Blog 15

Fernando Torres

Mass Media

Dr. Louis Lucca

April 29 2010

Is television a reflection of us? Or are we a reflection of what tv portrays? Violence on television, brutality in movies, aggressive and offensive lyrics in music is seen and heard everyday but are we becoming more violent or are we just continuing this up and coming cycle that has become extremely popular in this generation? Throughout this paper we will explore how tv and other sources of media has exposed us to many truths of other people and has become a main concern of promoting violence.

Television, from birth, has always reflected our society. However, what part of society is it truly reflecting? Popular shows from the 1950’s depicted the “perfect” family image, but was a perfect family back then? Most of television owners in the 50’s were white and relatively well established. But what about the flipside of the 1950’s culture?

The United States, a melting pot of cultures, is not limited to just the white American. Minorities were not considered to be apart of society, therefore they were not represented in media. Now however, most cultures are represented in American media. Because this generation has become more exposed to other cultures and ideologies we are witnesses to other forms of struggles and lifestyles. The changes in American media also gave insight to a deeper and more complex look on the white American experience that wasn’t viewed before. Once tv shifted towards a realistic reflection of all cultures in America, viewers were exposed to a more truthful and not so picture perfect image of life.

“Reality” shows such as The Real World showcase a group of individuals facing preset “real life” situations. The show intentionally places individuals whom they might not otherwise associate with, and whom might be at odds. In many occasions, the show’s characters become very physical with each other through acts of sex, violence and addictions. The show grew very popular in the 90‘s for portraying conflict and clashes different ethnic groups.

Could violence on tv be a reflection of our suppressed primitive instincts? The more evolved we are the more civilized we’re supposed to be - but aren’t we animals after all? Television touches upon all our suppressed instincts and inner thoughts. It reflects our fantasy of being superior through the primal violent impulse we have learned to restrain throughout the centuries.

Our culture has repressed so much of the violent tendencies by expecting us to be more civilized, yet everything around is based on violence. Our entertainment culture is driven by competitiveness, deceit, lies and violence is often a result of these things. According to the article “Has TV changed Bhutan?” on BBC News Online it discusses how TV affects humans. Within just five years of King Jigme Singye Wangchuck’s introduction of Televisions and the internet Bhutan, being the last nation in the world to turn on a television, have experienced crimes. Many Bhutanese blame the introduction of televisions for the cause of the crimes however others argue that this can not be entirely true being that seventy percent of the country live without electricity yet alone televisions.

Another example of human tendencies towards violence are the multiple Law & Order series. Although these shows aren’t directly showing violence, their showing death as a result of it.

Along with this, documentaries such as Lockup: Raw and Gangland show’s the consequences of violence and how it affects not only the individual who’s violent but the those who are victimized. These shows can desensitize the viewer to death and it’s complexities. It’s second nature for these individuals to consider violence as the main source of their livelihood. Their explanation for participating in such acts goes back to survival of the fittest. Some of the gang members who are now reformed get into the whole concept that an act or multiple acts of violence is a way of proving themselves to the group they are trying to get into. There’s no sense of consciousness or guilt for what they performed because these acts of violence are just a normal part of their psychological reasoning. Their power comes from the fact that they all find comfort in packs. This pack mentality is very similar to how the animal kingdom works and how family is united and protect one another at all cause. Gang life and it’s violence is also portrayed in film.

Overly violent films such as Scarface and The Godfather play on these instincts by focusing on the release of violent and angry energy. We tend to watch things that can relate to us. Watching a sad film can make us very depressed if we are going through a tough time as well as watching a comedy to make us laugh. We rely on television or movies to act violent for us in times when we can’t. Quentin Tarantino is a director who specializes in gory films. In his recent film Inglorious Bastards, their were many graphic scenes at points where you saw a baseball beating and scalping of the mans head. Also in the fire scene, you see how one man shoots another in the face repeatedly and the skin is lifted off the face. Tarantino has proved that as a director he speaks to the audience’s more primitive nature. Violence in America sells. The most violent films have been great box sellers. Training Day sold over 76 million, Silence of the Lambs sold over 130 million and The Godfather sold more than 133 million in movie theaters. Soundtracks to feature films can also have violent music that relates to the film.

