Television Violence Essay Research Paper Title the

Television Violence Essay, Research Paper

Title: the frimCategory: EnglishDescription:Body of paper:Television violence is a negative message of reality to the children who see it. Thereis an excessive amount of violence being watched in millions of people s homesevery day, and this contributes to the growing amount of violent crimes thatare being committed in our communities. This cycle of more and more sex andviolence being portrayed as reality on television will not stop until somethingis done.Not one parent that I know wants his or her children watching peoplegetting blown away and thrown off cliffs. But the reality of it is that parentscannot be there 24 hours a day to monitor what their children are watching. In fact the television is often used as a baby-sitter, so that the parent cando housework, have an adult conversation, or just relax after work. The typesof people who are the most likely to be harmed by the surplus of violence onTV are children. Ed Donnerstein stated in the February 15, 1996 edition ofthe Boston Globe the following:Violence turns out to do a lot of harm whenit looks harmless. One of these lessons children learn watching televisionis that there are few consequences to the person who commits violence orto the victim. Add to this positive portrayal of negative behavior the factthat children s programs were least likely to show the bad effects of violenceand most likely to make it funny” (Goodman pg. 23).We are showing childrenthat violence is humorous and it can t do harm.A researcher by the nameof Meltzoff studied learning in infants. He concluded that babies start tolearn even before birth. A study by Meltzoff demonstrated observational learningin 14-month-olds. After watching an adult on television handling “a novel toyin a particular way,” the babies were able to imitate the behavior when presentedwith the toy 24 hours later (Wood pg.292). This study indicates that babieslearn imitation very early in life. This is why parents should be more particularwith what they allow their susceptible children to view on TV. The MightyMorphin Power Rangers, television show for children, is a very good exampleof how violence on TV can affect our children. It is one of the highest ratedkids television shows today. The Power Rangers are everywhere, on everything,from lunch boxes to boxer shorts. And kids want it all. This creates a bindfor the parents who know that these items are not so good for their kids.ThePower Rangers is one of the most violent shows around right now and kids loveit. The violence in the show has led New Zealand and two of the major networksin Canada to ban the program from their daily schedules. Nancy Carlson-Paigeof Lesley College said in the December 1, 1994 Boston Globe,” Locally, teacherssee evidence that Power Rangers interferes with normal childhood development. It threatens to undermine children s mental health because of the way it influencestheir play” (Meltz pg. A1). Chris Boyatzis of California State Universityat Fullerton completed the first scientific study of the impact of Power Rangerson children. It showed that those who watch the show are seven times more aggressivein their play than those who don t (Meltz pg. A1). Micki Corley, head 4-year-oldteacher and coordinator of the Preschool Experience in Newton Centre said inthe same December 1st Boston Globe,” They are confused by it. They mimic themovements without understanding the consequences. I see kids saying thingslike, If I m the Red Ranger, I m not really Joe hitting Mary. I m Tommy orZack hitting someone evil. But it s Mary who is hurt and Mary who cries. Youcan see the confusion on their faces. They ll say, But I didn t do that “(Meltz pg. A1). One can see that at this stage in the preschooler life he orshe is not able to distinguish between real and pretend.Kids and Power Rangerssupporters will say that the Power Rangers do have good points about them also. They say that the characters show respect for adults, they are likable people,and there is always a moral. In fact, the program labels the morals at theend of each show. What we have to ask ourselves is, “Is it really worth it?”MarilynDroz, director of research for the National Coalition on Television Violence,conducted a study on the Power Rangers. This is what she came up with:1. Seventy percent of the kids who watch the show say the fighting is what theylike best. 2. In an hour of Power Rangers programming, there is an averageof 211 acts of violence. A typical Saturday morning cartoon hour generallyhas 25 violent acts per hour. A typical hour of an adult show has six acts

of violence (Meltz pg. A1). The Power Rangers are an entertaining part ofour childrens day but the few minutes a day they watch may have severe circumstances. The morals, and views of reality of the kids are shattered. These childrendo not think that what they are doing is wrong when they hit or kick. Theysay,” The Power Rangers do it, why can t I?” This makes it even tougher onthe parents. They must explain that what the Power Rangers do on the televisionset is make believe. This confuses the child because they see it with theirown eyes, yet it is not true. We must not pin point the Power Rangers as theone show that influences our children s violent behavior. Other violent kidTV programs have a similar effect upon children. Cartoons and child programmingget most of the attention under this issue because of the damage they can doto the childr