Violence In Media And Music

My topic is violence in the media and music. Violence in media and music is extremely common in the world today. From video games to music videos, derogatory language, shootings, and promiscuous behavior are all just some of the images leading to violent behavior. This topic is considered controversial today because of the audience that is most engaged by these images, children. By the mere age of eighteen years old, the average American child would have viewed about 200,000 violent acts, just on T.V. alone. While the average child, ages 8-18, spend an average of 6 Ð... hours daily watching T.V., listening to music, and playing video games, the effect of these images on the children are astonishing.

From rap sensation Eminem to pop star diva Britney Spears, parents are outraged by the lyrical expression and personal lifestyles of these music idols today. According to a new study by American Psychological Association, "Songs with violent lyrics increase aggression related thoughts and emotions and this effect is directly related to the violence in the lyrics." With singers with lyrics suggesting sex, drugs, and violence, making such an impact on children's lives, it is definitely a problem today.

It all started in the 1950's, when music conformed from a mainstream blues and jazz to a new shocking genre of music, rock and roll. Rock and roll was started by teenagers in the 1950's trying to rebel from the soft adult sounds of the music thus far. Rock and roll brought along a new era of music. In the 1950's, sex, drugs, and crime were hinted by songs such as "Wake up Little Susie" by Paul Simon and "Great Balls of Fire" by Jerry Lee Lewis. From then on music began to express topics disliked by the adult community.

Today, songs such as Akon's "I Wanna F#$% You" and underground music artist Immortal Techniques' "Dance With The Devil" where he tells the story of a young man who rapes and kills his own mother are accepted by children everywhere as music they feel they can somewhat relate to. Music like this seems to be what is "cool" and most listened to. In Eminem's "Stan" it tells a story of a boy obsessed with the music artist's lyrics and way of life that he eventually kills himself and his pregnant wife, such as Eminem does in his other songs such as "Kim". It is unfortunate that in the world today things like this do not only happen in song. The violence encouraged by these songs have led children to be motivated to do deviant acts, such as the murder of 8 year old Maddie Clifton by 14 year old Joshua Philips in Jacksonville. Artists also give an entrance to the world of women that are used for sex and sex only. Britney Spears' "I'm A Slave 4 You" actually shows that Britney herself is giving herself to a man for sexual advantage. It's not enough that rappers such as 50 Cent write songs such as "Pornostar" and Game's "Wouldn't Get Far" expressing that if women "would keep there legs closed, it would be just a waste of time." Drugs are also a big part of the music industry today. Whether artists are getting arrested for smoking marijuana to singing about it blatantly, such as Sean Paul's "Legalize It", drugs are something that children see everyday.

Today, music is not the only aspect that encourages violence, sex, and drugs in the world. Something that seems as an innocent as a video game or movie can send out an even stronger message then music itself. Video games that show cartoon characters that look to be acceptable to children and may even be the acceptable "E" rating, may even have messages and images that are way too dreadful for a child to understand. Kimberly M. Thompson states that "35 of the 55 E-rated (for "Everyone") video games (64%) reviewed contained at least one act of violence against another character." "E" rated video games suggest that there is minimal violence in the games, but it seems that there is much more that expected. If video games that are "E" rated express violence, you can only imagine what a child would encounter in an "M" or mature rated video game. The "E" rated game Centipede shows 23.76 deaths per minute. An "M" game such as "Scarface" shows all three disliked aspects, sex, drugs, and violence. Just like in the movie, you can play as Tony Montana and curse, kill, and do and sell as much cocaine as your heart desires.

Children's movies today are also guilty of these three unaccepted topics. In a study by Harvard, "The "G" in G-rated movies does not necessarily mean "good for kids." While researching 74 current animated movies, researchers found that at least one act of violence was found. If again, "G" rated movies are found acceptable today, you can imagine what a child would see in a current "R" rated movie