decides to use violence in order to deal with the situation. This May motivates people who are in the same situation to use violence because megamind has proved that it’s the only way out. Just like I said before, its takes time for one to imitate what they so in films but eventually they do without realizing it. Most violent films repeat the same message that violence is the only way to go. I’m convinced that repeated exposure to similar messages makes it easier for people to accept them as true, and more importantly, act as though they’re true. even when they know the messages are false. Just consider how TV ads are repeated. The companies behind ads are willing to pay for such repetition. As results of this repetition of similar messages on films people end up imitating it because it is installed into their minds.
When it comes to the city of god, I think the most important factor to point out is that it shows way too many strategies as to how to lead a gang of criminals and run a successful drug business all at the same time. The message in this film is not encouraging people to join gangsters but it’s indirectly giving them clues as to how to go about doing what I’ve just mentioned above. This will promote violence to someone who is more exposed to these kinds of films.
Video games
Violent games are directly affecting people to act out in violence. This is because they are interactive with the gamer hence he has no power to resist the effects. Unfortunately these violent games encourages killing, in fact the gamer gains a point for every character he has killed in the game. One thing I’ve noticed about these video games is that the characters are made to look like human beings in every possible way. Even the lab setting looks real. This means that video games simulate what could happen in real life and this has serious psychological effect on the gamer. We all know that these games are highly addictive.
Violent video games induce aggressive thought and behavior. Much like films, its takes time for one to actually start behaving aggressively as a result of too much exposure to violent games. Playing video games is like smoking cigarettes, a single cigarette won’t cause lung cancer but smoking over weeks or months or years greatly increases the risk. In the same way, repeated exposure to violent video games may have cumulative effects on aggression. Consider how aggressive a person act if he is losing in a game, this is evident that gamers have accepted the video game characters as real. At the back of their mind they know that it’s just an animation but due to it human like qualities the illusion seem to be real. This makes it much easier for people who play these games to end up being violent. It is said that Adam Lanza (20 year old behind the horrific shooting rampage in Newtown. conn.) was obsessed with these bloody video games. It took him a long time to imitate the violence he saw in the games but he did, this statement confirms my point that it does not happen overnight for one to be influenced.
As a child I was once exposed to a violent video game which was called the street fighter. I was very good at playing it in such a way that I ended up seeing myself as one of these super hero characters. The only thing I kept thinking about at that time was violence. When I did not see eye to eye with my siblings or anyone else I’d try to imitate this violence. So I am a living testimony that video games do influence an individual to act out in violence but the process start psychologically. Once the person start seeing the characters as real people, that where the problem begins. Most of the time you hear the gamer making comments about his character as if his real person. The things we talk about the most are what we end up doing.
Music
Music is the easiest medium to convey a massege reason being most songs are catchy. Musicians do this intentionally so that fans could easily sing along. The most horrifying moment is hearing a person reciting violent lyrics with practically no thinking about the message in in these lyrics. Sadly most violent songs promote murder, theft; drug use etc. repeated messages are easily installed in our minds and easy to remember. Again think of TV ads. Unfortunately people who recite these violent lyrics are celebrities who are very influential and has millions of followers (kanye west, lil wayne etc.). Most people aspire to be like these public figures, hence adopt their life style. That includes dress code, accent etc. if lil wayne rap about guns (lil wayne.gunwalk.2013.YMCMB) automatically his followers will want to have guns. Since he has millions of followers and at least a third of them want to be like him, then a violent society will result. If a person is willing to change the way they look because of some celebrity, then it’s possible for them to change their behavior for the same reason (think of stan, Eminem’s number one fan).
The thing about music is that the listener has no power to oppose a message that is being passed on to him because its recorded, so he just accepts it has it is. Whether it promote violence or not. Just like I said before. Repeated messages’ tend to make us believe that something is real even if its not, that goes for music too. We often hear these violent songs repeatedly and start believing in them. This may lead to us being violent.
Expert agrees that violent lyrics increase aggressive thought and behavior. According to Craig A Anderson, PhD of lowa state university. Aggressive thought can influence perceptions of on going social interactions, coloring them with an aggressive tint. Such aggression- biased interpretations can, in turn, instigate a more aggressive response- verbal or physical than would have been emitted in a non biased state.
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