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August 1997, Week 1

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Subject:
From:
jennifer taylor <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Film and TV Studies Discussion List <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Tue, 5 Aug 1997 07:55:06 PDT
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Opinion on TV violence
 
From Jennifer Evans
 
 
Chris W. said in response to one of my statements :
 
 "Well, I disagree with you on this one. I think NYPD Blue is one of
the rare shows that shows violence in a fairly true light, often
depicting consequences that are disturbing. The sex in the show is
often loving sex, even if it is there for the ratings. When the story
line revolves around sex and crime or sex and violence, there is rarely
any glorification of either. I would rather my children saw NYPD Blue
than Woman in Red for sex, and that any action/adventure film for
violence."
 
Well my response and question to you Chris is: Do you have kids and if
not have you ever been around them to observe their behavior after
watching a show with violence or sex or even language? And I do confess
that I have not seen Woman in Red in a long time and do not really
remember what it is exactly about. But to say that you would let your
children watch NYPD Blue; well that just blows my mind. I am not
saying that the show is bad because I myself like the show and watch it
all the time. But all I am saying is that I would not let my children
watch it. In fact they would be in bed by 8:30 p.m. anyhow, so it would
not really matter. The second part of the question is have you ever
observed a childs behavior after watching such shows. If not, well I
have. I have been taking care of kids for a long time, whether it be
baby-sitting, or when I did daycare. And a childs behavior after
watching something with violence is totally different from a child who
has been watching Sesame Street. The child who watches something with
violence is more likely to act out that violence and reenact the scenes
than a child who has been watching a show such a Sesame Street. That
child is more calm and more collected and loving than the other. There
has been a study done on children who watch the separate shows.
 
 
This next question and response is directed to Rachel Miriam Bobrow.
Rachel you said, "I m not sure I would use cartoons as any moral
guidepost--as many are more violent than live action shows. I sometimes
think that cartoons may be the root of many violent acts occurring in
society today. If it s okay for a cartoon character to slam run
someone over in a car, bop them on the head, etc. what stops children
from believing that that is the way to solve things in their own lives,
after all, they saw it on television? Many parents ignore the violence
in cartoons because they thing-oh, it s a cartoon, how bad could it be?"
 
 Rachel, I think you misunderstood what I was trying to say. When I
was little cartoons that were being shown were the Smurfs, Scooby Doo,
Gummi Bears, and many others. These cartoons that are being viewed
today by children are much more violent than they were some 15 to 18
years ago. Take for instance the cartoon Mortal Kombat, or even the
new Johnny Quest cartoon which has got more violence than it used to.
I take care of a lot of kids and I am able to observe their reactions to
these different kinds of cartoons and from what I see it really scares
me. I am still a big Scooby Doo fan and still watch it, and compared to
some of the other cartoons I have seen this does not even compare.
 
 
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