Violence in Films
Research Question – How does violence in Films affect the development of children under the age of twelve?
Violence in Films
Barbara Osborn, former media literacy teacher and freelance journalist in Los Angeles, states that violence is the foundation of many films, TV movies, and action series. According to Encarta Dictionary, Film can be defined as, “movies collectively, considered as a medium for recording events, a form of entertainment, or an art form.” Violence in films, one may say, is something that entertains and grasps its audiences’ attention. As much as this may be true, violence in films, when children under the age of twelve are the audience, can have many types of negative long-term effects on their mind causing them to become aggressive in their behaviour, attitude, thoughts and emotions. According to AllPsych Online, “The American Psychological Association says there are three major effects of watching violence in the media (i.e.: video games/film/television) children may become less sensitive to the pain and suffering of others, children may be more fearful of the world around them, and children may be more likely to behave in aggressive or hurtful ways toward others.”
The Centre for Advocacy and Research (CFAR) with support from UNICEF, UNESCO and the Ford Foundation, conducted a study in India showing that there is a high incidence of violence in TV shows of all genres, across channels and time bands, with 14 acts of violence per hour. Previous research also done by BabyCenter found that “Toddlers above the age of two are prone to imitating what they see on the screen but till the age of five they are still trying to make sense of the content and understand it fully”. Based on these two separate studies, it can be said that due to the amount of violence viewed by the child, there is no doubt that during this crucial stage of learning and development, the child will mock or imitate what is shown on film, absorbing it cognitively as it becomes
Violence in Films
Barbara Osborn, former media literacy teacher and freelance journalist in Los Angeles, states that violence is the foundation of many films, TV movies, and action series. According to Encarta Dictionary, Film can be defined as, “movies collectively, considered as a medium for recording events, a form of entertainment, or an art form.” Violence in films, one may say, is something that entertains and grasps its audiences’ attention. As much as this may be true, violence in films, when children under the age of twelve are the audience, can have many types of negative long-term effects on their mind causing them to become aggressive in their behaviour, attitude, thoughts and emotions. According to AllPsych Online, “The American Psychological Association says there are three major effects of watching violence in the media (i.e.: video games/film/television) children may become less sensitive to the pain and suffering of others, children may be more fearful of the world around them, and children may be more likely to behave in aggressive or hurtful ways toward others.”
The Centre for Advocacy and Research (CFAR) with support from UNICEF, UNESCO and the Ford Foundation, conducted a study in India showing that there is a high incidence of violence in TV shows of all genres, across channels and time bands, with 14 acts of violence per hour. Previous research also done by BabyCenter found that “Toddlers above the age of two are prone to imitating what they see on the screen but till the age of five they are still trying to make sense of the content and understand it fully”. Based on these two separate studies, it can be said that due to the amount of violence viewed by the child, there is no doubt that during this crucial stage of learning and development, the child will mock or imitate what is shown on film, absorbing it cognitively as it becomes