there's something wrong with the media today......

[Aurasmash14]

Link to original post: [drupal=2126]there's something wrong with the media today......[/drupal]



Ok, so lately i have started noticing children are starting to become desensitized to violence. and the media definitely arent helping. Back in my parents time, the most violent thing you could watch was probably the looney tunes or Tom and Jerry. Usually blood and gore was kept away from kiddies. But now, so many kids are being exposed to extreme violence, and not because of the newspaper. a good example would be Happy Tree Friends. the show is actually rated for kids just because its effing animated! The blood and gore in the show is absolutely enormous, and kids have free access to it. But that isnt all. Has anybody noticed even franchises meant for children have started becoming more and more violent/filled with sexual themes? The sims suddenly allowed people to go and "woohoo" or make out in full view of a potentially young player. But probably the best example that we humans are starting to become a little more twisted is the game Madworld. The Violence in there is excruciating even for an adult to play. your even encouraged to be as "creative" as possible when it comes to killing the opponent.


Am i the only one seeing something wrong with this? your thoughts??

 

[Red-Blue]

Happy Tree Friends is not rated for kids. A child has as much access to Happy Tree Friends as he/she does to pornography. As a parent, it's your responsibility to ensure that that kind of content is not viewable to your child. Or if you allow it, viewable.

MadWorld is not rated for kids, and horror and Gore have been staples in video gaming for a long time now. To blame people becoming more twisted on a single video game that isn't at all that psychologically disturbing, is nonsense. Have you played Silent Hill on the Playstation 1? To this day, that game has traumatized me. I foolishly decided to play that game at the age of 9, thinking I was man enough to handle it. It was my decision, and my parents' decision that allowed me to play that game(, and boy do I regret it).

Youngsters aren't being desensitized that much, the truth about the world being a harsh place is simply being exposed at an earlier age.

 

[Frown]

Gore will scare the kids if anything, which isn't good. I watched The Life of David Gale when I was 11, and a scene from that movie stayed in my mind for months.

Sex will not hurt the kids, it might confuse them though. Confusion will make them ask embarrassing questions to their parents, which they can answer correctly or just say "We'll talk about that when you grow older".

Realistic violence can affect them though. Shooting with realistic guns or fist fights are things that happen in real life, and can actually make people more violent. I've noticed this on my little brother, actually.

 

[Red-Blue]

Can, but not automatically Will.

 

[bobson]

a good example would be Happy Tree Friends. the show is actually rated for kids just because its effing animated!

How did you manage to come up with the notion that Happy Tree Friends is "rated for kids?"

Between the ages of 9-11, I used to browse the internet for the most gruesome videos I could possibly find, because I thought they were cool. Oddly enough, I had sense to differentiate reality from fantasy, and I didn't end up shooting up my school. Later, I got bored of them, so I stopped searching for them. Watching the Pokemon anime for a shorter amount of time had more of a longterm effect on me.

 

[Firus]

The sims suddenly allowed people to go and "woohoo" or make out in full view of a potentially young player.

The Sims has always had this, because it is a simulator for life. Plus, they don't actually show you what they're doing, and the game is actually pretty non-graphic as far as a lot of things go.

And they're rated T. All three games. If a young player gets a hold of the game then that's the parents' fault (not that this means that kids won't get a hold of them for sure, but it certainly does say that the parents just need to actually do their job).

There are a lot of things wrong with society these days, and while violence and overly graphic things are certainly bad, there are many worse things with society that are probably never going to change because no one actually cares, probably because they can't scapegoat video games or something else for them.

[/pessimism about society]

 

[El Nino]

"Happy Tree Friends" is not for kids. If it ever got rated for kids, that's the fault of those in charge of ratings.

"MadWorld" has an M rating, I believe. Also not for kids.

I think real world violence is far worse than fake violence of any kind. U.S. media, strangely, cushions the public from one while indulging in the other. And, oddly enough, some people who criticize depictions of torture in movies support it in real life. Because, you know, fake torture is obscene; real torture is...acceptable policy.

 

[Firus]

And, oddly enough, some people who criticize depictions of torture in movies support it in real life. Because, you know, fake torture is obscene; real torture is...acceptable policy.

The difference is that you don't watch real life torture for entertainment.

 

[highfive]

Grand Theft Auto anyone?

Really, as most people would say, the parent is the one responsible for what the children watch or play.

 

[Red-Blue]

I think real world violence is far worse than fake violence of any kind. U.S. media, strangely, cushions the public from one while indulging in the other. And, oddly enough, some people who criticize depictions of torture in movies support it in real life. Because, you know, fake torture is obscene; real torture is...acceptable policy.

