Is violence/fantasy in the entertainment media is fine for children or not?

[UniqueAngelStar]

Hello everyone.

Do you think violent/fantasy themes in the entertainment media is fine for kids or not?
Some say that violence in the media can make a child more violent while others say violence in the media is fine for kids because it can overcome the childs' fear into a better feeling.

The reason I asked this is because this article I read since months ago in my English class, it really got me interested a lot. It is one of my favorite articles Especially this paragraph (The 3rd one of the article) is something I can relate my life to.
http://motherjones.com/politics/2000/06/violent-media-good-kids-0

The character who caught me, and freed me, was the Hulk: overgendered and undersocialized, half-naked and half-witted, raging against a frightened world that misunderstood and persecuted him. Suddenly I had a fantasy self to carry my stifled rage and buried desire for power. I had a fantasy self who was a self: unafraid of his desires and the world's disapproval, unhesitating and effective in action. "Puny boy follow Hulk!" roared my fantasy self, and I followed.

While reading this article, it reminded me that these TV shows with violence and action I watch as a kid, especially the time when anime shows such as Pokemon and DBZ were popular and it has those violent/fantasy themes. It made me happier from the pressures of school and stuff. Somehow, I put this as a awareness to you guys is because I thought it might relate to your lives as well.

So as I ask again:
Should children, especially nowadays, watch the media with violent/fantasy themes or not?

[Midori]

My opinion: depends on the child. There are some adults who still shouldn't be watching violent things IMO, and some children who are completely fine with it even at an early age. For children I think it should be the parents' responsibility to know their child and decide what is best for them.

Disclaimer: I didn't actually read the article. Maybe I should read it first. >_>

[Nate]

I think it's fine...to an extent. I think that most people in the US go too far in trying to completely shield children from violence...the edits made to One Piece for TV are a good example. There's nothing wrong with it, but it was censored and changed because people are overprotective.

But by the same token, I don't think every kid should be able to watch Robocop (the movie, not the cartoon) on Saturday mornings. As Midori said, it really depends on the child in the end, but I think a small bit of violence isn't hurting anything, and there are massive overreactions to what should and should not be allowed in children's TV these days.

[Yuki-Anne]

This is an interesting article.

I think the fundamental problem of trying to shelter your kids from violent entertainment, for fear that they will themselves become violent should they encounter it, is that you assume your children are not already violent little misanthropes by nature. Spoiler alert: They are. The raw human state is selfish; we are born jerks. I think what's more productive than sheltering your child is helping them to have discernment. If, instead of showing our kids light, fluffy entertainment, we allow them to see things that show the darker side of humanity, and have a hero who has a significant battle, then our kids will see that there is a positive way to deal with "unwholesome" feelings, rather than just suppressing them.

Of course, it's important not to let your kids watch stuff that's so violent or scary it will scar them for life. I still remember when I was 7 or 8 seeing a snippet of a movie on tv in which a guy being tortured gets his fingers cut off. It was horrific, and it was burned into my memory. That was not a positive experience.

I also think it's important in the case of those who lash out in violence to note their family situation and mental health. What are their parents like? Are they suffering from any kind of mental disorders? Did they experience abuse or neglect? I think that upon analysis, those factors will prove to be more influential than the sort of entertainment they favored.

Honestly, it was through watching some gritty, gruesome films (which depicted violence realistically, in all its hideousness) that I came to have the horror of cruelty and violence that I have. Granted, I watched them as an adult, but they changed the way I view violence.

[Shao Feng-Li]

I think it just depends on the context of the violence. Like, there's a big difference between fighting for justice and simply beating people up/ being a bully. I grew up watching Star Wars and it does have quite of bit of violence in it. Naturally, we have to fight against the forces of evil, sometimes with a lightsaber... or sword.

I don't know entirely what to think of fantasy themes, since I can kinda see both sides.

[ShiroiHikari]

I think it does depend on the context, and it also depends on each individual child. Some kids are going to be violent no matter what they watch or read.

I see nothing wrong with fantasy themes.

[ADXC]

I think it's ok as long as it doesn't go too far.


Stuff like DBZ and other anime like it are fine by me.

[aliveinHim]

Ultimately it depends on the parents. I think that kids can be over exposed as much as being over sheltered. If I were a parent, I wouldn't let my kids watch Bleach until they're mature enough to handle the violence. Naruto, maybe a little younger.

