Hate Violence Turn it off by Tim Goodman - Essay Example

"Hate Violence? Turn it off!" by Tim Goodman Violence is a necessary fact of life yet it is something that not everyone is attracted to. In his essay "Hate Violence? Turn It Off!" author Tim Goodman deals with some of the misconceptions regarding violence and television and he offers some suggestions on how to fix the problem. The thesis of this essay is that there is an off button on the television for people who do not like to witness violence. Goodman supports his argument by stating that parents are part of the problem for not taking responsibility, there are tools to control content on television, and television is not the problem in our society and is used as a scapegoat.

Goodman reiterates his thesis statement throughout his essay to make sure that his argument is easy enough to understand and his reasoning simple enough to follow. The social context of this essay is applicable to almost anyone, from young children to concerned adults. While this essay seems to be meant for children, in actual fact Goodman is trying to get through to parents because he knows they are in a position to enforce change in the family home. Goodman used logical arguments that parents would understand, but even more important was the fact that he did not go overboard by criticizing parents too much.

The author tried to steer parents away from complaining about violence on television to a local official and instead use the remote to take control back of the television. I feel that Goodman did make a good choice for the intended audience and purpose of this assignment because if he had missed the mark then he may have made people resent his argument. The writer used a clear structure to his essay with three distinct supporting arguments. More importantly, Goodman continually stressed the overall purpose of the essay after every couple of paragraphs so that the reader did not forget what the argument was.

Goodman used tone and language that was necessary for parents of young kids to hear. He tried to get on their side by pointing out that complaining about it won't actually do anything and they should be the ones to make a change rather than telling others to change. Goodman quite rightfully states that some people prefer to watch violence on television, and those people should not have their rights taken away just because someone else doesn't like it. Instead, we all have the choice to watch or not watch so it really comes back to us.

Overall, this essay by Tim Goodman removes some of the misunderstandings regarding violence on television and completely diffuses the issue by recommending that parents start to take responsibility. Instead of deflecting blame to others, we need to be responsible for our own choices. Goodman argues that there is an off button on the remote if we don't like violence on television, and he supports this argument by saying that parents should be more responsible, there are ways to prevent violence shows from playing on your television screen, and television is used as a scapegoat for violence.