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Violence in the Media

Where Do We Draw the Line?

As parents we set limits and boundaries for our kids every day. On small issues, like a second helping of dessert, and on bigger ones, like curfews and spending, we constantly have to draw the line for our children in order to protect and educate them. But with some lines we need help doing the drawing. We need the culture at large to take notice and takes steps to solve a bigger problem.

Well, after years of sliding down a slippery slope of media violence, it looks like we've finally decided enough is enough. Consider these three incidents that occurred within a month of each other:

First, the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC), the group that rates movies and video games in the UK, refused to give a rating to the game Manhunt 2. That means Manhunt 2 cannot be legally sold anywhere in Great Britain. Other nations, including New Zealand and Ireland soon banned Manhunt 2 in their countries too. In this country, the game industry's own Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB) gave the game an AO (Adults Only) rating. As a result, most major American retailers won't carry Manhunt 2. In the past, AO ratings have meant graphic sexual content. But Manhunt 2 is getting worldwide attention for its extreme violence. According to the BBFC, the problem is the "sustained and cumulative casual sadism in the way in which killings are committed, and encouraged, in the game."

Second, the US Senate Commerce Committee convened a hearing on television violence. During the hearing, Senator Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia announced plans to introduce legislation that would restrict the broadcast of violent content, saying, "I fear that graphic, violent programming has become so pervasive and has been shown to be so harmful, we are left with no choice but to have the government step in."

Third, a new study out of UCLA found that the majority of teen movies are violent. Really violent. Nearly 90 percent of the top grossing PG-13 films from 1999 and 2000 contained some level of violence. The report found 2,251 acts of violence in the 77 films. According to the researchers, PG-13 movies usually don't show the negative consequences of violence. The researchers urged the film industry to take responsibility for its content and urged parents to steer their teens away from violent movies.

Taken together, these examples show us the problem isn't video games, television, or movies. It's media violence, a phenomenon that spans all formats. If anything, each medium seems to be trying to outdo the depictions of violence in the other media, making media violence a bigger problem every day.

The good news is that people in power are finally taking note and trying to do something about it. Censorship worries will make it difficult for governments to regulate media violence. But in our own homes, we have the power to draw the lines where they need to be. Let's make sure our MediaWise kids know violence, in or out of the media, is serious and dangerous.

David Walsh, Ph.D. is the founder of the MediaWise Movement, a program of the National Institute on Media and the Family (www.mediawise.org). His latest book, No: Why Kids - of All Ages - Need to Hear It and Ways Parents Can Say It (Free Press) is available in bookstores.