After reading “Violent Media Is Good for Kids” by Gerard Jones and “When Life Imitates Video” by John Leo, Both articles have opposing views on violent media for kids and use pathos and logos to persuade a readers reasoning on violent media. Gerard Jones believes that violent media is good to help children express their feelings and not hide them. John Leo believes that killing games can lead to violent behavior and possible imitation of what kids see in violent games such as Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris. There are many reasons why violent media can be good and bad for children and teens there really isn’t a right side. In “Violent Media Is Good for Kids” the author Gerard Jones tries persuading his readers on violent media and the reasons …show more content…
Once Gerard got to his thirty years of age he found himself writing action movies and comic books then even seeing his own creations being turned into action figures, cartoons, and computer games. Now Gerard Jones has a son and uses the same technique that helped him express his emotions. An example Gerard shows why violent media is good is with his son he was scared of climbing trees with his friends because he was scared of falling and afraid of centipedes crawling on the trunk of sharp branches.When Gerard Jones saw this he took it as his cue to help his son by reading him some Tarzan comics then “For two weeks he lived in them, Then put them aside, and climbed the tree”(Gerard Jones). Gerard’s son with the influence of some violent comic book was able to overcome fear of climbing a tree. Gerard then starts a research to make violent media look almost necessary to help some kids “to explore their inescapable feelings that they’ve been taught to deny, and to reintegrate those feelings into a more whole, more complex, more resilient selfhood”(Gerard Jones). A great meaning for Gerard is to help parents get to understand the importance of not limiting their children from violence because when you “try to protect our children from their own feelings and fantasies, we shelter them not against violence but against power and selfhood”(Gerard …show more content…
In the article John Leo talks on the Colorado massacre at Columbine high school in nineteen ninety-nine were Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris used pistol-grip shotguns “As in some video-games. The pools of blood, screams of agony, and pleas for mercy must have been familiar”(John Leo). The massacre was a tragic event having “two teens cackled and shouting”(John Leo) as if it were just a morbid killing video-game after killing innocent people. Then to end the massacre by ending their own lives by “shooting themselves in the head, the final act in the game Postal”(John Leo). This event awakened people to the seriousness on violent video games and the effect that it could have on anyone to influence them to do tragic things. John Leo believes that the “outlandish weapons, the cheering and laughing while hunting down victims one by one. All seems to reflect the style and feel of the video killing games they play so often.”(John Leo) the similarity of the killing games and actions taken in real life is too similar making people think that killing video games are the reasons for the shootings and massacres. John Leo also believes that violent video games can almost be as a dress rehearsal for some of the unstable kids that play these games obsessively and that don’t know the difference
The main purpose of the article written by Gerald Jones is to change the public perception of violent media for kids. He argues for this by saying violent media can actually have positive effects on young people because a violent media help the young people to gain self-knowledge and sense of potency through heroic combative storytelling. In addition to this, when young people are growing, watching a media action full pool of blood, killing, stabbing, screams of agony and pleas for mercy help them pull out of the emotional trap by plunging themselves into violent story. Jones also believes that violent media are a positive influence on children because pretend to have a superhuman power helps children defeat the feeling of impotent that inescapably
In his article “Violent Media Is Good For Kids,” comic book author Gerald Jones, claims that violent media such as comic books and cartoons can have a positive effect on our children because children use violent stories to meet their emotional and developmental needs. Jones argues against other people’s views that violent media will have a negative influence on children. Gerald Jones had many strengths in his article which helped support his argument and could possible make his argument effective. His strengths were mainly the use of emotional appeal like story telling and personal experiences to help convince his audience. While Jones’s essay started off strong, he only gave a few weaknesses like the lack of examples and how he only used one reference, his life, to justify his point of view which in the end did not help persuade the audience.
Violent media can help people conquer their fear and make them courageous. Jones argument is very effective and convincing because he gives good examples of the positives that violent media has done not only for him but also for his son. Jones explains how violent media can help kids overcome their fears and passiveness. For instance, Jones says that his son was scared of climbing a tree at school :“But he was afraid: of falling, of centipedes crawling on the trunk, of sharp branches, of his friends’ derision” (6). He later describes reading Tarzan to his son to help him get over his fear of climbing a tree. As a result of the Tarzan comics, his son got inspired and courageous and started climbing trees. He argues that not only do super hero stories tend to help kids overcome their fear, but also makes them courageous. According to Jones, violent media is good for kids because it helps them become courageous and also lets them immerse themselves in a world of their own.
From infancy onward, parents and teachers have drilled into the young generation that violence should be avoided at all costs. They have preached cooperation, tolerance, and “using one’s words” as tactics to combat difficult situations. Although those lessons are valid, Gerald Jones claims there is an alternative way. In his essay, “Violent Media is Good for Kids,” Jones argues that “creative violence- bonking cartoons, bloody videogames, toy guns-gives children a tool to master their rage” (Jones). In other words, media violence, used correctly, can serve as an alternative method for powering through adolescence. By reading and writing violent stories, children are able to express
Violent media; a strikingly relevant phenomenon millions are becoming captivated by. It’s everywhere you go, on your phone, the TV or on the computer. As much as people try to avoid it, they soon realize it’s ineluctable. Gerard Jones, a comic-book author, released a brief report, “Violent Media Is Good for Kids” that argued violent media is not only beneficial to children but also inspiring. He goes on to support his claim by sampling his own personal experiences. However, not all forms of violent media are necessarily helpful. Some are more preferable while others can harm them. To an extent, violent media can help children by helping them release built up emotions, learn lessons regarding the real world, as well as create something for themselves.
