No, I think the fact that we are not teaching our children the value of humanity is causing violence.
Do you think media causes violence?
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I think that those who blame violent acts on depictions of violence within the media (be it video games, music, movies, televisions, books, or what-have-you) are, in general, putting the cart before the horse, so to speak. For the most part it is the art that is imitating life, not the other way around. In many of the more infamous cases, I think that society is shifting blame onto the media to avoid introspective self-examination and considering the true socioeconomic and mental health issues behind the violent acts. These issues and the violence they inspire pre-date, and will sadly probably outlast, the media that is being blamed for inspiring them!
If The Beatles never released an album, J.D. Salinger never penned The Catcher in the Rye, and Martin Scorsese never filmed Taxi Driver: I'm fairly certain that the deranged mind's of Charles Manson, Mark David Chapman, and John Hinckley Jr. would have fixed upon something else and eventually lash out in a different violent act with a different motivation. In perhaps the most patently absurd example: I'm fairly certain that Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold weren't inspired by the music of Marilyn Manson, given that they disliked his music! Not that that stopped people from partially blaming Marilyn Manson for the Columbine High School Massacre!
In the specific case of the specious claims that depictions of violence in video games leads to violence in real life: I present one of my all-time favourite episodes of Penn and Teller's phenomenal Bullsh*t series, which serves to refute that highly dubious link.
If The Beatles never released an album, J.D. Salinger never penned The Catcher in the Rye, and Martin Scorsese never filmed Taxi Driver: I'm fairly certain that the deranged mind's of Charles Manson, Mark David Chapman, and John Hinckley Jr. would have fixed upon something else and eventually lash out in a different violent act with a different motivation. In perhaps the most patently absurd example: I'm fairly certain that Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold weren't inspired by the music of Marilyn Manson, given that they disliked his music! Not that that stopped people from partially blaming Marilyn Manson for the Columbine High School Massacre!
In the specific case of the specious claims that depictions of violence in video games leads to violence in real life: I present one of my all-time favourite episodes of Penn and Teller's phenomenal Bullsh*t series, which serves to refute that highly dubious link.
The current focus upon violence in video games by likes of Jack Thompson is merely the latest target in the on-going blame game, in which any target other than society itself is blamed for all of society's ills.
In the 1950's, Fredic Wertham published a book entitled Seduction of the Innocent, which used fraudulent anecdotal evidence to blame the then-relatively-young comic book industry for violence committed by juvenile delinquents. (Even more laughably, Wertham claimed that Batman and Robin promoted homosexuality and paedophilia!) This lead to a moral outcry that included Congressional hearings, public burnings of comic books, and the creation of the laughable Comics Code Authority that effectually terminated such titles as E.C.'s Tales From the Crypt and The Vault of Horror. Oddly enough, the cancellation of particularly violent comic books and the neutering of those that weren't cancelled had little impact upon the statistics regarding juvenile violence--almost as if there weren't a causal link after all! And, shock of all shocks, it was eventually revealed that nearly everything in Wertham's Seduction of the Innocent was fabricated! (The only truth in the entire book seems to be the commentary regarding Wonder Woman creator William Moulton Marston's interest in sexual bondage and extended relationships. And on that count I would say that everyone is entitled to their own private lives behind closed doors, so long as it strictly involves consenting adults and no one is harmed!)
Later, in the 1980's, there was an absurd moral panic regarding supposed acts of violence and depravity committed by secret sects of devil worshippers! Heavy Metal music and RPGs like Dungeons & Dragons were among the many forms of media blamed for inspiring such acts of violent devil worship. And again, there were protests, public burnings of blamed media, and even the imprisonment of people for alleged crimes that were patently absurd and clearly fabricated! And again, shock of all shocks, the reported incidents inciting the panic all proved to be fraudulent in one form or another!
I view the scrutiny placed upon video games by the likes of Jack Thompson to be merely the latest iteration in a cyclic moral panic blame game that would be laughable if it weren't so sad!
