Effects of Mass
Media Part II
Case Study: Columbine
 Actions:
CBS pulled an episode
of Promised Land due to a plot
about the shooting at a Denver
school
 WB
postpones an episode of
Buffy the Vampire Slayer with a
schoolyard massacre
 Marilyn Manson’s April 30 concert
in Denver is cancelled
 Nickelodeon
created a new intro
to a special on senseless violence
that had been created for
previous school shootings, and
began to offer free dubs to all
schools interested in obtaining
copies
 MTV
offered to create more
programming that would grapple
with tough issues for high school
kids
Words
 Steve
Tisch (Forrest Gump,
America History X) “What’s more
troubling, a kid with a sawed-off
shotgun or a kid with a cassette of
The Basketball Diaries? Its not
just movies. Lots of other wires
have to short before a kid goes
out and does something like this.
It’s a piece of a much bigger,
more complex puzzle.”
 Gerald
Levin: Time Warner
Chairman
 “I can’t help but think that
television is an easy scapegoat.
Where is the cry to stop the
proliferation of guns?”
 William
Baldwin-Creative
Coalition president
 Responding to claims that
violence portrayed in movies and
television is a contributing factor
to violent acts by kids: “This
needs a serious look”
 “We
have done a considerable
amount to address this issue over
the last 10 years. What has the
gun lobby done?”
 Writers
Guild of America
 Included a panel at their 1999
conference entitled “Guns don’t
kill people, writers do.”
 Marilyn
Manson: “It’s tragic and
disgusting anytime young
people’s lives are taken in an act
of senseless violence. My
condolences go out to the
students and their families.”
 Hilary
Rosen- president/CEO of
the Recording Industry
Association
 “In the coming days, we may find
out more about the cause of this
tragedy, but we do know that
music does not drive teenagers to
violent dispair, nor does it put
guns and weapons in the hands
of children. It’s too easy to make
music a scapegoat.”
 Robert
Johnson- BET chairman
 “It think it’s a threat to our First
Amendment rights and the rights
of viewers to receive information
without government instruction”
(in response to questions about
V-chip)
 1999
Gallup poll: 32% of
respondents believed that
parental involvement is the single
most important key to preventing
future killings like those at
Columbine
 Parenting
was ranked twice as
important as school security
(16%)
 42% of Pew Research Center
respondents said poor upbringing
as main reason kids commit
violence
 Public
expressed concerns over
effects of teen use of violent
media, it was not by any means
their primary fear with regards to
the Columbine shootings
 4%
of American adults felt that
controlling media violence was
the single most important factor to
prevent future school shootings
 May
1999: President Clinton
would be holding a White House
summit that would involve the
Internet and entertainment
industries
 Clinton
suggested that “video
games like Mortal Kombat, Killer
Instinct, and Doom, the very
game played obsessively by the
two young men who ended so
many lives in Littleton, make our
children more active participants
in simulated violence.”
 Clinton:
“Parents should take this
moment to ask what else they can
do to shield their children from
violent images that warp young
perceptions and obscure the
consequences of violence.”
 Al
Gore: urged Americans to
place more pressure on
broadcasters to implement the Vchip. He argued that Americans
“need to pay more attention to the
problem of excessive violence in
the media.”
 Gore
added “If you plant the
seeds of violence in most, it won’t
have an impact; but in some it
does.”
 44%
of adults felt that violence on
TV contributes a great deal to
violence in real life
 75% of adults surveyed felt that
entertainment industry needed to
make a serious effort to
significantly reduce the amount of
sex and violence on television
 Public
might actually be more
concerned by the effects of
children’s exposure to sex in the
media than violence
 46% said they are uncomfortable
watching sex on tv with their kids
 37%
are concerned about
watching violence on tv with their
kids
 Majority of adults think the
entertainment industry must
reduce the amount of sex and
violence in tv
 43%
of adults said they would be
unlikely to actually use the V-chip
to block inappropriate
programming
 23% of surveyed said they would
be likely to use technology
 Most
parents are not aware of the
V-chip technology, and they do
not exert effort on their own to
gather information about their
children’s viewing habits
Films that address violence and the
media
A
Clockwork Orange (1971)
 Govt tries to cure Alex’s love of
ultraviolence, forced him to watch
movie scenes with sex and
violence
 Lidlockers kept him from shutting
his eyes
 Natural
Born Killers (1994)
 Society’s obsession with violence
by engaging audiences in the
very act it condemns
 Can we enjoy this film if we are
repulsed by its violence?
 Why
are we fascinated by
violence?
 Who is to blame- the news media
for glamorizing violent events or
the public for their interest in it?
 Bowling
for Columbine (2002)
 Documentary initially appears to
be primarily a commentary on gun
control, with Moore’s personal
stance on the issue unclear due
to his membership in NRA
 Do
the media cultivate fear in
America?
