Was I Influenced by Violence On TV When I Was Young?.... You Bet: One Man's Opinion

Friday, November 02, 2007 03:45 AM

We are constantly told that violence on TV or in the movies ,does not take root in the minds of our kids.

I like to watch the action shows as much as the next person but I have to tell you if there ever was survey asking me did a t.v. show or movie have an influence on me, I’d be the first to say ,’Yes”.

I remember as a kid riding my motorcycle when the Marlon Brando movie came out, "The Wild One “. It took about two days before I was wearing the same kind of hat he wore, the same studs on the jacket, same hair style. I even painted my bike Pink because, well the Wild Ones rode them.

We also started riding down the street in Winnipeg five abreast pretending we were tougher than hell. 80 motorcycles all in line are pretty impressive and when the cars moved over for us it was just like feeding us fresh meat.

Then came the 50’s, we all tried to act like Elvis Presley and then there were all the rock bands from the UK who had hair down to their shoulders. So we did that as well, get that hair long, smoke some dope like your heroes did and you were part of the crowd.

Now I didn’t get a chain saw and go out and saw people up for the fun of it , but trust me, there where some crazies riding those motorcycles that could have gone over the edge for a package of Vogue tobacco.

So when you watch TV and movies and see just how far we have come in showing violence , if you're a reasonable person, you can't help but remember when you were a kid and what effect the media had on you.

I’m Meisner and that’s one man’s opinion.

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Posted on Friday, November 02, 2007 03:45 AM in Views by Ben Meisner

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Comments

Posted by: Chadermando on November 2 2007 6:09 AM

Its to the point now where I watch the news to get away from all the violence on TV these days... never thought I'd be saying that considering the violence in the news these days....

I don't mind the violence so much in the action type movies, but it seems everything these days is about a hypothetical murder investigation and the details always seem to try and out do the gory details of the last episode. That seems to be all that is on the mind of producers of prime time. Maybe a writers strike will be good for a break from the gory details for a little while.

IMO most American media is about propaganda and influencing perceptions and politics packaged in flashy prime time for everyone to soak in.

Seinfeld said on Larry King last night that in his forth season they went from 58 out of 64 in placing of ratings for the big networks to number 2 over night simply by getting the Thursday night prime time slot. He said they went from nearly being cut to the hottest show on TV simply because of the time slot given to them. Proof IMO that what we watch and make popular in culture is influenced heavily by those that control the time slots.

I heard elsewhere that the big three Canadian networks will not give the prime time slots to Canadian made TV shows choosing instead to air proven American productions instead during those influential time slots.

Posted by: pisspulper on November 2 2007 6:14 AM

Well Ben, you have been very naughty. Shame on you. Just kidding. I believe we've all experienced similar behaviors, but it seems more like acting out on a fantasy than re-enacted violence by viewing media. Did you send anyone to hospital? Sending them crying to momma doesn't count. I've seen many a violent movie and played many extreme video games, yet i have not killed, mutilated or mangled anyone. I've become very tired of the experts' notion that violence in media and games is influential on children. But the experts say it is so. I do acknowledge that it is possibly a contributing factor in many cases of violence. However, the experts also never seem to report the quality of family life these violence mimicking children have. Neglected and abused children act out. It's easy to keep your children from annoying you is the mentality, give them a video game or movie and you dont't have to deal with them for hours. My opinion is that non-qualitative family life is the root cause and the larger contributor. Firstly within a quality family environment , one would probably spend less time interacting with the violent media source. Let me give you a scenario many readers can also relate to.

Posted by: pisspulper on November 2 2007 6:21 AM

This scenario has long lived before mass media. The gang tough delusion. To be in the gang is macho and you feel tough. Take one of those individuals out, and away from the pack they are cowards. But lets just find a source to call the culprit of violence, not many experts will say "You are worthless parents" That just doesn't help your career.

Posted by: Andyfreeze on November 2 2007 8:59 AM

When we were kids we played games like cowboys and indians,war,cops and robbers,etc.
Everyone did it because that's just the wat it was.
There was no intent to exploit violence or racism,it was a GAME!
The Sears catalogue was full of neat cap guns,rifles,and swords etc. that we all drooled over.
Now it is all "politically incorrect".
Kids are not given cap guns at Christmas anymore, and the games we played are considered inappropiate for kids to play due to violence aspect related to them.
Well, most of us didn't grow up as murderers or thugs and we all turned out ok as far as I know.
My kids even played video games when they first came out a long time back and they didn't turn out to be mass killers.
It's not the games or TV or the movies that influence kids.
It is the lack of guidance and attention by parents and society in general that does the most damage.
Attitude has much to do with it.
Kids CAN tell the difference between reality and fantasy, and those who cannot are destined to end up down the wrong road anyway.
I think it has very little to do with the media.

