Essay/Term paper: Impressions of television

Essay, term paper, research paper:  Technology

Impressions of Television


SOME AMERICANS COMPLAIN THAT THERE IS TOO MUCH VIOLENCE IN TELEVISION,
PARTICULARLY IN AN ACTION SERIES OR CARTOONS. THEY ARE AFRAID THAT PEOPLE,
ESPECIALLY CHILDREN, WILL SEE THESE SHOWS AND THINK THAT THE ONLY WAY TO RESOLVE
PROBLEMS IS THROUGH VIOLENT ACTS. I THINK THAT THERE ARE A LOT OF FACTORS OTHER
THAN TELEVISION THAT EFFECTS PEOPLE. HAVE YOU EVER TRIED SOMETHING JUST BECAUSE
YOU SAW IT ON TELEVISION? I'M SURE THAT ALL OF US HAVE DONE THAT AT ONE TIME OR
ANOTHER. TELEVISION SHOWS THAT ARE VIOLENT CAN HAVE NEGATIVE EFFECTS ON THE WAY
THAT CHILDREN ACT.
TELEVISION HAS EMBEDDED ITSELF WITHIN THE LIFE OF THE TYPICAL AMERICAN
PERSON. ACCORDING TO THE ENCARTA 96 CD ROM ENCYCLOPEDIA THEY CLAIM THAT,
"BETWEEN THE AGES OF 2 AND 65 THE AVERAGE AMERICAN WILL WATCH 72,000 HOURS OF
TELEVISION—AT 24 HOURS A DAY, A TOTAL OF 8 FULL YEARS. THE DAILY AVERAGE IS
ABOUT 4 HOURS. THE HEAVIEST VIEWERS ARE HOUSEWIVES AND SENIOR CITIZENS. CHILDREN
WATCH THE SAME AMOUNT OF TELEVISION AS DO ADULTS; TEENAGERS WATCH ABOUT AN HOUR
LESS PER DAY."
"EARLY EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCHERS COMPARED THE PLAY OF CHILDREN WHO HAD
SEEN AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR ON TELEVISION WITH THE PLAY OF A CONTROL GROUP OF
CHILDREN WHO HAD WATCHED NONVIOLENT PROGRAMS. CONCERN WAS INTENSIFIED BY
FINDINGS THAT INDICATED A HIGHER LEVEL OF AGGRESSIVE PLAY IN THE VIOLENT-
TELEVISION GROUP"(ENCARTA).
ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS SURF SATURDAY MORNING CARTOONS TO SEE THE VIOLENCE.
THE NINJA TURTLES ARE A PHENOMENON THAT HAS CAPTURED THE IMAGINATIONS OF MOVIE,
COMIC, AND EVEN CARTOON FANS ACROSS SEVERAL GENERATIONS. A GROUP OF YOUNG,
TEENAGE TURTLES WHO USE KUNG-FU AGAINST A GROUP OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF CREATURES.
THIS SHOW ANIMATES EXPLICITLY HOW THEY BATTLE THESE CREATURES TO FIGHT FOR
JUSTICE AND THE AMERICAN WAY. THEY LIVE IN THE SEWERS WITH THEIR TEACHER WHO IS
A RAT, USING AN ASSORTMENT OF WEAPONS SUCH AS THE SWORD, NUMCHUCKS, NINJA FORKS,
AND A NINJA STICK TO FIGHT FOES. IT SEEMS TO ME WHEN I LOOK OUTSIDE TO SEE THE
CHILDREN PLAYING, THEY MIMIC THE NINJA TURTLES, PRETENDING THAT THEY ARE KILLING
KRANG OR SHREDDER. IT NEVER FAILS IT ALWAYS SEEMS THAT THERE IS ONE CHILD THAT
COMES IN CRYING BECAUSE ANOTHER KID (WHO THOUGHT HE WAS DONATELLO) WAS HITTING
HIM WITH A STICK THAT HE USED FOR A SWORD. ALARMINGLY THIS PROBLEM SOMETIMES
