Tv Violence and Children

Television Violence and Children

Honors American Literature
Mrs. Ebel
Period 5
Andre Roberts

“Go, go Power Rangers!” Millions of children heard that very line echo through their homes as the Power Rangers defeated yet another foe. Whether it be an alien or a petty thief, the message was clear: fight. Of course television violence has evolved for children. Now they watch their favorite superhero defeat the villain with a ray gun or super strength. Perhaps they are supposed to interpret the violence differently if it is hand drawn and not acted out, but one thing remains omnipresent, violence. Commercial television for children is 50-60 times more violent than prime-time programs for adults, some cartoons average more than 80 violent acts per hour.[1]
In the 90s it was Scooby Doo, Power Rangers, Tom & Jerry, and Superman. Everyone watched television then. No one told them that sitting there like mindless drones would turn them into mindless drones. No one told them that everything they saw would eventually dig its way into their subconscious and wreak havoc. Of course not many people know that even today. On Saturday mornings kids would wake up, grab a bowl of cereal, and sit in front of the television for five hours watching cartoon after cartoon, I did. There weren’t many educational cartoons on back then like Backyardigans and such unless you were watching KPBS; but who did that? So instead millions of kids are watching Tom get whacked in the face with a frying pan and the red ranger round-housing yet another creep. Once twelve ‘o clock hit all those kids that just saw a new fight sequence are outside testing the moves out. If they’re lucky they’ll cry to mom with a scraped knee. Others aren’t so lucky, they cry to the doctor over a broken arm and leg; and for what? To portray their favorite Power Ranger!
Today we watch Ben 10: Alien Force, Johnny Test, and Fairly Odd Parents. Once again we sit there so engrossed in which alien Ben will turn into...