Does Film Media Violence Cause Violent Crime?
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The media both affects and reflects society, but I believe it does more reflecting. I don't believe that violence in movies/TV/games/news/etc. really has that much effect on peoples actions; at least it's not one of the biggest factors. Much more of a cue will be taken from parents, siblings, mentors, teachers, and friends than from the media, at least in my opinion.
I wrote my term paper on this. Here you go.
Violence in the media has been a concern to United States citizens since the start of the twentieth century. Parents raising concerns about scenes of graphic violence in comic books and other media lead to several laws being passed, each restricting content in comics, television, and even books. Now, in the twenty first century, a new form of media has been shoved into the limelight, and has been slowly herded to the chopping block of congressional regulation. Violent, highly interactive video games have become the new scapegoat for aggressive behavior found in children and young adults. A single question, however, rises over the din caused by concerned parents and politicians; are the games truly the ones to blame?
As the years go on, we have seen a sharp increase in the amount of interactive gaming consoles available to consumers around the globe. Many forms of entertainment for such consoles have come about, from complex puzzles, to epic role-playing games, to action-packed first-person shooters. The rising issue, however, is games of a violent nature, sometimes to the point where violence is the main and, occasionally, the only attraction to the game. A popular game series, known as Grand Theft Auto (made by Rockstar Games), is well known for its graphic displays of violence, vulgarity, and sexual themes.
There are major concerns from parents with young children around the household. They believe that such games will have an adverse effect on their child?s social behavior. A prime concern of game critics is that violence will cause a desensitizing effect on children that cannot tell the difference between reality and a video game. They believe that children will not care about the negative effects of their actions, possibility even finding such activities amusing. They could be right.
The amount of adolescent video game users has risen sharply over the years. Interestingly, however, video game usage seems to display inversely with age, with 59% of children 8 to 10 year-olds playing games and only 39% of 15 to 18 year olds in the United States (Roberts, Foehr, and Rideout 29-33). This means that the older the child, the less likely he or she will be a ?gamer?. However, if this trend continues, America could possibly see numbers as high as 80%, perhaps even higher. Because of this, numerous studies have been made on the effects of media violence on adolescent minds.
A fifty-year study showed that violence in media could have an impact on ?increases in aggressive attitudes, values, and behaviors? (Murray 1213-1227). Children who are exposed to violence at younger ages seem to be more likely to use vulgar language, think negatively of others, and even inflict physical harm on others. An example of this would be a kid that watched a character get shot in a game could possibly replicate this in real life, wanting to see the same result. An interesting discovery was made in Japan, however, from a smaller scale study. In the long term, the quality and context of violence in video games has a more important effect then presence and quantity of violence (Shibuya, Sakamoto, Ihori & Yukawa et al. 536-537). This means that graphic displays of violence, such as limb loss and decapitation, promote more aggression then typical cartoon type violence, such as an ACME anvil falling on Wile E Coyote?s head.
Now, all of this may seem condemning of any sort of violence in gaming, but the same exact study in Japan also revealed the following; ?Three contextual variables?extent of violence, roleplaying, and humor?were suggested as being likely to decrease aggression? (Shibuya, Sakamoto, Ihori & Yukawa et al. 536-537). Roleplaying, taking on a character?s persona and acting out his or her actions, puts a degree of moral choice on the player in question. Players, as the case seems to be, act as they typically would in real life inside the gaming world. As violent actions typically hold some sort of consequence for the character, they generally avoid such actions so that they keep their character out of trouble. Humor also has a major impact when it comes to violence. The more unlikely and comical the act, the less likely a child is going to attempt to replicate it through physical means.
A notice must be paid to recent events on crime. Interestingly, even with a majority of adolescents playing violent video games, juvenile violent crime has dropped significantly, roughly 49%, from its 1994-peak (Snyder, 2006). With this factor, it would seem that video games are not causing an up rise in violent crimes, especially with adolescent gamers. It is possible to contrive that instead of generating large amounts of anger and aggression in children, it gives them an outlet to express such violent feelings in a non-harmful way. Actions that occur in video games rarely, if ever, have real-life consequences. Killing a character in a video game does not end an actual life in the real world.
