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Effect of media and films on society
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Entertainment As a Cause of Violent Behavior
Who can predict which works of art will provoke what sorts of desperate acts? Entertainment cannot be the blame for the psychotic actions of adults and youths who obviously can't tell the difference between fiction and real life. In Grisham's "Unnatural Killer," he talks about a movie provoking two teenagers to go on a killing spree; this drawed me in and made me angry because it represents how mixed up our society is today. If there is anyone that should take the blame, it is the incompetent parents of these kids who obviously didn't give them enough guidance. Sarah began using drugs and alcohol at the age of thirteen and at fourteen was locked up for psychiatric treatment. Ben's father was an alcoholic who divorced Ben's mother twice, then later committed suicide. Ben too has a history of drug abuse and psychiatric treatment (572). These are obvious signs of a troubled teen.
It seems this pair of misguided youth, bummed out after they missed a rock concert because they got the date wrong, decided the best alternative was to rob and kill their way across two states. They popped some hallucinogens into their mouths, sat through several viewings of Oliver Stones song to mindless violence, Natural Born Killers, and off they went on a killing spree. Not as gruesome as the actual
movie, but exciting enough for them. One of those they killed was a friend of Grisham's and Grisham believes Stone is to blame for the murder.
This is bizarre, first because Grisham, like Stone has gotten rich by catering to his audience thirst for violence and evil in their entertainment. Natural Born Killers is a relentlessly bloody story designed to shock us and to further numb us to the senselessness of reckless murder. It wasn't made with the intent of stimulating morally depraved young people to commit similar crimes, but such a result can hardly be a surprise (576). Violence and aggression exist in people long before they watch a movie like Natural Born Killers. They don't just wake up one morning and decide to commit a murder. The thought that someone could be legally responsible for the criminal conduct of someone who may have seen a film or watched at TV show is absurd.
Most people don 't look at every aspect of a crime. They don 't think about everyone that was affected, other than the victim. In her article "On Punishment and Teen Killers", Jennifer Jenkins explains how her younger sister was taken from her by a murderer who shot and killed her. In her article she states, "So few who work on the juvenile offender side can truly understand what the victims of their crimes sometimes go through. Some never recover." Jenkins is explaining her personal experience of losing her younger sister to help others understand what the families of the victim have to deal with for the rest of their lives. She brings a point of view that most people have never been in because they 've never experienced what it 's like to have a loved one taken away from you by murder. In her story she also states, "If brain development were the reason, then teens would kill at roughly the same rates all over the world." Many people believe that the supreme court needs to be more lenient on juveniles because their brain is not fully developed as that of an adult, but brain development cannot be used as an excuse because as Jenkins explains, the teens would be killing at the same rate all over the world. Jenkins also brings up a good point about how the US as a whole needs to step up to prevent these crimes from happening. Jenkins states, "We in America have to own to this particular problem, with weapons so easily available to our youth, and the violence-loving culture we raise them. She is trying to bring awareness to society that America is also at fault for these crimes. Furthermore, she also explains why life sentencing is not as cruel as some may feel it is when she says, "… a life sentencing still allows a great deal of good living to be done, even from behind bars, far more than these teen killers gave to our murdered love
“Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results” a quote that sums up humanity’s unchanged love for horror movies. Over the years, as millions of people have watched horror movies the graphics, special effects, and sounds have changed for the better. While scenes have intensified yet remained the same someone gets stabbed, butchered or killed violently. It’s hard to imagine how anyone in their right mind could choose to see such violent acts. Which is the reason why Stephen Kings say’s “I think we’re all mentally ill; those of us outside the asylums only hide it a little better- and maybe not all that much better after all” (405). That sentence provides us with his twisted example of “Why we crave Horror Movies” claiming it’s mainly a matter of our mental state. King includes examples of reasons people continue to go, he says it’s to have fun, to dare the nightmare, and to re-establish our sense of normalcy. Kings arguments within this essay are strong enough to prove his thesis making this a well written essay. He easily convinces normal people that they are mentally ill, with his use of analogy’s, comparisons, and logos. Stephen King’s use of practical wisdom leads his audience to believe that without horror films, humans are all emotional ticking time bombs waiting to explode.