[rocklobster]

I'm really not certain about that. You see, there was the famous study involving kids and one of those boppo dolls (the dolls that rock back and forth when you hit them). They played videos of someone hitting the doll and the kids imitated what they saw in the video. I'm not of the impression that kids playing Doom are going to kill people, but it is something to think about.

[Nanao]

I agree that it depends a lot on the child. It also probably depends a lot on the family too. Like rocklobster said, kids are imitators. If family and parents are being good examples, then that probably helps a lot.

[Nate]

You see, there was the famous study involving kids and one of those boppo dolls (the dolls that rock back and forth when you hit them). They played videos of someone hitting the doll and the kids imitated what they saw in the video.

So they showed children instructional videos on the correct way to play with a toy, and then the children played with the toy in the correct way? HOW HORRIBLE! Clearly this is proof that instructional videos are evil! Or...something. I'm not sure what other conclusion could be arrived at.

[Atria35]

I'm really not certain about that. You see, there was the famous study involving kids and one of those boppo dolls (the dolls that rock back and forth when you hit them). They played videos of someone hitting the doll and the kids imitated what they saw in the video. I'm not of the impression that kids playing Doom are going to kill people, but it is something to think about.

While Nate had a good deal of sacrasm in his response, he does have a point. Those are MADE to be hit. Now, if they had taken that and then started hitting other kids, then I would be more concerned about it.

If they can tell the difference between hitting an inanimate object and hitting a person, then I don't worry too much.

[Nate]

Actually, the study rocklobster mentioned had nothing to do with violent media on children. Rather, it was a study on social learning.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobo_doll_experiment

The results concerning gender differences strongly supported Bandura's prediction that children are more influenced by same-sex models. Boys exhibited more aggression when exposed to aggressive male models than boys exposed to aggressive female models. When exposed to aggressive male models, the number of aggressive instances exhibited by boys averaged 104 compared to 48.4 aggressive instances exhibited by boys exposed to aggressive female models.

While the results for the girls show similar findings, the results were less drastic. When exposed to aggressive female models, the number of aggressive instances exhibited by girls averaged 57.7 compared to 36.3 aggressive instances exhibited by girls exposed to aggressive male models.

Bandura also found that the children exposed to the aggressive model were more likely to act in verbally aggressive ways than those who were not exposed to the aggressive model. The number of imitative verbal aggressions exhibited by the boys was 17 times and 15.7 times by the girls. In addition, the results indicated that the boys and girls who observed the nonaggressive model exhibited far less non-imitative mallet aggression than in the control group, which had no model.

The experimenters came to the conclusion that children observing adult behavior are influenced to think that this type of behavior is acceptable thus weakening the child’s aggressive inhibitions. The result of reduced aggressive inhibitions in children means that they are more likely to respond to future situations in a more aggressive manner.
Lastly, the evidence strongly supports that males have a tendency to be more aggressive than females. When all instances of aggression are tallied, males exhibited 270 aggressive instances compared to 128 aggressive instances exhibited by females.

On top of this study having absolutely nothing to do with media such as television and video games, there are numerous critiques, such as the selection of subjects not being broad enough or diverse enough, as well as manipulation of the subjects, i.e., the subjects were taunted and told "No you can't play with THESE toys," which of course would make the kids upset, meaning their aggression might have nothing to do with the behavior displayed by adults, but rather that they were annoyed and upset that they couldn't have what they wanted. Which is pretty typical of ALL kids when you tell them they can't have something they want.

It's actually very nuanced and complex, for example, Bandura (the scientist who conducted the study) said that motivation is a key factor in behavior. If someone does not have the desire to emulate an action or behavior in the first place, they won't. Being able to pay attention to the behavior is key too, if someone is distracted or not fully paying attention, they're less likely to emulate the behavior.

So the study is a lot, LOT more complicated than "Kids who saw people beating up a clown doll did it too!" and also is completely unrelated to video games/movies, which there have been studies to show that violent games and movies actually decrease the urge to be violent...which is what the link in Star's opening post also said as well.

[Atria35]

^ Thanks for clarifying, Nate. I thought I was more familiar than I was with it, since (and now I get to be upset with my teacher) in Psych, our teacher used that as an example of whether children learned to be violent through media like tv and video games.