Video games, much like movies, also fall under a legal rating system. This is known as the ESRB Rating system, and it goes as follows; Early Childhood (ages three and older), everyone (ages six and older), Everyone 10+ (ages 10 and older), Teen (ages 13 and older), Mature (ages 17 and older), and Adult Only (18 and older). Children under the specified age are not allowed to purchase video games of that particular rating. Despite this, it is a well-known fact that parents buy graphic video games for their children and allow them to play the games in question. If said children become violent citizens of society because of said games affecting their mental processes and sense of right and wrong at a young age, was it the video game?s fault or the parent who bought it for them?
The fact is violence predates video games by thousands upon thousands of years, possibility even predating the written word. Throughout human history, battles have been fought and crimes have been committed. One such war, known as the Crusades, took place over the ownership over a holy city known as Jerusalem. This war predates video games by a century, and yet it was far more bloody and violent than anything video games have been cited to be the cause of.
Organized crime has also been called into question, with some citing games such as Grand Theft Auto generating gangs of children trying to become like their favorite video game characters. Interestingly, organized crime spans far back before the dawn of gaming as well. Assassinations existed far back from the modern day. An ancient group of mercenary warriors known as the Shinobi-No-Mono, otherwise known as the Ninja, lived and operated with-in Japan. They would perform any task that they were paid for, from sabotage to murder (Levy). A group of criminals known as the Mafia, of which several movies, documentaries, and books have been written about, also operated and existed before even the first video game was produced.
It is true that video games do produce aggressive-type behavior in those who play them. It is also true that some people who have committed crimes have done so attempting to replicate things that they have seen in a video game. David Moore killed two police officers and one 911 dispatcher, allegedly trying to replicate a scene from, one again, Grand Theft Auto (CBS). However, despite all this, the video game accusation does not account for the large amounts of crime already out in the world. It does not account for the actions of thousands of petty crimes, or even the major crimes against humanity. Adolf Hitler did not attempt to destroy the Jewish people because of a Massive Multiplayer Online game known as Global Domination.
Video games are not the problem, people are. Every person in the world has the ability to make decisions for themselves, be it good or bad. Despite whatever a person may take away from a video game, or even a movie or book, they have the ability to know the difference between right and wrong, despite whatever impulses they may have. As the statistics prove, even with children playing games now more than ever, juvenile violent crime is steadily dropping. Even with games present, the majority has proven that they can, and do, make the right choice. As for children like David Moore, perhaps his or her parents should have not purchased the game for the child.  
Shibuya, Akiko, Akira Sakamoto, Nobuko Ihori, and Shintaro Yukawa. "The effects
of the presence and contexts of video game violence on children: A
longitudinal study in Japan." Simulation Gaming. 39(2007): 536-537
.
Snyder, H. N. (2006, December). Juvenile arrests 2004 (Juvenile Justice Bulletin).
Washington, DC: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, U.S. Department
of Justice.
Roberts, Donald F., Ulla G. Foehr, and Victoria Rideout. Generation M: Media
in the lives of 8-18 year-olds. Menlo Park, CA: Kaiser Family
Foundation, 2005.
Murray, John P. "Media Violence: The Effects Are Both Real and Strong."
American Behavioral Scientist 51(2008): 1213-1227.
Levy, Joel. Ninja: The Shadow Warrior. 1st. Gusto Company AS, 2007.
CBS. "Can A Video Game Lead To Murder?." 60 Minutes 19 June 2005 1-2. 7
Dec 2008 <http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/06/17/60minutes/
main702599.shtml>.
Violence in the media has been a concern to United States citizens since the start of the twentieth century. Parents raising concerns about scenes of graphic violence in comic books and other media lead to several laws being passed, each restricting content in comics, television, and even books. Now, in the twenty first century, a new form of media has been shoved into the limelight, and has been slowly herded to the chopping block of congressional regulation. Violent, highly interactive video games have become the new scapegoat for aggressive behavior found in children and young adults. A single question, however, rises over the din caused by concerned parents and politicians; are the games truly the ones to blame?