1. Sobchack’s argument pertaining to on -screen violence that she wrote thirty years ago was that any violent acts portrayed in movies back then was to emphasize the importance of an element in a story, an emphatic way of engaging the viewers and forcing them to feel what the movie was about. It gave them a sense of the substance of the plot which would allow them to feel for the characters and yearn for good to overcome evil. In other words, the effort made to engage audiences through depictions of violence created violence that was artistic and well done, or as Sobchack writes, violence was “aestheticized.” Violence was incorporated into film in a stylistic way, and even though violence in all forms is offending, twenty five years ago when it was seen in film, it had a greater impact on audiences because it had meaning (Sobchack 429).
At this day in age we bask in the luxury of having easy access to advanced technology at our disposal. From the World Wide Web, to cell phones, music, movies and video games the human race has thought of any and everything to keep us entertained. Over the years studies have shown reasonable concerns regarding the long-term effects of video games. These games can desensitize gamers to real life violence, which is usually seen in the younger crowd. The studies especially hit on the games containing player-on-player violence. Though these games are extremely entertaining and can get kids to settle down for a while, if not properly supervised, they can produce adverse effects. Other studies have shown that video games can be used as way to yield positive outcomes such as, good problem solving skills, cooperation in a group and the ability to flow. Although there has been psychological research on children learning through the actions of others some believe that children are automatically able to distinguish between what is just a game and what is reality. The longer they are allowed on their game system the more they become convinced that their games are real. Some researchers believe violent video games can channel the aggression of the child but the parents are to blame for what happens to the child after playing an excessive amount over a period of time. Children can become preoccupied with these violent video games which have been proven to be the cause of poor social skills, uncontrollable aggression and a false reality.
A hit was put out on Taylor and Zavala by leaders of the Mexican drug cartel because they were becoming a nuisance. This hit was carried out by the same Latino gang members who had previously done a drive-by shooting of a rival gang. The officers were enticed towards their imminent deaths with a car chase which was set up by the Latino gang members. This chase led them towards an apartment complex which was rigged with many gang members and artillery to ensure that neither Taylor nor Zavala would survive. The two were ambushed, but decided that gunning their way out was their best option.
However, these thoughts are not always true all the time. Sometimes Hollywood makes films to show the audience the truth contained in the movie. In the movie “Girl, Interrupted,” the filmmakers have balanced the grim realism of the book with audience-pleasing elements of entertainment in order to make the film more comfortable. The graphic representation of mental illness makes audiences feel its realities, while the use of attractive actresses captures the attention of the audiences and makes it easier to relate to the story.
Daily, the public is bombarded with violence, not only on television, but also in other media, such as newspapers and tabloids. Natural Born Killers, a prime example of violence in the media, is a movie about two lovers, Mickey and Mallory Knox, who go on a killing spree across the Southwest. The movie takes a satirical look at how the media romanticizes violent crimes. Natural Born Killers has sparked a lot of controversy, as seen in the opposing views of Richard Corliss and Richard A. Blake.
When Tyler 17 and TJ were running in the woods, they were trying not to hit anything weird like 18 snakes in the trees. When Tyler and TJ got to Lauren, there was someone chasing 19 her in the distance. So the three decided to go towards it. When the three got closer 20 they could make out what it was and it was a human figure. The figure got right up 21 to them and then they knew they were in trouble. It was Jason from Friday The 13th. 22 Tyler and TJ were smart they ran when they recognized him. Lauren stood there in 23 complete shock and shaking, but she wasn’t shaking much longer that’s because 24 Jason rose his chainsaw and cut her head right off. Now, he was off to find Tyler and 25 TJ, but little did he know Tyler and TJ saw the whole murder. They stood behind him 26 as he rose his headless body to look in the distance to find the two. Tyler and TJ 27 tackled Jason down to the ground punching and kicking Jason until he was knocked 28 out. The two boys tried to find help and were able to locate two chinese police 29 officer. When they got back to where they knocked out Jason, he was not there. The 30 four were looking around and all of sudden they heard a branch break. They got 31 scared and were freaking out. Then they heard a chainsaw start up. They knew 32 they were going to die now because no one could see where he was at and they 33 heard more branches
...usion, we find that from this essay we have a better understanding of why Stephen King believes all of us are mentally ill in some way, just maybe not to as high a degree as “Jack the ripper”. That we all enjoy the hunt either on the big screen or in a field, it’s part of our primal instincts. We see that humans crave things they are not supposed to and that’s ok as long as you are letting those emotions out in a healthy way. Stephen King has done a brilliant job of carrying out his thesis in this essay proving his theory that we are all mentally ill. We all need some way to release the dark feelings within us, we have all known this for many years, and movies seem to be the most current form of treatment. So treat yourself to a horror movie if you dare its great therapy.