[Midori]

Nate, you're being too aggressive. Lay off on the sarcasm and italics. Whether you have a point or not, if you can't play nice, we can't have this argument. I know the article in question is about the potential benefits of aggressive emotions in children, but in a public forum with people who can be hurt by your words, it's better to downplay your aggression, and express yourself in a more calm and mature fashion.

[Nate]

our teacher used that as an example of whether children learned to be violent through media like tv and video games.

That's pretty disingenuous. Especially since the study was performed in 1961, well before video games were popular. The first arcade video game wasn't released until 1971, and even Spacewar! which is one of the first actual video games period wasn't created until 1962. The study couldn't possibly have had any relation to video games, for the simple fact that they really didn't exist in their current form at the time of the study.

[ABlipinTime]

Regardless of the purpose of the study, it does show that children are imitators. Now granted, children who grow up hitting the dolls aren't necessarily likely to apply that same activity to other things, as though those other things are comparable, but it's possible.

I've in favor of the movement that says it's dependent on the children. However, just because we can see the child's immediate response doesn't mean that something negative isn't going in that shouldn't be.

Do we shelter kids too much? Um, that depends on the parent. I think it's fine that kids know what's going on in the world, but they shouldn't be watching it frequently in their tv shows.

Once again, I'll repeat what has been said, it depends on the context. We let the police be "violent" so to speak to suppress crime and help individuals, and (and I know I'm going to get flak for saying this) we ought to see that it's perfectly ok to shoot bambi for food. (As a key note, don't ever show that to kids who like cute things. My brother cried after watching The Yearling.)

However, though we may be aware of the evil in the world, it is BEST to focus on good things. As Paul says in Phillipians 4: "Therefore my brothers, whatever is true, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy, think about such things."

If you're going to think about negative things, remember to refocus on the good things as a follow up. It's like witnessing a crime and then watching people help the victims. Ok maybe that's not the best example, but you get what I mean right?

[Atria35]

^ Now I really don't care for that psych teacher. I *almost* wish I were still going there....

[Dante]

I've watched plenty of media violence in my life - and have to admit that media provides a really inaccurate view of what "violence" really is. But this isn't something limited to "little kid stuff", actually kids will probably see more violence on the 6 O'clock news then they will on video games (do they even bother warning the viewer that the images may be graphic these days?). I think my greatest concern however, isn't that kids get "violent". If that were the case, statistically gamers should be among the most violent people on the planet - and as far as two groups are concerned, I would much rather run into a gang of WOW players then football players in a back-alley.

So, kids becoming violent from playing video games or watching too many Saturday morning cartoons isn't among my concerns. What does concern me is how humans in general are being shown violence - that is, not simply children but also adults. In fact, I'm more concerned about the adults.

You see. The way violence is presented today (and I'm not referring to minor scraps here, but extreme violence) completely disconnects it from the human element. We present violence as the grainy explosion in the distance, the death of that flattest of characters, the "bad guy", or throw fancy symbols like some flag around it to make it seem glorified. But this isn't the reality of violence - violence upon another living being cannot be equated to the tossing of dirt in the air - it is the irreversible, indescribable use of deliberate force to cause permanent harm to another living creature (and for humans, decades of suffering will be a consequence at an individual level). That creature will be permanently crippled on a physical, psychological or spiritual level. This doesn't just "go away", when the camera turns off, there is no "game over" screen and it isn't just a sound byte of a scream or a face cringed in agony, it IS agony and if that scream does not imply something that terrifies you to your core, then there is something deeply errant in your humanity that should give you pause. In fact, if the violence you see doesn't cause you permanent psychological damage yourself, there is something deeply wrong with you. (And I'm afraid this is the norm, not the exception these days - yes, I'm among you crazies and wish God would save me from this hideous illness of the mind)

There is no greater violation of life then use of violence by creatures blessed with empathy. Empathy, if we recall, is the ability to fully immerse oneself into the experience of another person (and I do not doubt that is among the greatest gifts of Heaven). Given how far one learns to use it, one can learn to role-play and use their empathy even to the point where the experience of being themselves and the other person almost feels the same. That humans are capable of violence, that we even study how to maximize it's effects on one another or imply that it's no big deal... it is not only wrong, but inhuman.

