This reminded me of the video we watched "Bhutan: The Last Place" where television was introduced to what was a previously pure society. I found it interesting the way crime rates slowly rosed over time and how young boys began imitating the violence they saw in wrestling programs. Is this enough proof to say that violent media has effects on a society?
I decided to look into Bhutan a bit more, in order to see how much change the "last place" has gone through since their new introduction. Kuensel, the Bhutanese national newspaper, suggested that since the introduction of TV there has been an increase in consumerism and the want for a more Westernized culture. Also, for the first time Bhutan is seeing broken families, people dropping out of school and youth crimes. This is only in addition to the expected increase in burglary shoplifting and other crimes of violence we associate with the introduction of television.
However, within the last year, the people of this nation have began to view media as a source of entertainment, instead of a source of news. This change is a positive one for this new view of television might help to stop the increasing in crime rates as the citizens stop looking to their TV's for their information of the world. Perhaps as the Bhutanese learn to determine what behaviors should be imitated and what should not be, the rest of the world will learn as well.
Interesting topic. I agree with you and movies now a days are very gruesome. But i do not think they can cause a person to commit violent crimes. Poeple are smarter and they know that the images that they see in movies are fake and scripted. However movies exaggerate the violence and i feel it is not necessary at times. It is crazy how people are attracted to violent movies and are actually entertained by them. I think it has come a part of American society and people have used to it
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure I would go so far at to say there is a direct correlation with violence in movies and violence in reality. Although I'm sure in some it can effect small children who so not understand the way the world really functions. They might think it just looks fun or cool as was seen in the behaviors of the young boy from Bhutan in "Bhutan: The Last Place". I think a more pressing issue is the fact that because we do so much violence in movies, tv shows, and video games people have become more desensitized to the violence. It is like it has just become an everday part of life to see violence committed.
ReplyDeleteMy first post is very similar to my first post about Violence and how it relates to Video Games. Both sides have their points, but violence, in movies, definitely doesn't help the cause. For most children, it is hard to distinguish right from wrong. Therefore, there will be more of a tendency for violence in kids. I believe violence in movies does effect children's behavior. However, it is not the deciding factor. It is if the children have a grasp on the concept of right and wrong.
ReplyDeletei do think that the introduction of television gave the children of Bhutan ideas of violence and crime, but i don't think we can blame all of the new crime on television. As time with the new televisions go on the next generations will be able to teach the younger ones what is considered ok to imitate and what is not. I think just because the adults of the first generation with the televisions were so amazed by them that the adults didn't tell the kids what to imitate and what to not imitate. So the whole of crime could not have been just television.
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