harmful effects of violent media is aggression. Sissela Bok articulates in her essay called, Aggression: The Impact of Media Violence, that appetite for violence arises from growing desensitization in individuals, particularly impressionable children and adolescents. Critics discredit theories such as Bok’s claiming that no evidence linking media violence to real life acts exist. Regardless, Bok believes it is a correlation that we should be highly sensitive of. Others like Bok have provoked thought over the negative effects of the media’s relentless coverage of violence. In a film written by Quentin Tarantino titled Natural Born Killers, Tarantino portrays the role of the media, which in turn delivers the very effects of violent exposure that Bok is critical of.

The media has been an integral part of society since the 15th century. Throughout time, every source has frequently fixated on one thing that now dominates popular culture: violence. Since the beginning of society, people have been fascinated with violent acts that should be found appalling, and that fascination continues still. Movie genres and TV series that propagate violence and murder on the big screen produce large cult followings and fans of the sympathetic characters that commit horrendous crimes. The public’s admiration for Serial Killers creates a role for them in popular culture as not just criminals but celebrities. While this type of media is entertaining for most viewers, it leads to a desensitized population, whereas serial killers find fame. Through glorification and excessive coverage the media is a serial killer’s strongest weapon.

No one can be protected from the constant bombardments of violence in the media. Violence has been apart of our world ever since the beginning of time, and therefore has become a part of our daily lives. Acts of violence are ubiquitous and can be witnessed in myriad forms; whether it's on the news, social media, films, shows, video games and even cartoons. A young child can watch gory films as well as play violent video games without any adult supervision easily with no problem if he or she wanted to. Trying to avoid this scenario from happening would not only be fatuous but also preposterous. Advanced technology has facilitated the access to any sort of violent content for any individual, with little to no boundaries. Violence manifested in the media has caused a negative chain of effects in our society by promoting violence to children, changing our morality and encouraging violence in real life.