Media Portrayal of Sex and Violence - Research Paper Example

Media Violence and Sex Introduction Media portrayal of sex and violence can be disadvantageous for the public and results in a number of ethical issues. For many years, different forms of media utilize these two aspects to create excitement and meaning out of their work. Media is responsible for entertaining, informing and educating the public about different features of social life. Despite the detrimental aspects of media, it is extremely instrumental in human advancement. There is an urgent need to address media’s responsibility towards society to make the media a viable fit in the modern world. Sex and violence in media have increased to a very large extent ever since the inception of modern technologies. A different perspective is needed in order to extract a sense of reality out of films and movies. This vice has also been spreading to various forms of print media such as magazines and periodicals (Fedorov, 57). The blatant approach of presenting sex and violence by media has been coming under heavy criticism. For instance, the following quote might explain better - “in 1968, the Supreme Court held in Ginsberg v. New York that material not deemed obscene for adults may nonetheless be considered obscene with respect to minors” (Kotrla, 50). Parents and guardians around the world argue that influence of media can structure the moral views of the future world. There is little tolerance for sex and violence among parents, and so media needs to consider making changes. The current generation of children can imbibe unethical behaviour from the lessons they acquire from the media and consider such behavior as normal. A more subtle approach towards portraying these vices is necessary to secure a bright future for children. In addition, children need education on how to view sex and violence portrayed in the media to protect them from harmful impacts (Kotrla, 51). Background The root of media sex and violence can be found in the 1950s movies. It was during this period that movies were introduced to the public. Helped by technological progress, majority of the initial films were documentaries and action movies that would appeal to the public. The films would follow definite formats and provide entertainment to general audiences. With media becoming a profitable venture, heavy investments resulted in enhanced quality of films. According to Fedorov, with growing demand for reality in quality of movies, the inception of real life concepts such as sex and violence became inevitable (Fedorov, 38). Ever since media has been synonymous with providing information, entertainment or education in realistic fashion, there have been numerous laws and regulations in the United States that protect and govern the media. This is because television and movies are major sources of entertainment for the young generation. To protect the youth, these regulations allow different forms of media to incorporate varying levels of sex and violence. However, media has also come under siege regarding different litigation cases against some of them. For instance, movie makers in the United States have been subjected to court room battles to retain the identity and originality of their films for depicting sex and violence (Meganck, 50). However, modern forms of media use number of measures to prevent the influence of sex and violence. For instance, it is now necessary for all movies depicting these themes to restrict their viewership. For example, movies with sex and violence have to highlight this fact at the beginning and put an age restriction for viewers. The most common are parental advisory messages that prevent young children from viewing such films. Similarly, it is illegal in some states to sell print media with nudity or violence to under age children (Gauntlett, 90). Such needs for censorship “are not motivated solely by morality and taste, but also by the widespread belief that exposure to images of violence causes people to act in destructive ways” (ACLU). Causes The main reason for the perpetuation of sex and violence through media is to retain the reality effect. For several years, movie viewers and the entertainment industry have been complaining regarding qualities of films. One of the most immediate strategies is adopting technological advancements for improving the scope and reach of the media. However, incorporation of real life social vices adds spice to the quality of films. These elements appeal mostly to teenage viewers, the group that movie producers most want to capture. Evidences have suggested that “producers of movie previews tend to emphasize what this (teenage) demographic is thought to enjoy – namely sexual and violent portrayals” (Oliver et al., 597). This principle also works in the same way for the various types of print media. There are many magazines in circulation with nudity, violence and discrimination. Such overuse of these vices in the entertainment and information industry is resulting from the effort of maintaining reality effect. In fact, large sections of communities demand to oversee changes in media because of the direct approach used to communicate messages. With growing viewership, “the company may prefer a program that concentrates on sex, action, and violence, which have a visceral impact that attracts many viewers in the target age group” (Folkerts & Lacy, 265). The urgent need to upgrade the levels of entertainment is responsible for the perpetuation of sex and violence in media. The internet offers an insight into the levels of sex and violence in the community. Free access of internet allows potential harmful content to reach all sections of the public. Therefore, in order to survive