Monday, February 16, 2009

Overview

Almost every form of media has attracted criticism for allegedly glorifying violence. From comic books, which underwent strict regulation in the 1950s after the book Seduction of the Innocent by Dr. Frederic Wertham linked them to juvenile delinquency, to violent video games, which have been under fire for possibly contributing to certain infamous school shootings, almost every form of entertainment popular with young people has been deemed a corrupting influence by detractors.

But is this truly the case? In a word where the latest Grand Theft Auto sells millions of copies worldwide, can one truly link highly prevalent media to extremely rare instances of murder? Does the continuing presence of violence in the media truly diminish people's abilities to distinguish fantasy from reality?

Hopefully, through this research, I will be able to come to a conclusion as to whether or not the claims of the media corrupting youth have any merit to them.

3 comments:

  1. Your topic sounds very interesting. Your profile and accompanying profile picture are very interesting also :)

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  2. I am really interested in learning more about the connection between media violence and real violence in society. It is really interesting to me to see that many people associate the root of certain acts of violence with video games and comic books while other people mark them up to mere coincidence.

    I really like this topic, because I think the information to be gained from your research will be not only useful and important but interesting to read, as well.

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  3. Your topic is very interesting. I have played games like grand theft auto myself and I can see how people can think that these games can cause violence by young people.
    The idea that comic books could have a negative impact on someone in a violent way is somehow amusing to me. However in the 1950s it must have been realistic.

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