Coping with Media Violence - Research Paper Example

Coping with Media Violence Barker, Martin. Ill Effects: The Media/Violence Debate. London: Routledge, 2001. In the book III Effects: The Media/Violence Debate the author questions the merits of some of the arguments that have attempted to connect real-time crime to the effects of violent media. The book examines cinema, rock music, and television as some of the most common types of media that are usually linked to violent influences in the world. Case examples such as the Columbine High School mass killings are explored in light of the possible influences of the media. The book makes the point that the often assumed link between violence in the media and character influences are largely based on assumptions. According to the central line of the argument, there are no hard facts that could be used to connect the two variables in a direct and deductive causal association. However, this book does not expressly deny the possible influence of violent media to the character malfunctioning of individuals. Instead, the book trains specific focus on some of the alternative perspectives within which the question of the media and its influence could be assessed. In sum, the book reads like a critique of some of the loosely held assumptions, which fail to make conclusive facts on the relationship between violent media and the impact on individuals. Particularly, the author suggests a renewed focus on the sublime ways in which people relate to media images. This book is particularly resourceful for this study because it explores the subject matter from an angle that is mostly neglected in the dominant themes about violent media. As such, the study could be used to fill in the gaps of literature, propositions, suppositions, and findings of the study in order to achieve a comprehensive assessment of the study. Boyle, Karen. Media and Violence: Gendering the Debates. London: SAGE, 2004. Boyle’s book trains its focus on the processes involved in the production distribution and reception of violent content in the media. The book explores the consumption patterns of violent media. The importance of this study should be assessed from the fact that it breaks into discourses of gender and ethics. The author uses insightful debates to develop content regarding the impact of the media in a manner that expands the understanding of the dynamics of violent media. Boyle makes a determined effort to include a range of discourses within the broad subject of violent media. Understanding the chain of movement involved in the production and consumption of violent media content will furnish some resourceful linkages with the common assumptions that have been developed about the study. On this score, it becomes appropriate to develop a more detailed and comprehensive approach in studying the effects of violent media on the consuming society. This resource will enrich the research by providing potent examples that could be used to enrich case analyses. Cefrey, Holly. Coping with Media Violence. New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, 2001. Cefrey’s book explores the extent of exposure to violent media by growing children. The high rate of exposure, according to the author has denied the children opportunities to participate in other issues that might be used to enrich their lives. They cannot engage in meaningful activities because of the high levels of attachment to media violent. The author examines the multiple ways through, which the society could minimize the exposure of children to violent media. This study supplies important ideas that could be used to expand the theoretical underpinnings of the study. This study suggests that the levels of psychological damage resulting from exposure to violent media are determined by comparisons between different variables. It is important to assess points of connection between the cause and effect of violent media in light of the emotional challenges that afflict young people in the modern environment. Although the author does not provide sufficient case examples, this resource is largely useful in supplying the appropriate kind of information for developing further studies into the subject. Freedman, Jonathan, L. Media Violence and Its Effect on Aggression: Assessing the Scientific Evidence. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2002. The study by Freedman contests the widely held view that violence in the media contributes to aggression and violence among viewers. The study relies on various scientific studies, which challenge the place of violence in the society as a consequence of violent media. Freedman provides statistics, which appear to challenge the facts regarding the presumed causal relationship between violent media and violent conduct on the part of the viewers. The author attributes violence in the society to multiple issues that create tension between people. The author challenges the dominant themes that are usually based on common sense assumptions, but which fail to stand the test of empirical evidence. This study marks an important rebuttal point that could be used to assess the thesis of the research from a different perspective. Gentile, Douglas, A. Media Violence and Children: A Complete Guide for Parents and Professionals. New York: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2003. Gentile’s book explores the effects of media violence on children from a comprehensive perspective that includes television, video games, music, film, the internet and other media outlets, which are frequently used by children. This study confirms the fact that the violence in the media has a devastating effect on the growth and emotional development of children. The study associates aggressive behaviour among children with media violence. The images, according to the studies and statistics explored by the author, has negative psychological consequences for the growing children. This study will be resourceful to the subject of media violence because it backs up some of the well known claims with resourceful statistics. Kirsh, Steven, J. Children, Adolescents, and Media Violence: A Critical Look at the Research. London: SAGE, 2006. Kirsh’s book focuses on the impact of violent media on adolescents. This book builds on, and expands the perspectives adopted by other studies that have identified adolescents as the most vulnerable groups of negative media images, particularly those that portray violence. The book identifies adolescents as impressionable humans who seek examples and role models as they grapple with the transformations that work under their identities. This study identifies the media as a virtual environment, which contributes significantly to the development process of young adults. Generally, this book seeks to provide some compelling evidence of the scale of mental disorientation, which occurs mostly due to negative media influences. It is important to consider the arguments presented by the author in light of the challenges in the interventionist measures that have been explored in multiple studies. The author trains some significant effort on the impact of the media on some of the issues that affect the general developmental processes. One of the key points that the author makes is that the application of the most appropriate methodologies in researching on the impact of violent media on children will enable a better understanding of the link points and problematic matters that attend to the subject. Nagle, Jeanne. Violence in Movies, Music, and the Media. New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, 2008. Nagle’s focus on media violence begins with an explanation of the concept of media violence and proceeds to offer important insights into the historical occurrence and development of violence in the media. The author examines the manner in which this violence manifests across various types of media including television, film and the internet. Further, the author attempts to analyze some of the negative consequences of the media violence to vulnerable consumers. A historical analysis of the problem will help in determining the course of progress and the changing nature of the challenge that applies in different contexts. According to the author, the impact of the violent media on the young people is multiple and varied. This study supplies important insights into specific aspects of media violence. It opens up new ways and methods of engaging with the subject such that it becomes possible to connect the underlying thread that seeks to unite the cause and effect of violent media in the society. For instance, the author provides some of the measures and solutions that could be considered in minimizing the impact of the problem. As such, it will prove resourceful in contributing to the central concerns of the study. Neamtu, Silvia. Youth Crime - Automatic Behaviour and Media Violence. New York: GRIN Verlag, 2010. Neamtu begins by assessing the position adopted by many scholars and analysts regarding the subject of violence in the media and its corresponding impact on the levels of aggressiveness of the consumers. The book targets this question specifically at children and young adults, who are usually considered as the most vulnerable to any negative influences of the media. This study equally exonerates the media from generalized and unexamined positions that seek to link it with the negative psychological impacts on the consumers of violent images and messages. The author explores the concept of automatic theory as a matter of connection between the variables. The literature explored in this study explores some of the weaknesses of the dominant arguments that seek to illustrate the details of the association between the variables. It is important to consider some of the arguments considered by the author in light of some of the arguments developed by the argument. This book explores some salient features of violent discourse as they apply within the broad context of the media and its impact on the general society. A deeper engagement with some of the issues that relate the general topic of relationship between violent media and the impact on the consumers will help in providing more dimensions on the general subject. Alternative theories of media influence are explored with the objective of determining the possible grey areas in the field of study. On this core, this book will help the research in developing deeper insights into all other factors in order to expose the points of strengths and weaknesses as they apply to the subject matter. Read More