As the years go on, we have seen a sharp increase in the amount of interactive gaming consoles available to consumers around the globe. Many forms of entertainment for such consoles have come about, from complex puzzles, to epic role-playing games, to action-packed first-person shooters. The rising issue, however, is games of a violent nature, sometimes to the point where violence is the main and, occasionally, the only attraction to the game. A popular game series, known as Grand Theft Auto (made by Rockstar Games), is well known for its graphic displays of violence, vulgarity, and sexual themes.
There are major concerns from parents with young children around the household. They believe that such games will have an adverse effect on their child?s social behavior. A prime concern of game critics is that violence will cause a desensitizing effect on children that cannot tell the difference between reality and a video game. They believe that children will not care about the negative effects of their actions, possibility even finding such activities amusing. They could be right.
The amount of adolescent video game users has risen sharply over the years. Interestingly, however, video game usage seems to display inversely with age, with 59% of children 8 to 10 year-olds playing games and only 39% of 15 to 18 year olds in the United States (Roberts, Foehr, and Rideout 29-33). This means that the older the child, the less likely he or she will be a ?gamer?. However, if this trend continues, America could possibly see numbers as high as 80%, perhaps even higher. Because of this, numerous studies have been made on the effects of media violence on adolescent minds.
A fifty-year study showed that violence in media could have an impact on ?increases in aggressive attitudes, values, and behaviors? (Murray 1213-1227). Children who are exposed to violence at younger ages seem to be more likely to use vulgar language, think negatively of others, and even inflict physical harm on others. An example of this would be a kid that watched a character get shot in a game could possibly replicate this in real life, wanting to see the same result. An interesting discovery was made in Japan, however, from a smaller scale study. In the long term, the quality and context of violence in video games has a more important effect then presence and quantity of violence (Shibuya, Sakamoto, Ihori & Yukawa et al. 536-537). This means that graphic displays of violence, such as limb loss and decapitation, promote more aggression then typical cartoon type violence, such as an ACME anvil falling on Wile E Coyote?s head.
Now, all of this may seem condemning of any sort of violence in gaming, but the same exact study in Japan also revealed the following; ?Three contextual variables?extent of violence, roleplaying, and humor?were suggested as being likely to decrease aggression? (Shibuya, Sakamoto, Ihori & Yukawa et al. 536-537). Roleplaying, taking on a character?s persona and acting out his or her actions, puts a degree of moral choice on the player in question. Players, as the case seems to be, act as they typically would in real life inside the gaming world. As violent actions typically hold some sort of consequence for the character, they generally avoid such actions so that they keep their character out of trouble. Humor also has a major impact when it comes to violence. The more unlikely and comical the act, the less likely a child is going to attempt to replicate it through physical means.
A notice must be paid to recent events on crime. Interestingly, even with a majority of adolescents playing violent video games, juvenile violent crime has dropped significantly, roughly 49%, from its 1994-peak (Snyder, 2006). With this factor, it would seem that video games are not causing an up rise in violent crimes, especially with adolescent gamers. It is possible to contrive that instead of generating large amounts of anger and aggression in children, it gives them an outlet to express such violent feelings in a non-harmful way. Actions that occur in video games rarely, if ever, have real-life consequences. Killing a character in a video game does not end an actual life in the real world.
Video games, much like movies, also fall under a legal rating system. This is known as the ESRB Rating system, and it goes as follows; Early Childhood (ages three and older), everyone (ages six and older), Everyone 10+ (ages 10 and older), Teen (ages 13 and older), Mature (ages 17 and older), and Adult Only (18 and older). Children under the specified age are not allowed to purchase video games of that particular rating. Despite this, it is a well-known fact that parents buy graphic video games for their children and allow them to play the games in question. If said children become violent citizens of society because of said games affecting their mental processes and sense of right and wrong at a young age, was it the video game?s fault or the parent who bought it for them?
The fact is violence predates video games by thousands upon thousands of years, possibility even predating the written word. Throughout human history, battles have been fought and crimes have been committed. One such war, known as the Crusades, took place over the ownership over a holy city known as Jerusalem. This war predates video games by a century, and yet it was far more bloody and violent than anything video games have been cited to be the cause of.