“Why We Crave Horror Movies,” an essay by the legendary Stephen King, explains two challenging concepts to understand: why people like gory horror movies and how people are able to control their darkest desires. “I think that we’re all mentally ill; those of us outside the asylums only hide it a little better – and maybe not all that much better, after all.” King opens the essay by addressing the hard truth- we are all insane. People have dull lives, and often it’s the little bit of crazy within in us tha...
The only real way to truly understand a story is to understand all aspects of a story and their meanings. The same goes for movies, as they are all just stories being acted out. In Thomas Foster's book, “How to Read Literature Like a Professor”, Foster explains in detail the numerous ingredients of a story. He discusses almost everything that can be found in any given piece of literature. The devices discussed in Foster's book can be found in most movies as well, including in Quentin Tarantino’s cult classic, “Pulp Fiction”. This movie is a complicated tale that follows numerous characters involved in intertwining stories. Tarantino utilizes many devices to make “Pulp Fiction” into an excellent film. In this essay, I will demonstrate how several literary devices described in Foster's book are put to use in Tarantino’s film, “Pulp Fiction”, including quests, archetypes, food, and violence.
In fairy tales, children are pushed into ovens, have their hands chopped off, are forced to sleep in coal bins, and must contend with wolves who've eaten their grandmother. In myths, rape, incest, all manner of gruesome bloodshed, child abandonment, and total debauchery are standard fare. We see more of the same in Bible stories, accentuated with dire predictions of terrors and abominations in an end of the world apocalypse that is more horrifying than the human imagination can even grasp.
In John Grisham’s essay “Unnatural Killers” he weaves a story of two love-struck teens (Sarah Edmondson and Benjamin Darras) on a killing spree that claimed the lives of one of Grisham’s close personal friends (Bill Savage) and the mobility of another woman (Patsy Byers). Grisham claims that these teens were influenced by Oliver Stone’s film Natural Born Killers and that “there exists a direct causal link between the movie Natural Born Killers and the death of Bill Savage”(577). Even though I must concede some of Grisham’s points, I still think that, whether the movie (Natural Born Killers) had an influence on the two teens or not it’s still their personal choices to shoot those people. The blame should be laid on Darras and Edmondson because of their decisions, not Oliver Stone because of his movie’s possible influence.
Video games have been a rapidly expanding industry since their inception in the 1970s. Along with their growth have come concerns about violent video games and their effects on aggression and violence in young people. The endless numbers of school shootings have pushed this issue to the forefront. These events brought about the question: do violent video games induce aggression in youth? That’s the question I set out to answer by looking at research. The research shows that there is a link between playing video games and increases in aggression in adolescents. What implications does this fact have ethically? It means that video game producers and distributors need to be held responsible for their releases and the way they end up in the hands of kids.
According to Scott Anderson interview with Greg Ousley, the reason why young people commit crimes is because the environment that they live in. “I had been thinking about killing them every time I get mad,” he told his interrogator. “They don’t seem to understand me.” Indicative of either his youth or his mental state at that moment, Greg made a forlorn request of the detective: “Please don’t tell my family” (Anderson). Today teenagers are being abuse from their parents and are living in a negative homes and hanging out with misleading friends. The author of this article gives the main issue of the massacre which is his youth and mental anger issues. This states that the main problem is the lifestyle with his parents. Likewise in the article “Kids are Kids-Until They Commit Crimes” have a similarity about why their growth are not fully mature. It is a vexing question these days for under-eighteen crowd, the group we routinely write off as “only kids.” It’s why they can’t smoke, or drink, or go to R Movies without our OK. It’s is why they don’t vote. It’s why they have curfews. It’s why we fret over their Internet access and fuss about driving privileges” (Lunderstorm 45). Teenagers have restrictions about what they should not do every day in their lives. With this mindset, teenager have no other way, but to commit crimes to satisfy their needs and wants life. The reason why is since teenagers do not understand that they are committing crimes is because of their deficiency on thinking about the consequences and their actions. The reality is that juveniles are unintelligible on the decisions they