True words, definitely agree.

 

[GTA_Hater_331]

This conversation reminds me of the Ancient Romans. They actually liked to see blood and gore. Did any of you remember what went down in that colloseum over a millennium ago when you said stuff like Happy Tree Friends and MadWorld were particularly violent?

 

[Darkslash]

Link to original post: [drupal=2126]there's something wrong with the media today......[/drupal]



Ok, so lately i have started noticing children are starting to become desensitized to violence. and the media definitely arent helping. Back in my parents time, the most violent thing you could watch was probably the looney tunes or Tom and Jerry. Usually blood and gore was kept away from kiddies. But now, so many kids are being exposed to extreme violence, and not because of the newspaper. a good example would be Happy Tree Friends. the show is actually rated for kids just because its effing animated! The blood and gore in the show is absolutely enormous, and kids have free access to it. But that isnt all. Has anybody noticed even franchises meant for children have started becoming more and more violent/filled with sexual themes? The sims suddenly allowed people to go and "woohoo" or make out in full view of a potentially young player. But probably the best example that we humans are starting to become a little more twisted is the game Madworld. The Violence in there is excruciating even for an adult to play. your even encouraged to be as "creative" as possible when it comes to killing the opponent.


Am i the only one seeing something wrong with this? your thoughts??

Yea there's some thing wrong. You seem to be ignoring the giant ERSB warnings and VIEWER DISCRETION is advised alot.Though this post made me LoL alot. I wouldn't be surprised if you were in late 20's.

But seriously Tom and Jerry are as violent as the stuff to day. The things they pull of could SERIOUSLY kill a person.

 

[*JuriHan*]

illinialex243 wanted to say this:

"I actually find that cartoon violence with no implications is more serious than kids viewing people dying among other things in some situations. Although I agree desesitizing kids to violence is bad, cartoon violence with no real impact teaches kids that you can kill someone and they will have no ill effects. As a result, there have been stories of a kid after playing DK64 killing his neighbor because he thought she would respawn essentially. Showing a death scene where someone is truly gone will at least teach them that there are major consequences for serious actions.

Sex, however, is a different issue. Kids are growing up way too quickly and I have recently had situations with a 10 year old girl looking at explicit images, an 11 year old girl trying to grope me as well as flirting with a guy back home. We really need to hide sex more successfully from children."

 

[Hive Mind]

Lol I say Republic Commando. T with tons of alien blood.

 

[Darkslash]

Lol I say Republic Commando. T with tons of alien blood.

Republic Commando was tame.

Nothing was more brutal than the opening scene of World At War. A capture marine gets a cigarette burrowed into his eye AFTER it was smoked, so it was on fire. THEN he gets his throat slit.

Its REALLY disturbing and is one of the reasons I tend to avoid "Raid on Makin", but its like the FIRST LEVEL. After that every one explodes. Its not uncommon that the only thing left of a guy is just the torso.

 

[Hive Mind]

Republic Commando was tame.

It's really just the blood. It doesn't deserve an M rating but pushing the T. And some (no ****'s in there) swearing.

 

[Teran]

Back in my mother's time, the most violent thing you could see was real life warfare, with people frozen stiff by chemical agents, and people entrails splattered on walls from the force of an explosion.

Violence, it exists anyway.

 

[Hive Mind]

back In My Mother's Time, The Most Violent Thing You Could See Was Real Life Warfare, With People Frozen Stiff By Chemical Agents, And People Entrails Splattered On Walls From The Force Of An Explosion.

Violence, It Exists Anyway.

Qft.

........

 

[Darkslash]

It's really just the blood. It doesn't deserve an M rating but pushing the T. And some (no ****'s in there) swearing.

Its tame. You want to see a game which was pushing the T rating?

Every thing that was killable could be blown to a head, 2 arms and 2 legs.

 

[Hive Mind]

Oh god.
I get it.

 

[Mr. Rogu]

theres not just something wrong with the media, everything is wrong with the media. kids arent just seeing violent things everywhere, they also know things that they really shouldnt be knowing til they are older.

for ex: look at the movies. back when i was a younger kid, they NEVER swore in a PG movie. Today, every PG movie swears now and usually has at least one sexual themed joke. Like Paul Blart Mall Cop. I saw it yesterday but i could not believe how many times they swore in it even though its a PG movie.

i could go on with how wrong the media is but ill just stop here

 

[bobson]

"I actually find that cartoon violence with no implications is more serious than kids viewing people dying among other things in some situations. Although I agree desesitizing kids to violence is bad, cartoon violence with no real impact teaches kids that you can kill someone and they will have no ill effects.