Music has a capacity to persuade us into whatever emotion it wants us to feel. The instrumentation, the pace, the bass and the rise and fall of the music creates an atmosphere for the listener. Depending the genre, music can shift the listener from one set of emotion to another. Rock music contains a fast or deeper tempo in their songs. Also, the typical image for the artists playing this music is very dark. People who listen to this type of music could be effected negatively and those who may have a weaker tolerance may find music to trigger their violence. The Columbine High School Massacre was a pure example on how music contributed to an act of violence. Although, music can not be fully responsible for the act.

Politically themed groups can also add fuel to an already existing fire. Rage Against The Machines is a popular communist band in the United States. Many of their songs consist of screaming and powerfully moving lyrics which can push the audience in a specific direction. Other bands have strong song titles such as The Dead Kennedys, an early punk 70’s group, have two songs called “I kill children” and “I kill the poor”.

Trends in video games have become recently violent. Violence has become more interactive and realistic. In his article Regulating Video Games: Parents or Uncle Sam?, Adam D. Thierer states:

“Long before ‘Pong’ and ‘Pac-Man’ revolutionized the world of children's entertainment, kids found many ways to play interactive games that included violent themes, such as ‘Cops and Robbers’ or ‘Cowboys and Indians.’”

Violence in children is not a new concept. The imagination of children has always contained a level of violence. The games in this generation are just pushing violence further into the child mentality. A recent article on The Wall Street Journal .com directly speaks about California’s battle against violent material and children:

“California said violent videogames harmed minors psychologically and made them more likely to exhibit violent antisocial or aggressive behavior. The state also said that industry self-regulation was a failure.” (Kendall)

Children enjoy these violent games because they are fantasy but many of these games show real life situations and show real life guns so children take these acts lightly and transfer them to real life, reenacting them with the thought of it being right. According to the article 10 Most Violent Games Named by Brendan Sinclair, he lists the ten most violent games and the top three listed were Resident Evil 4, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and God of War. These games offer a variety of brutal acts that can potentially lead to cruel and aggressive behavior in the real world. When children become tired of playing these games they might go on to seeing a movie or turning on the television and these violent images become a part of their lives and it’s what they expect out of these mediums in the end. When children turn to another form of media such as tv, they are bombarded with images equally as disturbing as those of the video games.

Humans are in constant search for satisfaction and if these mediums provide what we’re lacking or desires then we will continue to worship television by cable, the internet, going to the movies, playing video games and listening to censored music. It’s much like the question “Which came first the chicken or the egg?”. In some instances television is a reflection of our inner desires. Television might reflect on certain groups of people and certain groups of people might reflect television, they both might come hand in hand. As long as there’s something that can mirror our society there will always be a reflection of what we long for or what we hide subconsciously.



Work Cited

1. BBC News, “Has TV changed Bhutan?”. Entertainment. BBC News Online, 17 June 2004. Web

2. Box Office Mojo. “The Godfather”. Movies A-Z. IMDb, April 2010

3. Box Office Mojo. “The Silence of the Lambs”. Movies A-Z. IMDb, April 2010

4. Box Office Mojo. “Training Day”. Movies A-Z. IMDb, April 2010

5. Kendall, Brent. “High Court to Hear Videogame Case“. Technology. The Wall Street Journal, 26 April 2010. Web

6. Thierer, Adam D., “Regulating Video Games: Parents or Uncle Sam?”. Individual Liberty, Free Markets and Peace, CATO Institute, 14 July 2003.Web

7. Yahoo! “ 10 most violent games named.” Video Game News Online. Yahoo!, November 2005. Web