Sex And Violence In Media Essays - Beavis And Butt-Head,

Sex And Violence In Media Sex and violence in the Electronic media is a pressing topic. This paper raises a number of pros and cons. But mainly, this paper deals with the cons of regulating the media. During research, the most pressing point found was the issue of censorship. Censorship is the keystone of the public's apparent outcry against the electronic media. To better understand censorship, the term must be defined. In Webster's New World Dictionary, censorship is defined as the act of removing or prohibiting anything that is considered obscene or libelous or politically objectionable. Even though there are millions and millions of viewers in the United States that watch the three main networks can and should the networks be responsible for what they put on the air? Yes, they really should have some sort of morals as to the nature of the content and at what time the program airs as well. By the time the average American child has reached the end of Elementary school, he will have witnessed at least 8,000 murderers and 100,000 acts of violence. Now, do you think that children at a vulnerable age should be exposed to that many violent acts? How do you think that it will affect the child's behavior and mental growth? In a 1970, study at Pennsylvania State University, psychologist Aletha Huston showed cartoons of fists fighting superheros to one group of four year old and nonviolent cartoons to another group. The children of the study were comprised of children that were aggressive in nature. The study found that the group that was shone the violent cartoons were more apt to hit and throw things after the - 3 - viewing. While the kids who watched the nonviolent cartoons remained relatively calm and docile. It was concluded that children that watch violent cartoons are more apt to commit crimes when they are adults, such as spousal abuse and drunk driving, according to Leonard Eron a psychologist at University Michigan's Institute for Social Research. Children might think it is okay to rob a bank, shoot someone or commit other violent crimes against another person. Also as the child grows older, he begins to believe that revenge through violence, as demonstrated on such shows as New York Undercover and NYPD Blue where people get revenge by breaking other peoples' noses, shooting them or committing hit and runs, is okay. In other words, a false impression of reality is formed for children. We have found out that cartoons are the most violent programming found to date in television today. Between the ages of two and twelve, the average amount of television watched is approximately 25 hours per week. Most of these 25 hours are comprised of cartoons. Cartoons like Tom and Jerry, where they both get hurt or blown up, and never die and always get back together, without a scratch. Again, this promotes a false sense of reality. Nowadays, there are products out, such as the V box'. This box is programmable by a parent to block out certain channels at certain times so that the child will not be exposed to violence on television at certain times of the day. On the other hand, networks should not be responsible for what they air. What - 4 - they are doing is catering to what the public wants. In their business, the network with the highest ratings wins. Which in turn means more capital for the network. Why would a parent use television as both a babysitter and a educational outlet? Television is for entertainment purposes only. Much of the information from today's television programming is purely fictional. And if people decide to imitate what they see on television, then so be it. Everyone in this society has the right to either lay down in the middle of a highway and die or not to and live a happy and prosperous life as demonstrated after teenager saw the movie The Program. As we all know, this was a real incident that occurred right here in Nassau County. A network can not be responsible for the actions of over 250 million people in the United States. Why should it be the responsibility of