Video and Films (Research Paper Sample)

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Do you believe that video games, movies, television shows, or popular music influence youth violence?
The increased global competition in the entertainment industry has led to the production of what viewers like. This industry has been led by the demand of the viewers, which has led to the undermining other factors such as the morals and ethics of the society. It has led to the emergence of several types of movies with different aspects of life, ranging from music to all assorts of film and video shows either on television or any other such media. It has led to physical, health and psychological effects which impact the viewers both positively and negatively. The youths are at the most risk for influence by films and cinematic experiences, since at an early age, they are bound to view the on-screen personas as representative of what reality is or ought to be (Close 12). The development of the children is greatly influenced by what they see and are tempted to try everything that they see, whether right or wrong. Frequent viewing of violent media have contributed to violent behaviors in society, such as, fights, murder, rudeness and recklessness. There is need to control these media in order to protect the young generation from immorality and bad behaviors in society. The government, the parents, participants of the industry, and the society at large have a role to play in ensuring protection of the youths from violent media.
In recent years, there has been an increase in the amount of time spent watching movies. Parents and caregivers feel a particular urge to indulge the whims of children without the regard of safety. It can be attributed to societal pressure. New technologies that allow for access to content via live streaming i.e. HBO, Netflix movie downloads, and even cable networks ensure a constant supply of movies, video games, and television streaming (Pisharody 8). The level of aggression and language has also severely deteriorated because movies, TV shows, music, and video games are no longer means through which parents can impart knowledge and their belief systems, they are simply a source of entertainment (Gentile13).
Aimee Tompkins in her work in Psychological Effects of Violent Media on Youths looks at the impact film, especially where scenes of violent and delinquent behavior are enacted on how they impact the youths. In her article, she states that there are three major effects of watching prolonged violence in the film, especially for young people. They become aggressive in their dealings with others, they become fearful of the world and become insensitive to the pain and suffering of other people (Tompkins 222). The youths are thus incapable of contributing meaningfully to the social discourse which enables them to interact in a social environment: with other children, work in a common work pool, etc. In understanding the social nature of man, the children are therefore at a disadvantage. Youths, after they become desensitized to pain, cannot be empathetic. Ascribing feelings of pain or suffering as a weakness rather than a distinctly human characteristic (General, Control and Health 123).
Lieutenant Colonel Dave Grossman suggested that "a Prose Reader is to avoid a steady diet of violent visual images that lobotomize the brain making thinking and writing more difficult." Young people who are continually exposed to prolonged periods of entertainment, which is at 4 hours a day, perform poorly in school, less friendly to classmates, likely to develop weight problems, difficulty on developing hobbies and eye problems due to continued exposure to screens. Youths who are exposed to TV shows that depict violence at any level is likely to attempt these actions in their environments (Bierman, Gold and Lessey 218). This is very possible especially when the children lack parental guidance in watching movies and playing video games. Media marketing such entertainment will often have the warning that viewers should not to try what they see at home. It again goes against the very nature of youths which is to try anything they see, emulate it without due regard to consequences. Such warnings instead of warning them against watching and practicing what they see at home, they instead arouse their curiosity urging them to try it out. The result is directly opposite to what they announce. It has led to several instances where young people have had injuries resulting out of trying what they watch in the video games, music, and other such violent media. It gives the youths a sense of feeling that they too can adopt the characteristics of the actors of the movies which in the real sense is not true (Gentile 16). The male youths are the most vulnerable to this imaginations, and they end up hurting themselves out of such trials. At an early age, children are in fact incapable of synthesizing the results of e.g. a broken neck or amputated limb would mean in the long run.
The Academy of Pediatrics notes that continued exposure to violent behavior results in children believing that the world is "meaner and scarier" than what it is. Robbing children of that distinctly child-like trust in the capability of good in all humanity. It can be compared to children who suffer a traumatic event in their childhood. They no longer can trust in the common good of the race. Watching violent acts makes children want to act out the part. In some movies, prostitution, robbery with violence, and theft are hallmarks of scenes in the films. It, in essence, reward this behavior. It is the beginning of the process of dehumanizing the child, making him an unfeeling being incapable of human emotion or empathy in his quest to succeed.
Continued exposure to domestic violence either in films or practically can result to the adoption of violent behavior among the youths. For instance kids watching a movie or show where the father mistreats the wife, beats her up and abuses her physically will affect the children negatively. If they are male children, they are likely to do the same with their female children especially when they are playing games which entails family roles. Such children are likely to develop with that attitude and in the end even when they grow up with their families are likely to do the same to their family members. Therefore, the effects can last from childhood to adulthood.
The United States Surgeon General notes that only short-term effect can be noted after exposure to violent act especially in film (General, Control, Health, & Services 126). Children have trouble sleeping after watching a -scary movie. Reports of children being unable to concentrate in classrooms after watching scary movies days before are not new. Some might ask, why then if the child is easily scared doesn’t he or she turn the TV off? To put it quite simply is because they are children. Children do not yet have the capacity to understand that they, in fact, have the power over that thing that is frightening. The child is unable to make a distinction between reality and virtual. The long-term effects according to a report from the office are inconclusive. In children, the value system in the child is severely impacted by any scenario that signals a traumatic experience for the children, however, inconsequential (General, Control and Health 126).
The film however sets an unreachable standard for children. Modern media is key in creating an aspirational image or look for young children. No one tells the young girls that no one will ever have a waist as thin as that of a Disney princess or skin free of blemish. Filmmakers do not tell young kids that their on-screen heroes are followed everywhere by a make-up team to ensure they look flawless (Sanders 54). The parallel if film cartoons are also true. The main character often is a stereotypical while, with a very small waistline that cannot be achieved in reality. It happens especially at a time when children are very particular of their appearance. In attempting to reach a wider audience, films create content that is fictitious, based on no known scientific fact and beyond the realm of imagination. Providing children at an early age with false information and robbing them of learning opportunities. The film provides a bar that is unattainable. Without the guidance of parents and guardians, children are likely to fall into mindless worship of the figures they see onscreen. They form the mentors for children and idolize what the child hopes to become.
Proponents of violent entertainment argue that parents and their children have an array of entertainment options at their disposal. Parents can choose what they want or do not want their children to watch. However, the converse is true, more and more of our entertainment choices are increasingly violent. There is little choice for parents who are averse to violent acts. It is, in essence, a market-driven entertainment field. Content creators create content according to what people want. It is important to note that what children watch is by itself not the pre-requisite to how children respond. The environment in which children group up, the relations within the family and how conflict is solved are also essential.
Despite the several disadvantages that are associated with these types of media they have several advantages associated with them. Some encourage children to become heroes and heroines in the society by depicting acts of courage for the best interacts of the rest of the society. They are also sources of education for the children. They help them understand the world around them better and how they can encounter daily challenges. However, the effectives of using these movies as sources of education requires a thorough scrutiny to ensure that what the youths view is what is right legally and ethically.
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Some strategies can be employed to ensure that...