It seems that in America today, we have become obsessed with violence. The more violent a t.v. show or movie is, the more popular it is. Many shows get away depicting intense violence by using the guise of "crime" shows. All the CSI shows are perfect examples of this. They show some of the most violent murders/suicides but it is deemed acceptable because of the nature of the show. However, a show like Showtime/CBS' Dexter has received a lot of harsh criticism. Regardless of the nature of the show, violence has permeated our society in every medium. Except one.
News reports are the only area where violence is, for lack of a better word, quelled. Acts of violence are more often than not euphemized when talking about the war in Iraq. What I mean by this is, whenever a violent act occurs in Iraq, the reports of it are given to the public in such a way that it seems less violent than what actually took place. Many times, also, the news skims over many of the violent acts that happen in Iraq. If one would head over to the website LiveLeak, you would know exactly what I mean.
What I don't understand is that, if America is a country that is so obsessed with violence, why is it pushed to the side in the news? I know that people generally do not want to hear about the horrific things that happen, but I feel the public NEEDS to know these things. We as a country do not understand what it means to be at war. The last war that was fought in America happened over 140 years ago. We don't know the effect war has and I firmly believe that we need to see it. We are blissfully ignorant. We hear reports of people dying and think to ourselves, "What a shame." However, other than that, we are never told about the other types of things that happen. If we can see violence in the movies and on t.v., why can't the news report it?
1 comment:
I have to argue you on this one. I feel that the media is the source of violent stories being leaked out to the public. Sure it isn't as dramatized as in a television show, however, the media thrives on releasing stories about increasing murder rates, or the latest house fire, or someone robbing a convinience store...
Violence exists on this medium, and pushing stories of violent nature away on the news if the last thing that the media wants to do. Sometimes they utilize violent stories to benefit the public's awareness - looking out for a serial rapist who has murdered several victims of a nearby town.
Sometimes I feel that the media uses violent styles of reporting stories about given people in order to stir up the public's emotion. Politics for instance...not all clips of speeches are shown on the news. When the late governor of New Jersey announced that he was gay, the media blew the story out of proportion, "violently" attacking his reputation.
The media is full of violence, not just television shows.
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