Television and Violence

             "The new pornography depicts ... people staving teeth in, ripping guts open, blowing brains out, and getting even with al those bastards..."(Wolfe, 655). Just as Wolfe describes in his essay "Pornoviolence," violence has become a staple in movies, TV series', and the media. These grotesque images have become so common that for some young children the barrier between reality and fantasy has become blurred. Children see their favorite actors killing and maiming in high definition video for some cause or another on an almost daily basis. How can children, whose understanding of the world is still developing, not be affected by these often overdone portrayals of violence? The truth is that no matter how much we would like to think they are not, children's minds are being shaped by what they see on television and in movies.
             Children's lives revolve around television more and more these days. According to a recent study done by Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, by the time a child is 18, s/he will have watched 15,000 hours of television while only attending school for a total of 11,000 hours. Before leaving elementary school a child will have witnessed 8,000 murders and 100,000 violent acts ("By the Numbers"). And as the amount of hours that children spend glued to the television increases, so does the amount of violence being fed to them. A study done in 1998 by the independent company Mediascope, hired by the National Cable Television Association found that violence in prime-time television had made a 14% jump in television violence than in the previous season ("Television Violence"). This increase in already violent shows can serve only to further desensitize children to unspeakable acts. Not only are children being accosted by violence during prime time viewing; they are being bombarded with a lesser form of v
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Television and Violence. (1969, December 31). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 08:27, March 29, 2024, from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/74353.html