the competition generated by internet, media has to ensure that it can provide information that has universal appeal (Jones, 9). Such efforts of the media to attract viewers of all ages can have a devastating impact on a large segment of the population. As of 2012, in the US 20 percent of households that were married couples had children below the age of eighteen (Vespa et al., 1). Therefore, it is extremely important for media to reduce portrayals of violence and sex. Media’s effort to perpetuate social vices reduces the moral sensitivity and ethical standards of the young viewers. The profound influence of media creates different levels of segregation. The harmful information that media is conveying is adversely shaping the society and negatively influencing the psychology of youth. A majority of the children will grow up with their behaviours influenced by the lessons they acquire from the media (Felson, 104). According to a 15 year long survey conducted by University of Michigan, aggressive and violent behaviour in children caused by watching TV can continue in their adulthood. In another 17 year long survey it was found that violent acts are more common in teenage boys who have watched excessive TV than those who have not (Boyse, 2010). Recommendations As part of responsibility towards the young viewers, media has many options to reduce the impact of sex and violence on the public. First, it should employ strong viewership restrictions on entertainment and information with instances of sex and violence. These measures should demand the user to be accountable according to their age before viewing movies with inappropriate content. It will help to reduce the number of youth with access to media that can adversely affect their behaviour. Enforcing appropriate restrictions will eventually reduce the popularity of movies with sex and violence (Jones, 45). With less number of movies made on these subjects, the young generation will be spared from watching these vices on the screen. Thus, negative impacts from such movies can be reduced on the youth who heavily indulge their time in watching movies. Similarly, media can also create definite conduits that will have association with sex and violence. It means that only specific business enterprises will create these types of shows or print media. This completely eliminates the presence of social vices in majority of the media that is accessible to the public. Media should be more accountable in the message it offers to the rest of the public to ensure that it does not adversely affect the behaviours of society (Fedorov, 67). The government also needs to initiate efforts in regulating the content that airs in the media. Government restriction will have more impact than any efforts from society. This is why there are some laws and regulations that protect the media from persecution, and changes in these regulations will go a long way into reducing instances of sex and violence. Conclusion Radical changes are necessary in order to ensure society is ethical and respectable. “As for reducing the aggression-promoting effect of media violence, research is just beginning to explore mediation strategies that can be used by parents and teachers” (Cantor, 7). Media shapes the attitudes and opinions of the public depending on the message they portray. They can inject different negative sentiments in society such as segregation and discrimination through their choice of message. Excessive sex and violence will prompt society to do the same, and it can be bear risk for various communities. The media is extremely influential in determining the behaviours and characters of the members of society. The major stakeholders of media also have to remember that people who bear larger part of the brunt are the young members of society. A pragmatic approach towards depicting sex and violence to the public needs to be adopted so that media can help in creating a more stable and ethical community. Works Cited ACLU. “Freedom of Expression in the Arts and Entertainment”, ACLU, February 27, 2002, August 5, 2014 from: https://www.aclu.org/free-speech/freedom-expression-arts-and-entertainment Boyse, Kyle. “Television and Children”. Univ. of Michigan. August 2010, August 2, 2014 from: http://www.med.umich.edu/yourchild/topics/tv.htm Cantor, Joanne. The Psychological Effects of Media Violence on Children and Adolescents, Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin, 2002. Fedorov, Alexander. Children and Media Violence: Comparative Analysis, Saarbrucken, Germany: Lambert Academic Publishing, 2010 Felson, Richard. “Mass Media Effects On Violent Behavior”, Annual Review of Sociology, 22 (1996) 103–28 Folkerts, Jean & Lacy, Stephen. The Media in your life: An introduction to mass communication, 3rd ed., New Delhi: Pearson Education, 2006 Gauntlett, David. Moving Experiences, second edition: Media Effects and Beyond, London: John Libbey, 2005 Jones, Gerard. Killing monsters: why children need fantasy, super heroes and make-believe violence, New York: Basic Books, 2002 Kotrla, Bowie. “Sex and Violence: Is Exposure to Media Content Harmful to Children?” The Journal of the Association for Library Service to Children, 5.2 (2007) 50-52 Meganck, Shana. Sex and Violence in Advertising, Richmond: Virginia Commonwealth University, 2007 Oliver, Mary Beth et al. “Sexual and violent imagery in movie previews: Effects on viewers’ perceptions and anticipated enjoyment”, Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 51.4 (2007) 596-614 Vespa, Jonathan, Lewis, Jamie M. & Kreider, Rose M. “America’s families and living arrangements: 2012”, U.S. Census Bureau, August 2013, August 5, 2014 from: http://www.census.gov/prod/2013pubs/p20-570.pdf Read More