One day, I hope that society runs out of targets in the media to blame for all of society's ills and instead begins an introspective process of self-examination to identify and subsequently tackle the real socioeconomic and mental health root causes behind violence!
In the 1950's, Fredic Wertham published a book entitled Seduction of the Innocent, which used fraudulent anecdotal evidence to blame the then-relatively-young comic book industry for violence committed by juvenile delinquents. (Even more laughably, Wertham claimed that Batman and Robin promoted homosexuality and paedophilia!) This lead to a moral outcry that included Congressional hearings, public burnings of comic books, and the creation of the laughable Comics Code Authority that effectually terminated such titles as E.C.'s Tales From the Crypt and The Vault of Horror. Oddly enough, the cancellation of particularly violent comic books and the neutering of those that weren't cancelled had little impact upon the statistics regarding juvenile violence--almost as if there weren't a causal link after all! And, shock of all shocks, it was eventually revealed that nearly everything in Wertham's Seduction of the Innocent was fabricated! (The only truth in the entire book seems to be the commentary regarding Wonder Woman creator William Moulton Marston's interest in sexual bondage and extended relationships. And on that count I would say that everyone is entitled to their own private lives behind closed doors, so long as it strictly involves consenting adults and no one is harmed!)
Later, in the 1980's, there was an absurd moral panic regarding supposed acts of violence and depravity committed by secret sects of devil worshippers! Heavy Metal music and RPGs like Dungeons & Dragons were among the many forms of media blamed for inspiring such acts of violent devil worship. And again, there were protests, public burnings of blamed media, and even the imprisonment of people for alleged crimes that were patently absurd and clearly fabricated! And again, shock of all shocks, the reported incidents inciting the panic all proved to be fraudulent in one form or another!
I view the scrutiny placed upon video games by the likes of Jack Thompson to be merely the latest iteration in a cyclic moral panic blame game that would be laughable if it weren't so sad!
One day, I hope that society runs out of targets in the media to blame for all of society's ills and instead begins an introspective process of self-examination to identify and subsequently tackle the real socioeconomic and mental health root causes behind violence!
Here's a pretty simple way to make the chicken or the egg theory behind this disappear. Was there violence before media existed? Was violence used as a way to entertain the masses before media in any way we know it now was even an idea? You cannot blame outside forces for what's inside a person.
Just to play Devil's Advocate for a moment: I highly doubt that anyone is seriously suggesting that violence doesn't pre-date media and art and/or that media and art are the end all, be all, ultimate, sole cause of violence. That's a straw man argument, exaggerating and distorting a position to an easily dismissed point of absurdity. The argument that's usually being made is more akin to stating that certain art and media are promoting and inspiring violence in several cases if not generally. (As evidenced by my earlier comments and comments that are about to follow below, I usually find said argument to be rather silly in most cases regardless--as there are clearly more salient factors at play than violence in the media, namely factors of mental illness and socioeconomics.)
Beyond that nit-pick, I completely agree with Joan!
I by-and-large completely agree that violence has naturally always been part of the media: for it is art that is reflecting upon and making a statement about life and society, far more so than it is life and society that is imitating art. E.g. movies and music about violent thugs and gangsters are a commentary and reflection upon a breed of violence that of course did and would undoubtedly continue to exist without said art--far more so than they are inspiring or are even the cause of such violence!
I also by-and-large completely agree with the statement that one cannot blame outside forces for what's (for the most part) inside a person.
In the case of a mentally ill person committing an abhorrent act of violence that they themselves claim is inspired by a particular specific song, book, or film: it is their mental illness that is the ultimate true motivation for the crime. As I said in an earlier comment: If The Beatles never released an album, J.D. Salinger never penned The Catcher in the Rye, and Martin Scorsese never filmed Taxi Driver: I'm fairly certain that the deranged mind's of Charles Manson, Mark David Chapman, and John Hinckley Jr. would have fixed upon something else and eventually lash out in a different violent act with a different motivation! After all, no one would seriously blame David Berkowitz's (AKA Son of Sam's) murders on the dogs that he thought were speaking to him and commanding him to kill!
