Violence in the Media: Tricking the Viewers

Total Length: 2256 words ( 8 double-spaced pages)

Total Sources: 11

Page 1 of 8

Attraction to Violence in the Media

Violence on Films and in Television

Filmmakers Technique to Grab the Audience

Violence Made to Swindle the Viewers

Making Violence Funny

Health Concerns

It is clear that one of the worthy changes in the social environment today is the advent and fullness of television. In this new setting, television, radio, videos, movies, computer networks and video games, have presumed central roles in people's day-to-day lives. Rather it be good or bad, it seems that the mass media are having some kind of a huge impact on people's standards, beliefs, and behavior. Regrettably, the consequences of one specific element of the mass media exposure has for the most part damaging effects on those that are watching' and others' health. There is much Research evidence that has been accumulating over a lot of ears that being exposed to violence on television and in video games does raise the danger of violent behavior on the observer's part just as growing up in an setting filled with real violence raises the risk of a person that starts developing violent behavior. With that said, this paper will explore how people are attracted to violence in the media.

Definitions

Before going any further, it is vital to describe two words clearly: violent behavior and media violence. Different people have used different definitions of these terms at different times. For this paper, the researcher describes media violence as something that is visual and also that it show certain of acts of aggression that is physical by one human against another person. This description of media violence does not consist of what is considered by some experts as being off-screen poisonings that could possibly be understood, but somewhat it refers to visually depicted physically violent acts by one individual against another individual. This description has changed as theories in regards to the effects of media violence have evolved and represents an effort to define the type of violent media staging that is most possible to teach the onlooker to be more intense. It is clear that programs and movies that are showing violence of this nature were not unusual 20 years ago, and they are common now: Goodfellas, The November Man, Mad Max, Dead Drop, Lone Survivor, Pulp Fiction, The Road Warrior, etc. The list goes on and on.

A lot of researchers that are studying media effects on behavior have been highlighting on what they are recognizing to be aggressive behavior. Further studies. Go on to show that the accepted description actually mentions that behavior that is aggressive actually refers to an act intended to hurt or aggravate another individual. The act could be nonphysical or physical. This consist of numerous types of behavior that do not appear to fit the usually assumed connotation of violence. Throwing insults and increasing harmful rumors are appropriate for this description. Unquestionably, the aggressive behavior of utmost worry to society noticeably involve physical aggression. On the other hand, physical aggression could range in severity from acts for instance pushing or shoving to more serious physical assaults and fighting, even prolonging to violent acts that carry a weighty danger of serious damage.

Violence on Films and in Television

Violent entertainment is looked at as being global marketing idea. This kind of basically dominates a lot of the world's screens. As one expert makes the point that everyone is able to understand an action movie. If a person tells a joke, somebody might not get the punchline; however, "if a bullet just happens to shoot through the window, people at that point recognize how they need to hit the floor, regardless of what language it could be in." (Huesmann, 2006) Research shows that when comedic or dramatic movies are made, numerous times cultural references are involved; and one there is usually one certain culture that might not comprehend the distinctions in jokes or languages. Most violent movies need very few speaking or acting roles. This is because all of the action basically speaks for itself; it typically is the story. For instance in the film Total Recall there was this one -- line zinger where Arnold says, "Consider this a divorce," and then shoots his cheating wife dead smack in the middle of the head. There is not much media range work at all that needs to go into titling this into other various languages. Most of the times, these types of films do not win any type of awards for writing or acting. They get chosen and win only for sound, editing, and other types of special effects.

Stuck Writing Your "Violence in the Media: Tricking the Viewers" ?

The research clearly shows that violence does have this economic global appeal for the reason that it translates with no trouble into other languages. However, this is great news for Hollywood box office earnings.

Filmmakers Technique to Grab the Audience

For years, filmmakers have been able to come up with various ways of getting the viewers to be drawn to violence. Some experts even look at this method as a way of deceiving them but then again, it is a money making business. One way of doing this is by getting them to be comfortable with the hero of the movie. For example, sometime during 1988, the very fruitful and very violent action film called Die Hard was shown in theatres all over the nation. Experts make the point that the attraction to this film actually lies in three very areas of importance: clues to the unreality character portrayal, and a just resolution. Not like the character depiction of offenders in Bonnie and Clyde, Bruce Willis was looked at being the good guy. The movie had him set up very understandingly as a divorced father coming to town to see his daughter and a possible rendezvous with his ex-wife. However, the bad guys were portrayed as the ones that were very evil, foreign, with a cruel capacity to murder. From the start, the viewers were cheering for Bruce Willis to be the protagonist and to do whatever it took to save all of the hostages from all of the evildoers, in that way attaining a just resolve. This is one way a filmmaker is able to sway the viewers into violent movies by using the hero to do the bloodshed. At the same time, people were very uncomfortable seeing the bad guys commit the same acts. However, when the good guy character comes along shooting up just as many people, everyone is suddenly comfortable with the violence.

Another procedure filmmakers are using to grab the audience in to become relaxed with violence is to continually give the audience clues to the unreality of what is actually going on. Real human beings, no matter how powerful, strong, or well-armed, would never be as shrewd as Bruce Willis. Not one person could come out alive after being pierced with bullets. However, in horror films, experts argue that the characters are the ones that make the wrong choice, the audience is brought back to reality by the unbelievable foolishness of the characters in the movie. The most obvious example of unreality is the most regularly watched program on cable, supported by the World Wrestling Federation (Moffitt TE, 2912). Most people are able to accept the violent behavior of the wrestlers for the reason that the producers continually clue the audience to the fantasy of their actions. Not a single person is really getting injured. The actions of the wrestlers are overstated and one-sided. Its absence of reality aids the viewers to receive the violence. In a lot of different action-driven television, concerns to violent behavior are non-existing and often violence is recompensed. However, the main objective of the irrelevantly violent video game Mortal Combat is for the players to sit there and just kill the other person just by fighting them. Here, the winner is also rewarded by blowing up his enemy. On -- screen violence typically does not display any kind of blood, or, if there is any, the action rapidly takes the player on to the next outburst of violence. According to Malamuth (2008) experts believe that people start forgetting about the fact that a person was actually just killed or injured. In fantasy -- founded cartoons, typically intended at children under seven, the protagonist can be in a ghastly battle or martial arts ?ght. Then when the next scene comes in, his facial appearance does not look bad for someone who was just cruelly beaten. However, this is one way of swaying the watcher into thinking that gruesome violence is not rea. What this does in the conscious is make the viewer desensitized to the violence.

While this poses a problem for some people, according to Bushman, (2001) children that are up under the age of seven are distinguish between reality and fantasy. Charles Bronson-chic vigilante type of films portals us that taking justice into one's own hands because the law is corrupt is the appropriate way to deal with con-ict. Many times there are no consequences for….....

Show More ⇣


     Open the full completed essay and source list


OR

     Order a one-of-a-kind custom essay on this topic


sample essay writing service

Cite This Resource:

Latest APA Format (6th edition)

Copy Reference
"Violence In The Media Tricking The Viewers" (2015, July 31) Retrieved May 17, 2024, from
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/violence-media-tricking-viewers-2151926

Latest MLA Format (8th edition)

Copy Reference
"Violence In The Media Tricking The Viewers" 31 July 2015. Web.17 May. 2024. <
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/violence-media-tricking-viewers-2151926>

Latest Chicago Format (16th edition)

Copy Reference
"Violence In The Media Tricking The Viewers", 31 July 2015, Accessed.17 May. 2024,
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/violence-media-tricking-viewers-2151926