ESCALATES WHEN THE CHILD GETS OLDER AND THE CHILD IS SUBJECT TO MORE IDEAS
BROUGHT ACROSS ON TELEVISION.
NOT TOO FAR AWAY IN THE CHANNELS OF THE TELEVISION YOU HAVE MTV. IT IS
A MUSIC BASED CHANNEL THAT PLAYS ALL TYPES OF MUSIC VIDEOS AND AN OCCASIONAL
DEMENTED CARTOON SUCH AS BEVIS AND BUTTHEAD. IT IS A CARTOON ABOUT TWO
ADOLESCENT BOYS WHO HAVE NO PARENTAL SUPERVISION. THEY REEK HAVOC WITHIN THE
NEIGHBORHOOD AND AT THEIR SCHOOL. THEY ARE ALWAYS GETTING KICKED OUT OF CLASS
FOR SOME GHASTLY ACT OR FOR MOUTHING OFF TO THE TEACHERS. I THINK THAT THIS
SHOW PROMOTES ALLOT OF NEGATIVE IDEAS THAT YOU CAN SEE DEMONSTRATED BY SOME OF
THE CHILDREN IN SCHOOLS. SOMETIMES THIS PROGRAM SEEMS TO SHOW THAT IT IS ALL
RIGHT TO BE DISCOURTEOUS TO AUTHORITY FIGURES.
MTV IS A STATION THAT IS DIRECTED AT THE TEENAGE POPULATION OF AMERICA.
MOST OF THEIR VIDEOS ARE EXPLICITLY SEXUAL OR VIOLENT. FOR EXAMPLE A VIDEO BY
RAP STAR COOLIO SHOWS HOW A GROUP OF CHILDREN PERSEVERE ON THE STREETS BY
KILLING, ROBBING, AND TAKING THE ATTITUDE KILL OR BE KILLED. IT EXHIBITS TWO
KIDS FIGHTING A BLOODY FIST FIGHT AND ONE REVEALS A SWITCH BLADE WITH THE INTENT
TO KILL HIS OPPONENT. IT IS SO DEPRESSING BECAUSE I KNOW IT IS REALLY HAPPENING
ON TODAY'S STREETS. I DO NOT THINK THAT THE MAKERS OF THESE VIDEOS SHOULD
PROMOTE THE VIOLENCE. INSTEAD THEY SHOULD BE TRYING TO PROMOTE THE SOLUTION:
TRYING TO FIND OTHER WAYS OF SOLVING PROBLEMS INSTEAD OF KILLING EACH OTHER.
TELEVISION HAS BECOME MORE COMMON WITHIN THE AMERICAN HOUSEHOLD. DUE TO
THE AMOUNTS OF TELEVISION SETS IN THE HOUSEHOLD THERE HAS BECOME AN INCREASING
AMOUNT OF TELEVISION STATIONS. ACCORDING TO THE 1992 GUINNESS MULTIMEDIA DISK
OF RECORDS ,"AT THE END OF 1992 THERE WERE OVER 1,125 COMMERCIAL TELEVISION
STATIONS WITHIN THE UNITED STATES ALONE." THIS STATISTIC IS VERY FRIGHTENING.
IT MAKES IT MORE DIFFICULT FOR PARENTS TO MONITOR OVER ONE THOUSAND CHANNELS.
CONGRESS IS NOW PASSING LAWS LIMITING WHAT CAN BE PLAYED ON TELEVISION WITHOUT
CROSSING OVER THE LINE OF FREEDOM OF SPEECH. I DO NOT THINK THAT PASSING RULES
OR LIMITING TIMES THAT CERTAIN SHOWS CAN BE PLAYED WILL STOP CHILDREN FROM BEING
EXPOSED TO VIOLENCE ON TELEVISION. THE ULTIMATE RESPONSIBILITY LIES NOT ON THE
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, BUT UPON THE INDIVIDUAL PARENTS TO MONITOR WHAT THEIR
CHILDREN WATCH.

WORKS CITED

"BROADCASTING, RADIO AND TELEVISION," MICROSOFT ENCARTA 96 ENCYCLOPEDIA. CD ROM.
1993-1995 MICROSOFT CORPORATION. FUNK & WAGNALLS.

1995 GUINNESS MULTIMEDIA DISK OF RECORDS, 1994 GUINNESS PUBLISHING LTD. CD ROM
1995 GROLIER ELECTRONIC PUBLISHING, INC.