kboard Jungle and Rebel Without a Cause were deeply alarming in their portrayal of teen-agers willing to defy their school teachers and !
             beat up other students"(Barry, 1993, 1). Terrifying as it was at the time, the violence in those movies consisted almost entirely of fistfights and assaults with weapons that left a person injured, but alive. The violence portrayed then was non-lethal, nothing compared to what is seen today. These days society deals with the fact that our own people are killing one another, and this is a common occurrence for us. In those days it would not even cross a persons mind that American teen-agers were on the brink of becoming increasingly more violent and even killers.
             Since the 1950's there has been a substantial increase in violence among American youth that was certainly unthinkable back then. When looking for the cause of this increase one can point out that since television was introduced there has been a noticeable increase in the level of crime. Since the 1950's, America has moved from being one of the safest places to live to the one of the most violent place. "In 1951, with a population of 150 million, federal crime reports showed a national total of 6,820 homicides, 16,800 rapes, and 52,090 robberies"(Barry, 1993, 2). After seeing these numbers it is unbelievable to see how much each of these has risen since the introduction of television. Some skeptics claim that there is no link between television and the increase in violence, but after seeing the statistics they may begin to see some a link. In 1980, the numbers had increased to 23,000 murders, 78,920 rapes, and 548,220 robberies. "The murder rate is increasing six times!
             faster than the rate of population growth"(Hattemer, 1994, 68). These statistics support the theory that the invention of television corresponded with the increase in violent crime.
             "The Early Influences of Televis...