The goal of this paper is to demonstrate that Susan Hurley’s idea of changing the protection that violent media receives in light of the first amendment is not justifiable. It begins with a general outline of Hurley’s claim on violent entertainment. It will then focus more closely on the reasons why it is unjustifiable to limit this form of entertainment by showing the importance of free speech in a free society. Lastly, it will question the “empirical data” that Hurley uses to defend her claim. Hurley claims that violent entertainment causes violent behavior that harms third parties and should therefore involve stricter exposure regulations. This claim tackles the controversial question of how much authority are citizens giving to their …show more content…
Hurley’s point on imitation is to showcase the power that mere exposure can have on a person.
Secondly, Hurley addresses the empirical data that supports her above claim. She believes that academics have efficiently addressed any questions regarding causation verse correlation. She states with a confident tone the direct causation of exposure to violent images and violent behaviors. According to her gathered research, “over 1000 studies point overwhelmingly to a casual causation between media violence and aggressive behaviors in some children” (pg. 177). She combines that with the tendency of humans to imitate to furthermore back up her claim, “human beings have a distinctly strong tendency to full-fledged imitation of intentional behavior, including novel means as well as novel goals” (pg.183). Her point was to demonstrate the raw evidence that supports her claim.
Finally, she talks about the freedom of speech with regards to the evidence stated. According to political philosopher John Stuart Mill, it is the government’s obligation to protect its citizens from preventable harm. Hurley explains, “prevention of such harm to third parties provides a strong reason (or “compelling interest”) for liberal government to interfere with violent entertainment” (pg. 189). Hurley suggests re-evaluating the current value that society gives
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
Sissela Bok opens a controversial topic on violence as entertainment which explores the effect of the increasing of violence both in fiction and in real life. Not only do films, television shows, and video games evidence an escalating level of graphic violence, but daily news of war and other human brutality are as bad as well. As less time pass on doing physical activities and an increase in using electronic devices as increases, particularly by teens, there is growing concern about a possible link between violence viewing content and actual behavior. Bok draws a balanced image, naming some possible benefits from violence. One of the benefits could be the redirection of human physical and verbal aggression and the confrontation of fears in
Violent media exposure of children or adults to violent media is a cause of aggression and violent behavior has been one of the most intensely debated issues in criminal justice and the broader populace. Concern have come and gone that media such as comic books, as well as television and movies, would lead to waves of rebelliousness, violence, and moral degradation. Sherry
In Gerard Jones' essay “Violent Media is Good for Kids,” he argues a position not taken by many in today's culture. Jones advocates children should be exposed to violent media in order to overcome real life hardships. The problem with Jones' argument arise when he fails to develop his somewhat dated ideas and leaves his audience questioning how effective such exposure would be.
In 2000, Pulitzer-winning journalist Richard Rhodes published an article titled “The Media Violence Myth,” through the “American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression,” a liberal establishment dedicated to the protection of the First Amendment right to free speech. Despite coming from a background plagued with violence and abuse, Rhodes has studied nuclear history and weapons use for over 20 years and has developed a unique opinion about the media’s effect on public violence. In “The Media Violence Myth,” Rhodes aims to convince his readers that the media does not contribute to violence through its portrayal. He attempts this in discrediting his key opponent, Dave Grossman, through ad hominem, red herrings, and violent diction. These
The argument of what children should be able to watch is a very controversial one. With media access so obtainable these days, violent media is practical everywhere. Many writers take a stand on this, and give an opinion of how the matter should be handled. Gerard Jones and John Leo both argue their case on how the approach towards how the situation should be handed. Jones argues that violent media is good for children, since it gives them a way to escape the harsh reality; however, Leo argues that violent media is a main source for many of the disturbing acts that have happened lately. Based of Jones’ writings that provides personal experiences over opinion such as Leo’s writing, parents should take the incentive towards allowing children
Violent media has been proven time and time again over the past 60 years to cause increased aggression in children and young adults. The long term and short term exposure to violent media has been shown to cause “increased feelings of hostility, expectations that others will behave aggressively, desensitization to the pain of others, and increased likelihood of interacting and responding to others with violence” (Committee on Public Education). One of the most famous experiments done on the subject was done in 1961 by the psychologist Albert Bandura at Stanford University. In this experiment children between the ages of three and six were put in a playroom containing a many activities and toys (Cherry). One of those toys was a bobo doll; a 5 foot tall inflatable doll. An adult would enter and either play with the child from a complete ten minutes, the control group, or at some point during those ten minutes begin beating up the doll, the experimental group. They would also say things such as “pow” and “he keeps coming back for more” while attacking it (Cherry).
In Los Banos Community, I am pleasingly surprised that so many people are willing to help others. The Empty Bowls Organization celebrates 25 Years anniversary (Empty Bowls, n.d.). In the Empty Bowl fundraiser, participants receive the bowl that was created by community volunteers (children, school students, and adults) after they share a simple meal of soup together (Spevak, 2014). People appreciate the bowls and grace of the volunteers. “ In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16). The Empty of Bowl is a wonderful gathering event because they share the moment of good deeds, have cheerful time together, and are helping the others. Essentially, children
Since the beginning of time, there has been violence. However, recently society has been putting the blame on media such as movies, television, literature, video-games and music. This blame placing became very relevant in 1985 when Parents Music Resource Center was founded as a way to ban, restrict or censor media that was found to not only be inappropriate, but was also apparently the cause of violence in America’s youth. While some still agree that media is the sole reason behind the increase in drug usage, suicide and murder, that is not the case.
The existence of Moses and his role in the early history of Israel is the subject of long-standing disputes. The first doubts about the historicity of Moses and the reliability of his life story surface the Middle Ages. At that time, a number of historians and biblical scholars argued that Moses was nothing but a mythological figure. They noted that the ancient written sources and archaeological sites did not contain any details about Moses. In the meantime, their opponents agreed on the shortage of historical monuments, but they believed that Exodus and Moses himself would have had minimal chances of being reflected and found in the monuments of the Bronze and Early Iron Ages. However, both sides came to the agreement that the narratives about Moses were preceded by a long oral tradition which could alter, reinterpret, distort, or supplement the original texts and stories.
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.
There have been many theories as to why the American Civil War was fought. The North had its ' reasons and so did the South, but the politically correct reason of slavery is not the only factor. The war also was fought for economic reasons that effected both side of this conflict. Secretary of State William Seward said in 1858, “On one side are those who believe the war had fundamental causes, that the North and South faced an "irrepressible conflict,"
Nowadays, it is hard to turn on a television program, catch a movie or buy your younger sibling a video game without encountering a warning for extreme violence. Everyday, our lives are exposed to violence on the screen, whether it is in the latest Sopranos episode or even watching the six o'clock news. For quite a while now, people have been demanding that stricter censorship be placed on the media, especially those programs and video games that can easily be obtained by the youth, due to their feelings that this violence can influence people to "act out". However, this is not a new idea. Back in ancient Greece, the philosopher Plato believed that exposure to the emotions of the arts
In today’s world, there is an endless amount of information available to people everywhere around the globe. Mass media is definitely shaping our world, whether it is in a positive way or a negative way. Television and the radio waves provide us with hours of entertainment. The emergence of the Internet allows us to access thousands of pages of information within the reach our very own fingertips. But with the convenience of all this information comes along a certain level of responsibility. As a society, we Americans must decide what is appropriate information and entertainment for the masses to access and enjoy. But does today’s society give too much leeway in what it thinks as “appropriate?” Does increased
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.