As for more general cases of people broadly blaming violence and other social ills on art and the media, such as in the case of numerous tempest-in-a-teapot moral outrages like those directed against comic books, heavy metal, Dungeons & Dragons, and now video games (all of which I discussed in greater detail earlier): I believe that people are generally looking for a scapegoat to more easily direct their rage at rather than confronting the much more difficult issues of the real, deep-rooted socioeconomic causes of violence and other such social ills. (And I would also re-iterate that it is art that is reflecting life far more so than the reverse in such cases.)
(This is also somewhat similar to the debates that inevitably follow an inevitable mass shooting within the United States. Whilst the gun control debate is indeed a critical and an important one, any equally important discussions about the treatment of mental health within the U.S. are drowned out by the louder arguing between the pro- and the anti- gun control camps. (I'm very much pro-gun control, incidentally.) Granted, that now usual state of affairs is still a step up from when any talk about either mental health or gun control were both instead drowned out by blaming violence within the media--even if the shooters in question weren't even fans of the specific media in question!)
Beyond that nit-pick, I completely agree with Joan!
I by-and-large completely agree that violence has naturally always been part of the media: for it is art that is reflecting upon and making a statement about life and society, far more so than it is life and society that is imitating art. E.g. movies and music about violent thugs and gangsters are a commentary and reflection upon a breed of violence that of course did and would undoubtedly continue to exist without said art--far more so than they are inspiring or are even the cause of such violence!
I also by-and-large completely agree with the statement that one cannot blame outside forces for what's (for the most part) inside a person.
In the case of a mentally ill person committing an abhorrent act of violence that they themselves claim is inspired by a particular specific song, book, or film: it is their mental illness that is the ultimate true motivation for the crime. As I said in an earlier comment: If The Beatles never released an album, J.D. Salinger never penned The Catcher in the Rye, and Martin Scorsese never filmed Taxi Driver: I'm fairly certain that the deranged mind's of Charles Manson, Mark David Chapman, and John Hinckley Jr. would have fixed upon something else and eventually lash out in a different violent act with a different motivation! After all, no one would seriously blame David Berkowitz's (AKA Son of Sam's) murders on the dogs that he thought were speaking to him and commanding him to kill!
As for more general cases of people broadly blaming violence and other social ills on art and the media, such as in the case of numerous tempest-in-a-teapot moral outrages like those directed against comic books, heavy metal, Dungeons & Dragons, and now video games (all of which I discussed in greater detail earlier): I believe that people are generally looking for a scapegoat to more easily direct their rage at rather than confronting the much more difficult issues of the real, deep-rooted socioeconomic causes of violence and other such social ills. (And I would also re-iterate that it is art that is reflecting life far more so than the reverse in such cases.)
(This is also somewhat similar to the debates that inevitably follow an inevitable mass shooting within the United States. Whilst the gun control debate is indeed a critical and an important one, any equally important discussions about the treatment of mental health within the U.S. are drowned out by the louder arguing between the pro- and the anti- gun control camps. (I'm very much pro-gun control, incidentally.) Granted, that now usual state of affairs is still a step up from when any talk about either mental health or gun control were both instead drowned out by blaming violence within the media--even if the shooters in question weren't even fans of the specific media in question!)
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Cherry picking the most flattering sentence fragment out of a fairly mixed review, and ignoring the rest, as if it were an entirely positive, glowing review? Well, if Hollywood's ad men can get away with it when they advertise their movies: then why not us? 
I agree completely. Screw the idea that men in suits with ideas are better than people in sweatpants with theories. We're all equals!
Its always a major controversy when it comes to violent videogames. It is always a major controversy when it comes to games period. No matter how many people would come up and try and argue about videogames being too violent when most of these murders that happen have nothing to do with violent videogames. Just because a person plays the game Rage does not mean the individual would go crazy and kill some 7 year old kid by shooting that 7 year old's head off.
