Games, Books and Movies: The Violence Accelerator or Misreported Non-issue?.
When a violent action is reported publicly, there is a move to blame someone or something for what has happened. As people look for someone to hold responsible for the action, blame can be attached to a variety of objects: guns, knives, and other weapons, violent images on television and in movies, violent video games, and violent lyrics in songs. For years the question has been "Does watching violence in the media cause someone to become violent in real life?- Janet Reno, the former US Attorney General said, "With the increased exposure of young people to an incredibly broad array of messages from an equally broad array of media messengers, it's all the more important that we teach our young people how to make sense of what they're seeing, hearing, and feeling. Only if we provide appropriate guidance can we expect our young people to understand that not everything on the screen has a place on the street corner or in the classroom- (Stossel). Like Mrs. Reno, many other individuals in high power places also believe that the ever increasing amount of violence in syndication has its effects upon what young people will do. As such, the national government has repeatedly attempted to control these controversial pieces of literature, most notably against the issue of violent video games and their subsequent effects. Does media violence "Video, game, book, or otherwise "influence people, including young adults? Without a doubt, media violence does influence people. However, does media violence influence people to the point of lashing out in violence? Simply put, media violence does cause people "young, old, or otherwise "to commit violent acts, but only as much as other activities, but never any more often than a case of "road rage- or some other case inciting anger.
As the world of media entertainment increases its exposure as well as its restrictions into the mass public, widely publicized violent actions horrify our homes.