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... important is the lack of relationship in the reverse direction; that is, preference for violent television programs at age eighteen was not produced by their aggressive behavior in early childhood. The most plausible interpretation of this pattern of correlations is that early preference for violent television programming and other media is one factor in the production of aggressive and antisocial behavior when the young boy becomes a man. This evidence reflects a study showing the link between popular culture and violent behavior a real one. 2. Popular culture Does Not Influence Violent Behavior The life and behavior of an individual, is shaped by a variety of factors from the cradle to the grave. Many critics of the theory that violent behavior is influenced by popular culture has a big on recognize with the idea that persons are influenced differently, and popular culture can only have narrow influence if any.
Numerous ones agreed with Jim Carroll, writer of the notorious Basketball Diaries, one of the supposed influences for the 1999 Columbine Killings when he said: Artists have nothing to do with the deranged, vaguely connected actions of a few celebrated nut cases - and thats it. There is substantial evidence, which backs up Carroll's case. Both science and psychology think there is no connection between popular culture such as film, television, music and violent behavior. To be sure when we look at these types of popular culture the center and main arguments for discussion is censorship. The Music Industry It has been disputed that popular rap and rock stars are important in the downfall of numerous children and that their subversive, controversial lyrics inspire violence and rebellion. The view adopted by Marilyn Manson is that violence is something, which is inbred into society.
Manson is referring to Sigmund Freud's idea of the savage nature in mankind. He believes this violence is acquired at birth, propelled by religion and justified in its scruples; he refuses to believe that the majority of people can be directly influenced by popular culture and that it is our own human disposition which draws us to violent acts, regardless of any outward stimulation. Manson is trying to reinforce his idea that violence is something born unto us and that regardless of stigma, some people may act upon it. The kernel of his argument provides us with evidence that there is no link between popular culture and violent behavior. Manson talks about the ability people have to act upon instinct. He dwells upon the fact that rock stars as role models do not influence violent behavior, but that it boils down to the fact that as long as violence exists all around us, it will be prolific in television programs, films and in music; be it violent lyrics, physical violence or indecent comments.
Theories Which Defeat the Link between Popular culture and Violence Section 1 looked at research that established a link between popular culture and violent behavior. The investigation by Bandura showed that both short and long-term viewing of televised violence produced aggressive reactions in the studys participants. It is important to note that the studies conducted by Bandura et al. were criticised on the grounds that the aggressive behavior was not meaningful within the social context of their experiments and that the stimulus materials were not representative of available television programming. This highlights the bias in their work and the subjectivity in their experiments, leading towards a predetermined answer established by unfair testing. This alone shows the lack of extensive evidence proving the relationship between popular culture and violent behavior and its ability to influence individuals reactions.
In 1993 the National Research Council (NRC) cautioned that correlations do not prove cause, and could be reflective of poor parental supervision and a heightened potential for violent behavior. This statement was a profound result of studies conducted in the late 70 s and early 80 s confirming correlations between popular media and violent behavior but without proving a substantial influence over individuals to act upon violent feelings or aggression. Again, disproving popular culture s influence over violent behavior through the basis of cause and effect, that is, the cause of violent behavior is not necessarily the effect of violent images witnessed or listened to but a culmination of different effects in an individuals life. In 1978 Eysenck and Nias suggested a model which assumes pre-disposition to violence (like that which Manson spoke about earlier on) in a country is distributed in the shape of a normal curve of distribution, with 5 % of people actually being violent.
Their model suggests a 1 % shift in propensity to violence would increase the number of violent people in the UK by 350, 000 and in the USA by 1. 4 million... Although Eysenck and Nias model is over simplified because human behavior is multiply determined, they conclude that: Even quite small effects, so small as to be hardly measurable may have far reaching and tremendous consequences. It is evident that a small shift in propensity, for example the advent of war, could have a 1 % increase on the population on the curve of distribution. War brings together people in countries, with media propaganda increasing hatred between sides, which is enough to increase the level of violent people in a country.
