Are films/video games the reason for violence?
From CNN.com;
“MILTON, Ga. -- Fulton County officials said they have arrested three teens and charged them with 57 felony counts in connection with a recent series of car bombings with Molotov cocktails in the city of Milton, north of Atlanta. The felony charges include arson, criminal damage to property and possession of explosive devices in six vehicle fires between 11 p.m. July 24 and 3 a.m. July 25. Each teen is charged with 19 counts. Officials said the teens -- ages 15 and 16 -- told authorities they learned "how to do it" from playing the video game "Grand Theft Auto." Channel 2 and wsbtv.com reported when three cars were firebombed in one North Fulton County neighborhood. The three cars, 2 Mercedes and a Honda, were all parked outside the owners' homes within a half-mile of each other.Two of the cars were in the Fairmont subdivision on Keyingham Way just off Highway 9. Investigators said after the incidents, they went to a local Wal-Mart and pulled receipts. They found a receipt that contained the purchase of Sprite bottles, red rags and lighter fluid. Authorities said they pulled the surveillance tape from the time of the purchase and were able to identify the three teenagers.
The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms assisted with the investigation.”
It’s a complex debate that’s been going on for years. There are exports on both sides of the argument and laws have already been passed to keep certain material away from kids. The question though, is entertainment really to blame?
Let’s talk about the laws. We all know about the rating system (R,PG-13,M,T) and whether we like it or not, we have to assume the rating board knows what they are doing and rate appropriately. Now, with that system in place businesses such as, Fred Meyer, Regal, AMC, and Game Crazy are not allowed to sell or rent inappropriate material to anyone under the age of a certain rating. (exp. a 15yr can’t rent a “R” DVD) There are three loop holes we have to account for;
1. Someone not following the rules and renting/selling anyway.
2. A parent (or friend) buying (or renting) the DVD/game for them.
3. A Legal guardian giving permission to sell/rent.
What do these loop holes have in common? maybe, it's that none of them have anything to do with the entertainment industry.
Secondly I’d like to use my history as an example.
At a very young age I was watching films and playing video games that by today’s rating system, I should have never been exposed to. It was always brought to my attention by my parents or relatives that none of it was real and these actions should never happen in real life and most of all never by me. My love for film grew and I have spent most of my life watching all types genres and playing gross, violent video games.
And you know what?
I’m completely normal. I coach peewee football, I teach youth technology skills for a living and I help run this awesome site.
So who do you think is really to blame?
Delicious
Digg it
Stumble it
Reddit
Share on Facebook
Subscribe to comments- bryan_a_gordon's blog
- Login or register to post comments
- Flag as offensive
Comments
There was also a great little article in the new york times the other day about the correlation between prolonged media exposure and decreased intelligence.
Every time we see a graphic image a little something is changed in our brain. I'm talking basic neurology here. The more of these images are violent the more our brain will be prone to see acts of violence as normal. Or even desirable...
i think video games affect people in different ways... for some it may be an outlet and for others, it might get them excited about fighting. another example of 'fighting hysteria' would be all of the youtube videos of people fighting each other. not everybody who watches those videos is going to want to jump in a fight but some people might think its cool because they see other people doing it.. I don't think the media is to blame for the increase in violence. I mean, sure media spreads information and influences people, but look at our government... and our country. we are constantly at war and while peace is being preached in classrooms, people are dying in real life both here and across seas...
One really interesting thing is that a decade after TV had been introduced into some foreign European countries suicide and homicide rates doubled.
And here's some essays on TV & Violence
http://www.magicdragon.com/EmeraldCity/Nonfi...
---It's longgg.
In the army, people play training video games to break down their instinct to shoot at real people. Experts now note that modern video games use this same principle.
I am a believer that the individual is to blame for his actions, but parents have to be careful about what they are exposing their children to.
I don't know if video games can help lead the way to violence. I do know that it's a stupid and lame excuse, almost as lame as those people who sue rappers and metal bands because their music "changed" them.
I got my hands on grand theft auto san andreas when I was 13, I don't think it hurt me mentally. I think video games can be a great outlet
I am living proof that violent video games increase violence. When I was about 12 years old, I started playing Halo. I became less conserned with human life and got into fights. When I got into High School, I laid off Halo and other violent games and now feel more tranquil.
Some people aren't as affected as you and you shouldn't blame the video games for your problem.
you're right, its not the video games that are making the kids do all this stupid stuff. Many kids are interested in video games, and they sometimes idolize the characters from these games for whatever reasons. they were obviously bored, or just felt antagonistic, and would have drawn that negative influence from somewhere else. true, the vidoe games may give the kids a little more imagination (and ideas) than the last generation, but that dosen't mean that their behavior would have led to a lesser crime. there's no logic in arguing that the video games are the root cause of this vandalism.
I totally agree. Unfortunately, a lot of people don’t. Those people get together and boycott stores that sell that game or film, then that store won’t sell it and then finally because the production company wants money, they force that creative team to make changes…