 Why is the public interested in
news stories about violence?
Problems with Violent Media
 American
Psychological
Association- viewing high levels
of violence in the media correlate
with an increased in acceptance
of aggressive attitudes and
increased aggressive behavioral
patterns
 The
issues related to media
violence are the impact and
influence violence in media create
amongst the youth. Especially
amongst youth that are under
represented infested with police
corruption, police brutality,
inadequate education, gang
violence, drugs, unemployment,
disintegrated families, and lack of
resources
 Media
is a powerful instrument
which can service to create, build,
or destroy
 While media provides a service, it
is tool designed for making
money
 Media
is a mega business and
therefore will create for the
audiences what sells based on
popular demand, regardless of
the consequences and impact on
our youth
 Solutions
for youth- murals,
community involvement,
education, job opportunities
Negative Effects of Music
 Violent,
racist, homophobic, sexist
lyrics in much of today’s popular
music could have an impact on
impressionable young people who
are just developing a sense of
identity and self-worth
 Studies
indicate a preference for
heavy metal music may be a
significant marker for alienation,
substance abuse, psychiatric
disorders, suicide risk, sex-role
stereotyping, risk taking behaviors
Internet
 1st
generation to grow up with the
Internet as a routine part of their
lives
 Ahead of adults in their online
explorations
 94% of young people say they go
online from home, compared with
79% in 2001
 When
students are asked what
Internet related subjects they
would like to learn about in
school, the top choice for 68% is
“How to tell if information you find
on the Net is true or not.”
Video games
Violent or sexist content of games
Provide a fun and social form of
entertainment
Teamwork and cooperation when
played with others
 Kids
feel comfortable with
technology- very important for
girls, who don’t use technology as
much as boys
 Increase self confidence and self
esteem as they master games
 Develop
skills in reading, math,
and problem solving
 Improve eye hand coordination
and fine motor skills
 Video
game sector is fastest
growing entertainment industry,
2nd only to music
 Not a lot of research available
about impact on youth culture
 Some
children become excessive
or addicted
 Playing games can trigger release
of chemical dopamine in the
brain- with is associated with
pleasurable sensations and has
been linked with addiction
 Parents
have concerns over kids
lives completely taken over by
role playing virtual worlds
 3.5 million people around the
world play these games
 EverQuest-
was one of the most
popular online games, played by
more than 350,000 around world,
spend an average of 20 hours a
week playing the game
 Online
gaming is one of the few
profitable businesses on the Webhopes to attract and even larger
mainstream audience
Violence in Video Games
 Prime
audience for video games
is boys ages 7-14
 Most popular games with this
group are the “action adventure”
and “sports” genres, both of which
often contain violence
 60%
of male teens who are heavy
players prefer video games with
lots of action and fighting
 Interactive media too new to know
how people will be affected
 Growing
evidence though that
performing violent actions
repeatedly in video games may
promote aggression in some kids,
especially those who already
exhibit high levels of anger and
hostility
 Each
new generation of video
games ups the ante for realism
and violence
 Mature rated game Grand Theft
Auto 3 was even banned in
Australia because of its graphic
violence and sexual content
 Trend
is going away from
traditional good versus evil theme
in video games
 Players have now become the
bad guys, acting out criminal
fantasies and earning points for
attacking and kiling innocent
bystanders
 Not
difficult for children to access
games with violent content
 Many retailers rent and see adult
rated games to minors
Gender Stereotyping in Games
 Most
video games are designed
by males, for males
 Almost half of the top-selling
console video games contain
negative messages about
females
 Games
examined promoted
“unrealistic body images and
stereotypical female
characteristics, such as
provocative sexuality, highpitched voices and fainting.”