This is why I am most concerned about humans seeing violence - or rather, experiencing it in the manner that it is experienced. Violence does not only destroy one gift, but two - one person's empathy and the other, the person themselves. And that life, independent of how it ended up turning out, is not the property of any nation, nor power nor authority save the God himself - hence, we are blessed with the opportunity to enjoy that creature - but have no right to destroy or harm it any more then we have the ability to destroy our neighbors T.V. simply because they said we could watch soccer on it with our friends.

[Hiryu]

It has to be taken to a certain extent. Older children can psychologically handle more violence than the younger children, and older children can probably not handle violence shown in R rated movies; Even though we probably all have watched one or two in the past because we though we were "cool" and "grownup". It also depends if your parents were "cool" with it. Another factor is the child him/herself. There really isn't a fit-all statement to issue here.

IMO, it's kinda like a happy meal or a large big mac meal. There are portions of food for children and portions of food for adults. Adults are usually not filled by Happy meals, and Kids are most likely not going to finish their Big mac.

[Darth_Kirby]

I don't think the themes themselves are bad, but some of the shows take the violence or magic/occult themes too far. Used properly I think that they can bring out some good things in kids, but likewise they can bring out bad things in kids if misused.

[Htom Sirveaux]

Some kids are going to be violent no matter what they watch or read.

Yeah, a parent can't exactly pull their kid aside and say, "Now, if I let you watch Tales from the Crypt and read The Berenstein Bears, are you more likely to grow up to be an accountant or a serial murderer?"

That's all I've got for now, apart from remarking that "fantasy themes" sounds rather perplexingly ambiguous.

[Yuki-Anne]

Pascal - I agree. Violence is a deeply horrifying thing, and it is deeply horrifying how light we make of it. But at the same time, there is a disconnect between fictional violence and real violence, and I think for most of us, our hearts and minds recognize the difference. I can watch a film like Independence Day, where literally thousands of people die, and it has little emotional effect on me. However, seeing footage of the tsunami here is still something I can't bring myself to watch anymore, because it's so gutwrenchingly heartbreaking.

I can watch a movie where a guy is brutally assaulted, but if I hear on the news that a man was brutally assaulted, it has a different effect on me. The simple fact is that I know that the Death Star is fake, and that the World Trade Center was real (not drawing a political comparison, just a logistical one). That knowledge makes a dramatic difference in the way I view their distruction.

[Dr.Faust]

it really depends on the content and child tbh. You should not shelter kids form violence because they tend to grow attracted to violence because there sheltered form it so much when they finaly see it its something cool to them, its new and allows them to find people to fit in with... the wrong people. I've see this in my life with one of my ex-friends who has been sheltered(along with a lot of other bad stuff) and when he got older his fam got him violent games and now he loves Hitler (for the violence not the hating jews/blacks/ect part)and other violent people. Now I'm not saying game are the only thing that makes him love violence but they did play a part in it.

I think that we should show them a little violence that's not to bad and then tell them that violence is wrong and there's a diffidence form fantasy and life so they don't glorify it. I also think that parents need to start being parents and stop buying kids M/18 Rated games, I can't tell you how many times I've seen people buy their kids GTA4:(

[UniqueAngelStar]

I know that violence isn't the key to anything, but sometimes kids need to see some action/fantasy at least so that they can learn and escape the reality of this world. I wouldn't shelter from these things, but if something is overly violent, such as blood gushing from a body or brutal fighting, I wouldn't recommend children for that.

I feel that is the parent's responsibility to teach the children that violence in the media is wrong. Sometimes I get annoyed that parents blame the media because of the child action that portrays it instead of warning them.

I know now that people, especially children' likes superheros who fight crime because people feel that they are the superhero themselves; therefore, children can overcome their problems and they can become individuals of society. Sometimes, that's how I feel as well, such as myself pretending to be a PKMN master of when I was a kid. (But really, it fine to have a mind of fantasy, but still need to be realistic at certain times)

But me now, I really like action stuff and heroes fighting crime, but if they overdue the gore and killings, I won't watch it nor play a game about it. And that is the same thing applied to me as a child.

I think that we should show them a little violence that's not to bad and then tell them that violence is wrong and there's a diffidence form fantasy and life so they don't glorify it. I also think that parents need to start being parents and stop buying kids M/18 Rated games, I can't tell you how many times I've seen people buy their kids GTA4:(

I agree 100%

I seen Youtube videos of these kids playing these violent games on Xbox live and I cannot imagine how unruly they sound. I don't understand why parents buy these games for their children because it's popular. Do parents even check on TV/Movie/Game ratings nowadays?