Organized crime has also been called into question, with some citing games such as Grand Theft Auto generating gangs of children trying to become like their favorite video game characters. Interestingly, organized crime spans far back before the dawn of gaming as well. Assassinations existed far back from the modern day. An ancient group of mercenary warriors known as the Shinobi-No-Mono, otherwise known as the Ninja, lived and operated with-in Japan. They would perform any task that they were paid for, from sabotage to murder (Levy). A group of criminals known as the Mafia, of which several movies, documentaries, and books have been written about, also operated and existed before even the first video game was produced.
It is true that video games do produce aggressive-type behavior in those who play them. It is also true that some people who have committed crimes have done so attempting to replicate things that they have seen in a video game. David Moore killed two police officers and one 911 dispatcher, allegedly trying to replicate a scene from, one again, Grand Theft Auto (CBS). However, despite all this, the video game accusation does not account for the large amounts of crime already out in the world. It does not account for the actions of thousands of petty crimes, or even the major crimes against humanity. Adolf Hitler did not attempt to destroy the Jewish people because of a Massive Multiplayer Online game known as Global Domination.
Video games are not the problem, people are. Every person in the world has the ability to make decisions for themselves, be it good or bad. Despite whatever a person may take away from a video game, or even a movie or book, they have the ability to know the difference between right and wrong, despite whatever impulses they may have. As the statistics prove, even with children playing games now more than ever, juvenile violent crime is steadily dropping. Even with games present, the majority has proven that they can, and do, make the right choice. As for children like David Moore, perhaps his or her parents should have not purchased the game for the child.  
Shibuya, Akiko, Akira Sakamoto, Nobuko Ihori, and Shintaro Yukawa. "The effects
of the presence and contexts of video game violence on children: A
longitudinal study in Japan." Simulation Gaming. 39(2007): 536-537
.
Snyder, H. N. (2006, December). Juvenile arrests 2004 (Juvenile Justice Bulletin).
Washington, DC: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, U.S. Department
of Justice.
Roberts, Donald F., Ulla G. Foehr, and Victoria Rideout. Generation M: Media
in the lives of 8-18 year-olds. Menlo Park, CA: Kaiser Family
Foundation, 2005.
Murray, John P. "Media Violence: The Effects Are Both Real and Strong."
American Behavioral Scientist 51(2008): 1213-1227.
Levy, Joel. Ninja: The Shadow Warrior. 1st. Gusto Company AS, 2007.
CBS. "Can A Video Game Lead To Murder?." 60 Minutes 19 June 2005 1-2. 7
Dec 2008 <http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/06/17/60minutes/
main702599.shtml>.
I don't think so.
Why? Well, I'm a die hard pacifist who's favorite movies include Dead Alive, Evil Dead II, The Shining, A Clockwork Orange, and Full Metal Jacket.
If there was a correlation, I'd have slaughtered so many people by now that they'd name a type of weapon after me.
Edit: Forgot to mention my love of the bands Cannibal Corpse and GWAR.
Why? Well, I'm a die hard pacifist who's favorite movies include Dead Alive, Evil Dead II, The Shining, A Clockwork Orange, and Full Metal Jacket.
If there was a correlation, I'd have slaughtered so many people by now that they'd name a type of weapon after me.
Edit: Forgot to mention my love of the bands Cannibal Corpse and GWAR.
I know of a study done called the Bobo experiment conducted by Albert Bandura in 1961.He wanted tot test how a child would react to seeing a violent action and what he/she would do in the same situation. This involved a child watching an adult walk into a room where a doll with a weight at the bottom(so the doll would constantly rise after being knocked down)and the child watched as the adult hit the doll. As the child watched this, he/she was let into the room for a few minutes and the child imitated the adult. He/she beat on the doll for the majority of the 10 minutes, punching it, kicking it, throwing it. To answer the OP's question, I think the experiment shows that if someone sees a violent act, he/she could imitate the actions.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobo_doll_experiment
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobo_doll_experiment
I never said it wasn't. It's a damn fine paper, man, but I'm not sure anyone would want to respond to that, because really, what could we say?Lyiat said:
Your paper is pretty much spot on, and the only response you should really anticipate is someone quoting and then saying, "^ This".
Correlating violence in media and violent crimes is like correlating video games and violent crime. Yes, I can find connections between them, but it's more complicated than "I saw a violent move so I assaulted a guy". There are literally a dozen factors that can affect a person, and violent media isn't really a big one.