Posted by: heidi1555 on November 2 2007 10:05 AM

I think the ones that act out from what they watch and learn from others already have something not quite right going on their brains. A fried wire type thing. I know a man who grew up with alcoholic parents who chose to work hard through school and is now a pharmacist. I know a lady who had a loving great mother and I don't agree with some of the craziness that comes out of her mouth like talking mean to kids just to show them that they need to be prepared for the mean people of the world. I believe if we could just examine the brains of all the ones who act out we'd see our common denominator. I think the violence on tv might trigger certain peoples brains.

Posted by: diplomat on November 2 2007 12:57 PM

The influence of TV is mostly subliminal, subconscious and surreptitious, relying for instance on endless repetition to hammer home the messages. The viewer usually is unaware how much his/hers attitudes and responses have been gradually modified over many years of exposure.

It works on children and adults alike.

Posted by: northman on November 2 2007 3:06 PM

I miss WWF it was a great influnece.. I rember watching Royal Rumble with my cousins one april day. They happend to get a brand new trampoline at around the same time so naturally the trampoline ended up becoming the host for Royal Rumbles of our own. Ten kids one trampoline and a desire to mimick your favorite wrestler.

Posted by: Raparee on November 2 2007 3:30 PM

I can't tell you how many times I dropped an anvil on someone after watching Wil E. Coyote chase that Roadrunner.

Posted by: Belvedere on November 2 2007 5:17 PM

I'm confused. The title of this editorial made me think that it would be about how Mr. Meisner was made more violent through watching violent shows on television. Instead, I was informed that Mr. Meisner's perceptions of how to be cool were influenced by popular culture. Well, d'uh.

Acting tough and cool is perfectly fine, and our definition of what is cool is shaped by those cooler than us - movie stars and music artists. Acting violent because of what a person sees on television or in video games is completely unrelated, because that is not acceptable behaviour. I fail to see how Mr. Meisner can use anecdotal evidence of acceptable behaviour as an argument to suggest that people are more likely to engage in unacceptable behaviour (without even providing an example from his life, like the title would suggest exists). As I said, I'm confused.

Also, to pisspulper. The "experts" may say that violence on television and in video games can influence people to be more violent, but to the best of my knowledge, there is of yet no study that provides conclusive evidence to support that theory.

Posted by: kevin1006 on November 2 2007 5:33 PM

Spot on Ben.

But the real question that is not being asked, ever, is this one: Why is it a part of many people's fantasy world to watch one human being degrade another? Why do people enjoy watching other people suffer? This is the question that is cutting to the bone, whether some people act out or not on these fantasies is just another rung up from this base issue. Why do millions pay money to watch one person put a knife into another? Why is it considered cool by so many to watch another human have their brains splattered on a wall? If this is sick, which I have no doubt it is, then we have a very, very sick society as a whole simply because so many millions enjoy watching this degradation of one human over another.

Those that think this "entertainment" has no effect are not dealing with logic or reason. How, ask yourself, did you learn to speak English? How did you learn to walk? How did you learn how to drive a car? Observation. Some people learn better and faster than others... and some have less self control than others, just like some abuse beer and some don't. One way or the other it does affect you. Maybe you don't slit throats or shoot people in real life, but maybe it has made you more callous, or more tolerant of the suffering of others, be it human or animal.

This material is, simply, like dumping toxic chemicals into a river and then not expecting it to kill fish. This material is simply the pollution of the mind the same way the river is polluted.

Posted by: kevin1006 on November 2 2007 5:48 PM

Posted by: Belvedere on November 2 2007 5:56 PM

I don't know where you learned to drive, kevin, but when I learned, I had to practice. Just like when I learned to walk and talk. Kids can't just watch their parents drive and then get behind the wheel without any practice. Why do you think we have a graduated licensing program?

Observing an action and knowing how to perform that action is a long way off from actually being able to perform that action.

Posted by: pisspulper on November 3 2007 7:16 AM

Omg, abusing BEER. Are u mad? I treat mine with the utmost respect like my father taught me.
Belve, My "experts" suggestion was missing the usual sarcastic function.

Posted by: diplomat on November 4 2007 11:48 AM

"...or more tolerant of the suffering of others, be it human or animal."

One could say: "less caring and more indifferent."

I remember when people would stop and investigate/offer assistance when they encountered a person *passed out* on a sidewalk.

Unfortunately the more common thing in the larger cities is now that people will walk around the person or even step over it without stopping.