MARKETING VIOLENCE
Group Three:
Vince Carr, Anthony Connor, Brittany Loos, Scola
Lee, Jon Louro and Rachel Veneziano
CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS

Under the First Amendment of the Constitution
which states, “Congress shall make no law
respecting an establishment of religion, or
prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging
the freedom of speech, or of the press;…” the
media is protected.
WHAT IS MEDIA VIOLENCE?

“It ranges from cartoon slapstick to bloody
gore, and it’s in everything our kids watch
and play. If you’ve tried a T- or M-rated
video game lately, or seen a cop show or
music video, you’ve seen this kind of
violence. It’s in practically every form of
kids’ entertainment.”
(commonsensemedia.org)
AGE APPROPRIATE
“For 5- to 7-year-olds cartoon rough-and-tumble, slapstick,
and fantasy violence are okay, but violence that would
reasonably result in death or serious injury is too scary.
 8- to 10-year-olds can handle action-hero sword fighting or
gunplay as long as there’s no gore. Violence should have
consequences.
 For 11- to 12-year-old tweens, historical action is okay,
including battles, fantasy clashes, and duels. But close-ups of
gore or graphic violence (alone or combined with sexual
situations) aren’t recommended.
 Kids ages 13-17 can and will see shoot-’em-ups, blow-‘em-ups,
high-tech violence, accidents with disfigurement, or death,
anger, and gang fighting. Point out that the violence
portrayed hurts and causes suffering. And limit time exposure
to violence, especially in video games.
 No M-rated games for kids younger than 16 or 17. The kid
down the street may have the latest cop-killer game, but that
doesn’t mean it’s good for him. The ultra violent behavior,
often combined with sexual images, is not good for developing
brains.”
(commonsensemedia.org)

MEDIA DOESN’T CREATE VIOLENCE,
VIOLENCE CREATES THE MEDIA
Violence in the media is not a fabrication of
everyday life. It is a mirror image of societal
situations.
 Seeing regulation as a slippery slope of
censorship creates a mask, or smokescreen of
reality to it’s viewers.
 Many genres of entertainment depict from past
events throughout history.
For example: Saving Private Ryan, Pearl
Harbor and American Gangster.

AMERICAN YOUTH INFLUENCE
Five Influences That Affect Our Youth:
 Parents (62%)
 Friends (28%)
 Teachers (9%)
 Television (7%)
 Advertisements (4%)
The greatest influence is the parents.
RATING SYSTEMS AND THE V-CHIP

The media itself should not be blamed for all the
questionable and racy images that are put in
advertisements that make it to our youth.
There are very strict guidelines that the industry
must follow and most of these guidelines are
government monitored.
 The V-Chip is now monitored by the government.
Every show on television is rated and is in
accordance to v-chip specifications. It is a
programmable device that can block certain
programming from viewers.

MOTION PICTURE ASSOCIATION OF
AMERICA (MPAA)

Federal Communications Commission (FCC)

Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB)
MEDIA EXPOSURE
According to a 2001 U.S. surgeon General’s
Report, “the strongest risk factors of school
shootings centered on mental stability and the
quality of home life, not media exposure.”
 The overwhelming majority of kids who play do
NOT commit antisocial acts.
 The epidemic of youth violence has misdirected
energy away from eliminating the actual causes
of youth violence.

LOOPHOLES IN STUDIES
Most studies found correlation, not a causal
relationship, which means the research could
simply show that aggressive people like
aggressive entertainment.
 Studies are in laboratories, not in the actual
environment the person would be playing games
in.
 No research has found that video games are a
primary factor or that violent video game play
could an otherwise normal person into a killer.

LOOPHOLES CONT’D
Studies show that violent video games create
anti-social behavior. Almost 60% of frequent
gamers play with their friends. Also, XBOX Live
and Playstation network which both allow
gamers to interact on a global scale with other
gamers worldwide.
 International Journal of Liability and Scientific
Enquiry, Patrick Kierkegaard of the University
Of Essex, England explains, “there is no obvious
link between real-world violence statistics and
the advent of video games. The effect seems to be
an exact opposite and one might argue that video
games usage has reduced real violence.”

CONT’D.
Despite several high profile incidents in US
academic institutions, Kierkegaard states
“violent crime, particularly among the young, has
decreased dramatically since the early 1990’s.
While video games have steadily increased in
popularity and use.”
 In, 2005, there were 1,360,088 violent crimes
reported in the USA compared with 1,423,677 the
year before. “with millions of sales of violent
games, the world should be seeing an epidemic of
violence,” Kierkegaard says.

CHECK THE RATINGS!
Violent video games have shifted to an older age
group in the video game market.
 62% of the market is directed to 18 years old and
older.
 Parents ignore game ratings because they
assume that all games are appropriate for all
children.
 83% of game purchases for underage consumers
are made by parents.
 Parents need to educate themselves and set
ground rules for their children regarding leisure
activities.

FEDERAL COURT OF APPEALS

Judge Richard Posner says, “violence has always
been and remains a central interest of
humankind and a recurrent, even obsessive
theme of culture both high and low. To shield
children right up to the age of eighteen from
exposure to violent descriptions and images
would not only be quixotic, but deforming; it
would leave them unequipped to cope with the
world as we know it.”
REFERENCES




www.commonsensemedia.org
Gee, James. What Video Games Have to Tell Us
About learning and Literacy. New York: Palgrave,
2001.
Grossman, David. “Teaching Kids to Kill.” Phi Kappa
Phi Natural Forum 2000.
http://www.kilology.org/article_teachkid.htm
Heins, Marjorie. Brief Amica curiae Of Thirty Media
Scholars, submitted to the United States Court of
Appeals, Eight Circuit, Interactive Digital Software
Association et al vs. St. Louis County et al. 2002.
http://www.fepproject.org/courtbriefs/stlouissummary.
html