Correlation Between Violence in Children and the Media

Correlation between violence in children and the media

In the essay 'Whodnit-The Media?' Maggie Cutler; an online columnist unsuccessfully+ uses logical appeal to suggest that media largely contributes to children's lifestyle choices. In this article Cutler discusses who is to blame in anti social and aggressive children. "Will girls imitate the new, kickass heroines in the Japanese animé Cardcaptors? Will the impressionable 12-year-olds exposed to trailers for MGM's Disturbing Behavior forever after associate good teen behavior with lobotomies? Did Nine Inch Nails and the video game Doom inspire the Trenchcoat Mafia's bloodbath at Columbine?" (Cutler, page 1) Cutler's first paragraph interrogates the argument right off the bat criticizing anyone blaming the media for these issues.

In the beginning of the article Cutler starts off by attacking the Parents Television Council or PTC by announcing "The right-wing Parents Television Council, for example, announces that the per-hour rate in the United States of sexual and violent material and coarse language combined almost tripled from 1989 to 1999" (Cutler, page 1); and states that the crime rate has gone down by more than 30 percent which, by itself unhinges the argument by the PTC. Later Cutler proceeds to sham the assumption presented by the opposing side by recounting "Senate Judiciary Committee, headed by Orrin Hatch, reported confidently that "Television alone is responsible for 10 percent of youth violence." Given the overall juvenile crime count in 1997, the report implied, some 250 murders and 12,100 other violent crimes would not have been committed if it weren't for the likes of Batman Beyond" (Cutler, page 1).

The next problem with trying to define "violent media" is what should be considered violent? Cutler addresses this by analyzing violence in the media to adult porn, which I feel is a great comparison that she makes. Cutler states "As with adult pornography, we all think we know what it is until we have to define it. That's because kids not only process content differently depending on their temperament, background and circumstances, they seem to process it differently at different ages, too" (Cutler, page 2).

Even though all of these factors were compelling, I found Maggie Cutlers opinions to be lacking in that the reader cannot begin to figure out what side of the argument Cutler is on until halfway down her article. And never once does Cutler ever state her view or give a legitimate answer on what to do with the situation presented. In fact in one paragraph, on the second page of the article she uses a study done in a classroom setting that promoted children to use less television and videogames in their everyday lives. The study had shown that kids were less agitated, and more calm and happy. She even goes on to mention