No, it teaches them that in cartoons, you can kill someone and there will be no ill effects. If the parent has any sense at all, the kid will not be confusing this with reality.

 

[El Nino]

The difference is that you don't watch real life torture for entertainment.

Sure, but what does it matter whether you watch or not. Real is real; it happens, even when your back is turned. Fake, no matter how gruesome, is still fake.

I think there's a tendency among some Americans to over-analyze violence and sex in the media. I think they tend to give it more weight than it probably deserves, probably because it's easier to put the blame there rather than on the more complicated aspects of psychology and sociology. Analyzing something they are familiar with (violence in the media) is easier than analyzing something they don't know (violence in real life) or don't have any insight on.

At least, that's how things appear to me.

 

[highfive]

The difference is that you don't watch real life torture for entertainment.

I believe Japanese game shows are quite popular here in the Americas.

 

[Clownbot]

Even though the content of the OP is pretty misinformed, the main idea rings true; the media is pretty ****ed up nowadays.

 

[Hive Mind]

Clownbot wins once again.

 

[highfive]

Even though the content of the OP is pretty misinformed, the main idea rings true; the media is pretty ****ed up nowadays.

haven't you heard? Those hoods are there for your protection as the meteors these days are the size of corpses. Pay no attention to the men behind the barbed curtain.

 

[Aurasmash14]

Yea there's some thing wrong. You seem to be ignoring the giant ERSB warnings and VIEWER DISCRETION is advised alot.Though this post made me LoL alot. I wouldn't be surprised if you were in late 20's.

But seriously Tom and Jerry are as violent as the stuff to day. The things they pull of could SERIOUSLY kill a person.

) actually I havent. however look at the youtube ratings of happy tree friends. rated TV-Y. Horror and gore are and always will be a part of media and i understand that, however seriously i still think there is something wrong. The ESRB rates a game sure but it still doesnt stop much. All those who are berating me for saying Happy tree friends was rated for kids go watch one. Youtbe has it rated Y even if mondo media said its for MA.


Edit- TY clownbot. And no im actually 14 hehehehe.

 

[:mad:]

Please tell me where you see youtube ratings.

 

[Aurasmash14]

ahem... Look at the bottom of a vid that was meant for TV.

not all the HTF vids have them but ive seen some with a rating at the bottom.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLLNKpJrHro&feature=related here is one that has a rating.

 

[El Nino]

Please tell me where you see youtube ratings.

Under the player, between the star ratings and the number of views.

Youtbe has it rated Y even if mondo media said its for MA.

That's YouTube's error. If it troubles you that much, you may want to just email them about it.

 

[bobson]

Youtbe has it rated Y even if mondo media said its for MA.

I had to check four before I found one with this rating (I didn't even know Youtube had ratings) and I find no reason to believe it's not a joke, given the style of the show.

Regardless, it's not rated Y by any actual ratings corporations, so your point is moot. If I tell you that Kill Bill is a great movie to show at your toddler's birthday party, it's not the fault of the film producer that you put it on without watching it to make sure.

 

[:mad:]

Thanks, I've never really noticed that before.

 

[Aurasmash14]

I had to check four before I found one with this rating (I didn't even know Youtube had ratings) and I find no reason to believe it's not a joke, given the style of the show.

Regardless, it's not rated Y by any actual ratings corporations, so your point is moot. If I tell you that Kill Bill is a great movie to show at your toddler's birthday party, it's not the fault of the film producer that you put it on without watching it to make sure.

Ok ok fine. so I am horrible at writing threads. I just wanted to see peoples thoughts on the matter and so far I have gotten only a few. Now everyone please stop flaming me for being terribly dumb and misinformed and actually respond to my question.

 

[mountain_tiger]

I can see where you're coming from, Aurasmash. The media has become much more influential over the past few decades, and I think the main reason newspapers do it is because it attracts more readers, meaning more sales for them. I've led a rather sheltered life in the sense that when I was young I never saw anything particularly gory. Heck, when I was 11 I wasn't even allowed to watch all of Titanic.

Also, I think it's just how times have changed. I mean, around fifty years ago, abortion was illegal; nowadays you can pretty much get it on demnad. Fifty years ago, the majority of women stayed at home and did housework; nowadays more and more women are going out to work. Fifty years ago, gay people were reviled; nowadays the majority of people have no problem with them. See what I mean? It's the same sort of thing. People are more accustomed to violence and gore nowadays, so the media has more freedom to show it. I mean, were the newspapers banging on about terrorism thirty years ago? No, they weren't, because they had the Cold War to worry about. Newspapers just grab the latest big story and blow it as far out of proportion as they can, and once people get bored of it, they move onto something else.