We all know who is really to blame for youth delinquency and all of society's other great ills, and its not video games: Blame Canada! (I'm allowed to say that, being a syrup sucking, metric system using, Queen saluting Canuck myself.)
Now, I'm sure many of you are rolling your eyes at my evoking this clip--but is the absurdity with such the residents of South Park blame their woes upon Canada any more ridiculous than blaming youth violence and shootings on video games, music, comic books, etc, etc, etc (all of which are moreover imitating life much more so than life is imitating them)? These are all examples of absurdest scapegoating to avoid confronting the real, more challenging, and more deeply rooted factors that are the true causes of such social ills.
Now, I'm sure many of you are rolling your eyes at my evoking this clip--but is the absurdity with such the residents of South Park blame their woes upon Canada any more ridiculous than blaming youth violence and shootings on video games, music, comic books, etc, etc, etc (all of which are moreover imitating life much more so than life is imitating them)? These are all examples of absurdest scapegoating to avoid confronting the real, more challenging, and more deeply rooted factors that are the true causes of such social ills.
Media can certainly influence us to do violent acts, but not everything should be blamed on it. We should also be responsible for our actions. We should know how to handle/manage things as responsible adults, and set good examples to children as they are more vulnerable to these things and they are the ones highly exposed to media.
If one goes doing violent acts "like on that show he saw last night", then he clearly has a problem. Violence is shown in media, video games, even some books have violent scenes, but that doesn't mean you have to do exactly the same. Every time I hear people complaining about video games or movies for being too violent I
feel like banging my head against a wall. Just ignore it, or keep your kids away from it, Jeez.
feel like banging my head against a wall. Just ignore it, or keep your kids away from it, Jeez.
I do not believe there is a direct association between the exposure to media violence and the actual act of it. That being said, there is definitely in my eyes a link between the exposure to violence and the response we get when the exposed individual comes to face a violent situation, either by chance or by choice.
Through extended exposure to violence people eventually become numb and consider it to be of little to no significance. That may lead to dangerous situations, especially when the person is still developing its personality.
Through extended exposure to violence people eventually become numb and consider it to be of little to no significance. That may lead to dangerous situations, especially when the person is still developing its personality.
That is the truth there sister. I mean we can say that the media can set us up in some cases, but in most cases we are responsible for what we do. If you go around having sex in public with a mistress then you got yourself to blame.
I hate how people say that video games cause violence. They are only games, there are more violence on pg-13 movies nowadays, why don't people say that they cause violence? Not only game don't cause violence, I think they might prevent it at some points.
For example if the kid is depressed, bullied and doesn't have what to do, he might take a gun that his dad owns and go "revenge" for everything. Now if he plays videogames, he will also probably have online friends and from my expierence people who you met only on the internet can not only help you, but heal your soul and give advice that you won't get anywhere else.
For example if the kid is depressed, bullied and doesn't have what to do, he might take a gun that his dad owns and go "revenge" for everything. Now if he plays videogames, he will also probably have online friends and from my expierence people who you met only on the internet can not only help you, but heal your soul and give advice that you won't get anywhere else.
Indeed. Someone who acts out violently has bigger problems than what video games or other violent media he indulges in. I also think people need to take into account the difference between correlation and causation.
Video games like movies and music will always have some impact on the minds of some people but it is still up to an individual to act on these impressions given. I have watched all types of movies and played all kinds of games and I have never been influenced to do anything negatively. People are just always trying to blame others for their actions.
Well, it's kind of complicated. It is true that some stupid kids- which are more than I'd like to admit- imitate what they see on TV, play in videogames and hear in music. But I think it's the parents responsibility to watch what their kids play, watch or hear. Now, the media has a lot of blame as well because there is no adult schedule anymore. I've seen movies on TV at three in the afternoon just a bit short of a porno film.
Agreed. I think the people who like to blame media or video games are the absentee parents who rely on them to raise their own kids instead of talking to them or teaching them about the world, so those kids end up learning their behavior from tv and games instead of their parents, then those parents end up whining.