Violent Media is Good for Kids, by Gerald Jones; a persuasive article written by a comic book author that analyzes how exposing children to violent media has positive effects in shaping a person. This article was written as a counter-argument to the negative response media received after a horrific mass shooting that took place at a high school. Jones defends violent media by telling of his own personal experience with it, thus glorifying it in the process. Jones argues in his article that violent media is a helpful resource for children and it does not necessarily harm them. Jones’ argument was effective and very convincing. He defends his stance by continuously stating the positives that violent media has had not only on him, but his own son as well.
“Violent Media is Good for Kids” is an article which makes many claims to support the argument that a controlled amount of violence could be good for a developing child. Even though this article is controversial the claims serve to support the argument. Throughout the analyzing process logos, ethos, and pathos are searched for and scrutinized. The rhetorical strategies are what makes a paper effective or not. In this case the author uses, what I believe, is just the correct amount of each and fulfills his goal for writing the article. Although this article is written more as a story it still provides information backing up the argument.
Many parents seek to have children’s literature which contains violence removed or banned from all access to young children. They complain that the subject matter of these books is too much for children to handle. The parents do this as they believe it to be a form of protection from the dangerous world we live in. they know all too well that what is expressed in the books is happening in reality.by reading these violent books it evokes a sense of fear or the need to harm oneself or others. Therefore stopping the chance of them reading these books is shielding them from the hurt and pain which it is associated with. Literature and media are the main reasons for violence in the
Common sense seems to dictate that, because the media today primarily focuses on portraying acts of aggression and violence, it has been seen that young children often mirror and imitate such actions. In the book Contemporary & Classic Arguments, Psychologist Melanie Moore and comic author Gerard Jones write an article titled, “Violent Media is Good for Kids” and examine this relationship between violent media and its effects on children. They state, “For the past three years she and I have been studying the ways in which children use violent stories to meet their emotional and developmental needs- and the ways in which adults can help them use those stories healthily.”(Jones pg.78) The essence of Moore and Gerald’s argument is that kids need this type of entertainment to maintain a healthier lifestyle. Not only does it make children vigorous but it also helps them develop: emotionally, intellectually, socially, and
In the writing of Gerard Jones “Violent Media is Good for Kids” is very interesting essay in which he describes how violent media can help kids to overcome obstacles, but whether it is convincing or not, I am not truly sure because the way the essay is written is biased. Jones as writer is making this controversial topic to gain more audience to read his writings, in addition, this essay fails in detail, it needs more statistics to support the examples that Jones addresses in his essay. Also, we need more information about what is the opinion of parents of these kids that believed violet media is good so, we need the statistics of the studies of the psychologist that support the idea of good
Gerard Jones is the author of the essay “Violent Media Is Good for Kids”. This essay is a very interesting piece about how violent media can actually help young kids get through stressful points in their life. I truly enjoyed reading this piece and it was very entertaining, but it didn't really convince me that violent media is good for young kids. I have two reasons why the author didn't convince me. The first is statistics, he didn't use any data or studies on the subject , and the second reason was the types media.
In our class book Practical Argument, I chose “Violent Media is Good for Kids” by Gerard Joneson page 36. In this article Jones states and tries to prove that violent media is undeniably good for children. He challenges this by saying what he believes also how he grew up too passive because he was sheltered from the media. Upon hearing that the media has "lofty messages of pacifism and tolerance" (par.2), his mother had borrowed some comics for him to read. After reading the comics, he said that he followed Hulk for a while then switched to "more sophisticated heroes", in (par. 3) and "finally found my own lead along a twisting path to a career and an identity." (par. 3) Later on, his son
In the article, “Violent Media Is Good for Kids”, the author, Gerard Jones, begins by providing background information about himself. As a child, Jones was taught that violence was wrong, and as he grew up, he learned that violent comics and stories aided him to become an action movies and comic book writer. In his article, the author addresses why violent media are good for children. He points out that it helps them transform better socially, explore and conquer their feelings, and improves self-knowledge. Jones purpose is to inform readers about the positive use of violent media on children. The author uses rhetorical appeals of pathos and ethos, and stylistic techniques such as allusions and repetitions to create his argument.
“Violent Media is Good for Kids,” written by Gerard Jones, is an interesting argument about the positive aspects of violent media. He has narrated his own experience as a child about the impact of violent media. Jones has further developed his argument to convince parents about the importance of violent media by noting that exposing kids to violent media helps the kids to overcome their fear. Jones is focused on parents and teachers, both of whom restricts the exposure of kids to violent media. He also notes the skeptical thinking, which argues that violent media have a negative impression on kids. His argument is catchy and strong based on his own realizations of the world and experience. Let us discuss how he has made the argument realistic.
In the book Critique of Violence ,author Walter describes Violence as "The intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against oneself, another person, or against a group or community, which either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, male development, or deprivation .The violence that is portrayed in the media has been debated for decades ,and it has rose a question about how does it influence the youth?. From movies to video games society has been accustom to seeing violence in their everyday entertainment. Since children are easy to be influence by their environment, it is safe to say that violence in the media can and will contribute to violent behavior.