Therefore, these people would draw on what they had learned from media and television and channel their aggression through these images in their heads, carrying out copycat acts of violence and aggression based on the only violence that they have seen. Thus, it would appear that popular culture was the influence over these actually violent people, when really; they are reflective of the distribution of violent people in the country. Therefore, the studies of Eysenck and Nias now show that violence is something inbred into individuals, relating back to Marilyn Manson's views on Columbine. Thus, the evidence given in section 1 regarding the influence popular culture can have over violent behavior can be associated with a propensity towards violence of the population and not popular culture itself.
The Hypodermic Syringe Effect This theory has its root in 1950 s America when dominant businesses and the then government wanted to discover how far the public were influenced by what they saw on television. The Hypodermic Theory came from this Media Effects model, which had a heavy emphasis in psychology. The Hypodermic model proposes that the media has a very direct and extremely immediate effect on the general public, who accept the injected message without question due to their passiveness. This apparent look at influencing violent behavior through popular culture only affecting the lower classes shows the lack of a substantial link between popular culture and violent behavior.
With these researchers blaming any apparent link to a lack of intellect and absorption in low culture as opposed to any link which is all encompassing. Uses and Gratifications The second model differs greatly from the Hypodermic one, in that it focuses more on the viewer. In this model who and what a person is, is the key to how they use the media text and what gratification they attain from it. This brings in the idea that an individual, because of who they are and where in society they have come from, will react differently to a text. This was touched on earlier when discussing The Bill. An individual, depending on who they are, will have a different reading of a text.
Regarding something with the high violence content of Natural Born Killers, it helps build personal identity in that the viewer sees it and knows what not to be like. Conclusion In conclusion, if screen violence produces behavioral effects on viewers, therefore creating a more violent society, it would be more evident in our everyday lives. Images of violence are all around us in many forms of the media. If we were all effected in the same way then everyone would have the same reaction. If everyone reacted to and mimicked behavior seen on the screen then our society would be one of constant violence in every situation imaginable. This is simply not the case.
If it was simply that violence on the screen instigated violent behavior and nothing more, what of other cases such as Mary Bell, a girl who killed two very young children. She had not seen Childs Play or Natural Born Killers, but had experienced real life abuse at the hands of her mother. It takes more than just watching violence on the screen to cause it. An individual may watch a violent film and then perform the acts in real life, but one would then have to look at what they, as a viewer, originally brought to the reading. Thus, when asked the question, Is popular culture an influence on violent behavior my answer is no. After my extensive research I am led to believe that violent behavior is intrinsically based on many factors, interdependent on one another and that popular culture cannot solely influence an individual to commit an act of violence.
However, I do agree with the fact that images in popular culture can influence the way in which an individual carries out an act of violence. This is because of a lack of other stimuli which a violent individual can act upon, retorting upon something they have seen before in a movie or on television. This however, does not gratify a link between violence and popular culture in that popular culture does not have a direct control over an individual, Reverend J. Williamson of Littleton Colorado, when talking about the murders in Columbine said: And through the soul, although they shape our behavior, the roots of violence are much more complicated than just bad rock lyrics or brutal screenplays. Violence lives amongst us, in our homes and on our streets and it is these aspects of life we need to help eradicate before we can stop a repeat of this [Columbine] happening.
Bibliography Murphy, Robert. Culture and Social Anthropology: An Overture. 2 nd ed. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1986 Marshall, Gordon. Oxford Dictionary of Sociology. Oxford University Press, 1998 Jones, Stephen. Criminology.
Reed Elsevier, 1998 Hatty, Suzanne E. Masculinities, Violence and Culture. Sage Publications, 2000 Carter, Nick. Linking of 'Basketball Diaries, ' Columbine Shootings Upsets. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 6 May 1999 Match, David. Delinquency and Drift.
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Research essay sample on Natural Born Killers Act Of Violence