 Female
characters are there only
to provide sexual titillation- Dead
or Alive: Xtreme Beach Volleyball
features bikini clad volleyball
players cavorting on a beach
 Women
in Mature rated games
are often portrayed as sex trade
workers- prostitutes and strippers
 Developers of BMX XXX (extreme
biking game) were forced to add
clothing to their topless female
riders when retailers refused to
carry the product- product offers
video clips of real women
stripping
 Violence
with sexual contentDukeNukem 3D, the male uses X
rated posters for target practice,
gets extra points for shooting
prostitutes and strippers who are
pleading “Kill me”
 Grand
Theft Auto 3: one of
world’s top selling games- players
are street thugs who beat
prostitutes to death with baseball
bats after having sex with them
 Some
games feature strong
female characters- Lara Croft from
Tomb Raider
 Don’t offer a health alternative
because they are simply highly
sexualized females who engage in
the kind of violent, aggressive
actions usually associated with
male characters
Racial Stereotyping in Games
 White
male characters dominate
in the majority of popular games
 Non white characters often play
the traditional supporting roles of
sidekick or villain
 2001
study: depictions of African
American, Asian, Hispanic and
Native American males were rare
and white female characters
outnumbered female characters
of every racial group
 Majority
of heroes were white
males (86%)
 80% of African American males
were portrayed as competitors in
sports games
 Latinos only appeared in sports
games, mostly baseball
 70%
of Asian characters were
fighters or wrestlers
 86% African American females
were victims of violence in the
games surveyed
 Victimization rate was almost
twice that of white females
 79%
of African American males
engaged in physical and verbal
aggression compared to only 57%
of white competitors
Issues for Girls
 70%
of players of games written
for consoles are male
 Games that appeal to girls are
hard to find
 Girl games promote stereotypical
interests such as makeup and
fashion
Issues for Young Children
 Young
children have difficulty
distinguishing reality from fantasymakes them more vulnerable to
effects of media violence, may
become more aggressive and
fearful if they are exposed to high
levels of violence in video games
 Violence
in video games usually
has no consequences and is
often there for the sake of humor
 Children have easy access to
violent computer and video
games
 Entertainment
industry
aggressively markets violent
media to young children
 Almost every video game
company investigated regularly
marketed violent M-rated games
to children
 Toys
based on action characters
from games meant for mature
players are often marketed to
young children. Duke Nukem (for
17 and older) marketed action
figures to children under 8
Issues for Teens about Games
 1998
study- 25% of teens who
play video games feel addicted to
them, troubled by lack of control
over their behavior
 Study:
teens who play violent
games do worse in school than
teens who don’t
 At risk teen boys spend 60%
more time playing games, prefer
more violent games than other
teens
 Youths
who prefer violent video
games are more likely to get into
arguments with their teachers and
even physical fights- whether
boys or girls
Music
 One
of most popular and powerful
forms of media
 Identity, self esteem, sexuality,
alienation, anger
 Parents tend to pay less attention
to their children’s music as they
become teenagers
Explicit Lyrics
 Attractive
to young people
 Heavy metal, shock rock, rapreceived the most criticism for
lyrics with graphic references to
drugs, sex, violence, and hate
aimed at women, minorities, and
homosexuals
 Hate
filled “rage” music has entered
mainstream of popular culture and
has become the cash cow of the
music industry
 Eminem, Limp Bizkit, etc giving
direction to anger and aggression in
mostly male adolescent audiences
 Chris Brown
 Christina
Aguilera and Britney
Spears before sold “girl power”
but what they were really selling
is adult sexuality
 Katy Perry
 Ke$ha, etc
Parental Advisory Labels
 1990-
identify music containing
explicit lyrics, including depictions
of violence and sex
 System has drawbacks- can’t
always assume that music without
a label will be appropriate
 Retail
industry inconsistent
 K-Mart and Walmart will not carry
stickered products, but others
don’t have restrictions to stop
children from buying CDs with
advisory labels
 Federal
Trade Commission
released a report in 2000 showing
how media industries market to
young children for media meant
for adults
 55
music recordings with explicit
labels were studied by the FTCall were targeted to children under
17
Music Videos
 Combine
energy of music with
powerful visual images
 Great impact on children
 American Academy of Pediatrics
did a study- 75% of music videos
contain sexually suggestive
material
 Women
are often portrayed in a
sexist manner, alcohol and
tobacco use is popular
 More than 50% contain violence,
which is usually against women
 AAP
stated that the sexist and
violent portrayals in music videos
could “distort adolescents’
expectations about conflict
resolution, race, and male-female
relationships”
Advertising
 We
see minimum 3000 ads per
day
 At gas pumps, movie theatre,
restroom, during sporting events,
cars, taxis, buses, store floors,
elevator walls, park benches
 Russian
space program even
launched a rocket with a 30 foot
Pizza Hut logo on it
 Celebrities
wear products in
public
 Turning public spaces into adsnaming rights for arenas,
theatres, parks, schools,
museums, subways
 Product
placement
 1982 film ET featured Reece’s
Pieces- sale of candy jumped
65%
 TiVo, etc allows consumers to
edit TV commercials
Marketers Target Kids
 Advertising
to children in 1990 was
$100 million, in 2000 it was at $2
billion
 Parents are more willing to buy more
for their kids because of smaller
family size, dual incomes, and waiting
to have children until later in life
 Guilt
can play a role in spending
decisions- time stressed parents
substitute material goods for time
spent with kids
 Pester
Power: children’s ability to
nag parents into purchasing items
 Brand
loyalty: mid 1980’s, Nike,
Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, etc
 Create an image for their brand
name
 Babies as young as 6 months
form mental images of logos and
mascots
 Brand loyalties can be
established by age 2
 Fast
food Commercialization in educationschools need cash (vending
machines, etc)
 Supplying
schools with
technology in exchange for high
company visibility
 Deals with fast food, soft drink
companies
 Contests and incentive programs
 Sponsoring school events