America: Freedom and Violence
Imagine the emotionless testimony of a violent youngster, who may not realize he is fingering an accomplice as he quickly excuses his violent act, "Oh I don't know. I just saw it on TV." Countless acts of senseless violence in the past few decades have led our society to believe that although freedom of speech is a trait that separates America from many other countries, it has also made us more brutal. Media outlets such as television, movies, and music have had a major impact on our nation. The outlets can allow us to be creative, make money, and have fun. The downside is when it leads to homicide, suicide, and other serious crimes. The best example of seeing the influence of violence is the exact copy cat crimes that are played out day after day. Media also tends to guide children that may seem insecure, confounded, or simply daunted by what they see on the television. This cause creates a variety of effects, mostly leading to violence or desensitization to the events that occur around them. To understand how violence can be seen through media look to a common feeling when people listen to a new song that they start liking. It can be described as an almost euphoric high. People that s
It is hard to say exactly how media violence triggers aggressive behavior. How do we know how much is too much? Most experts believe the main problem behind violence is the virtual commercial monopoly over our public's free airways. (Media Awareness Network) Companies make what they know will appeal to a child whether it may have violent effects or not because they need to stay in business. There is no free market in television, because it has been taken over by large companies that make toys solely to increase profit. The rise in "cheap violence" such as television shows like "Jerry Springer" can be harmful. They are filled with emptiness and lightweight grotesque images that lead to both paranoia and anesthesia. It is almost like a syndrome, mean-world syndrome where the view of the world that seems to be a lot more dangerous. (Media Awareness Network) Adolescents in particular are highly imitative. Walk into a mall, and see adolescents with baggy pants with a backward cap all around America. As a society we have looked to model the behavior as seen on television. „h Strong identification with the show It is important to know the extent of the damage from the media. Real-life episodes have allowed people to recognize the link between violence and freedom. An example is a story of a mother in San Antonio, Texas. She describes a tragedy that she attributed to the hypnotic influence of rock music. One night during the summer of 1980, her sixteen-year-old son was unable to sleep because of his allergies and a severe headache. In her testimony, the boy decided to listen to Pink Floyd's album The Wall. He then got up and moved toward his aunt, who was asleep on a couch nearby. He attacked and killed her. (Biskup, 1992) Another tragic example is of nineteen-year-old John McCollum. On October 27, 1984 he shot himself in the head at his home in Indio, California. Apparently he had been listening to an Ozzy Osbourne song titled "Suicide Solution". (Biskup, 1992) More directly related cases have also occurred in extremity. Steve Boucher became strongly obsessed with a song by AC/DC named "Shoot to Thrill". The sixteen-year-old shot himself under the band's poster-calendar, which hung on the wall in his room. (Biskup, 1992) In addition to this incident is a tragic case that occurred in Sparks, Nevada. Raymond Belknap, eighteen-years-old, shot himself to death in a double suicide pact. His friend survived and said the music of the heavy-metal rock group Judas Priest persuaded them into thinking that "the answer to life is death." Eventually the Supreme Court allowed the parents to sue the band because of the effect it had given their child. (Biskup, 1992) Again and again copycat crimes filter into our society through media. It is a way in which vulnerable people can find the meaning of their life when they have reached a state of confusion or reluctance. Media is like promotions to people that are on the verge of hysteria. Many have been able to look up to characters in the media as a role model. This fact gives a direct and substantial cause and effect argument that much have failed to see. People can easily find a role model in the media that could lead them to danger. "I have already seen several cases of young people in my psychiatric practice with severe problems of anger and anti-social behavior who are deeply immersed into subculture of violent rock musicK It is plainly obvious that they are heavily immersed in fantasies of violence, that also are affecting their way of thinking and their behavior in an anti-social direction." Violence in our nation is linked to media which is a direct result of the freedom of speech. Studies show that the increase in violence correlates with the increase of television in our country. Violence can haunt the minds of many children and adolescents while they are still growing and learning to function. A time like this can make all outside events becom
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Approximate Word count = 3329
Approximate Pages = 13 (250 words per page double spaced)
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