[Atria35]

[quote="UniqueAngelStar (post: 1479269)"]
I seen Youtube videos of these kids playing these violent games on Xbox live and I cannot imagine how unruly they sound. I don't understand why parents buy these games for their children because it]

From the stories I hear from friends who work in retail that sell them these games, they just don't care. At all. It's ridiculous! Man. I'm remembering that one story in the news about a woman who took her 6-year-old daughter to see Passion of the Christ. People have no common sense.

[Ryn]

I think it depends to what degree of violence or fantasy, and the age of the child.
I've been watching Lord of the Rings since I was quite young (probably before I turned 10), all except for the parts parts with a lot of blood, but it never affected me, I'm not a violent person at all.
But when I see a kid who just turned 10 playing Halo, it worries me. This kid in question is a bit on the... wild side. She can be a real sweetheart when she wants be, but she can be uncontrollable and intolerable sometimes.
I think to a certain extent some violence and fantasy are alright, just nothing too major (depending on the age of the kid).

[Yamamaya]

Pascal - I agree. Violence is a deeply horrifying thing, and it is deeply horrifying how light we make of it. But at the same time, there is a disconnect between fictional violence and real violence, and I think for most of us, our hearts and minds recognize the difference. I can watch a film like Independence Day, where literally thousands of people die, and it has little emotional effect on me. However, seeing footage of the tsunami here is still something I can't bring myself to watch anymore, because it's so gutwrenchingly heartbreaking.

This is very true. There's a reason why movies show mooks getting mowed down. We don't have an emotional connection with these mooks. We haven't seen their backstory at all. Of course, most stories don't have the time to display the life story of all these mooks. However, a story that displays violence but calls into question the morality of it and shows a more human side to the "bad" guys can showcase how horrifying violence is. Still, I believe most of us can tell the difference between fictional violence and real violence.

In addition, Independance Day is not that good of a movie. Jeff Goldbloom doesn't make it any better. Quite the opposite in fact.

I can watch a movie where a guy is brutally assaulted, but if I hear on the news that a man was brutally assaulted, it has a different effect on me. The simple fact is that I know that the Death Star is fake, and that the World Trade Center was real (not drawing a political comparison, just a logistical one). That knowledge makes a dramatic difference in the way I view their distruction.

Most definitely. We know a movie is fictional, thus we are not as affected by it. However, if a movie showcases a historical event with any degree of accuracy, it might bring about a different effect in us.

[Nate]

Atria is correct, when you see a parent buying M-rated games for their kids, it's because they just don't care. It's store policy for many places when, if a parent is buying an M-rated game for their child, to remind the parent the game is M-rated and read the list of reasons for the rating to them. Often times the parent will stop the employee and say "I don't care about that, just sell me the game," or something along those lines.

And really, at that point, there's nothing anyone can do...that's just how some people are.

I'd say more, but I have a feeling my background would color people's perceptions of me, given that I watched Blade Runner when I was 12 years old and was playing Duke Nukem 3D all through high school.

[Shao Feng-Li]

Atria is correct, when you see a parent buying M-rated games for their kids, it's because they just don't care. It's store policy for many places when, if a parent is buying an M-rated game for their child, to remind the parent the game is M-rated and read the list of reasons for the rating to them. Often times the parent will stop the employee and say "I don't care about that, just sell me the game," or something along those lines.

And really, at that point, there's nothing anyone can do...that's just how some people are.

I'd say more, but I have a feeling my background would color people's perceptions of me, given that I watched Blade Runner when I was 12 years old and was playing Duke Nukem 3D all through high school.

Well, not all M rated games are the same either. Modern Warfare 2 =/= Bioshock. There's very little gore and language in the former, and it's a story of good defeating evil. I'd be much more concerned over a parent buying Bioshock for a kid. Even my mom likes to watch us play some games and we all thought that Bioshock was just... too bit much. Still, video games in my house are nothing new. My mom, dad and siblings all enjoy them and my little brothers don't scream obscenities on Xbox live or are violent bullies. My youngest brother was like... 7 when Halo came out on XBox and we all played it split screen. It was a blast.