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Introduction
The technological advancements that led to the establishment of television and movie production significantly impacted society. Through it, the general population got ways in which entertainment could be practiced through watching films or television programs. Since these advancements were made, the youth have been constantly exposed. Television and movies have assumed central roles in their lives. Mass media generally have an enormous impact on the youths values, behavior, and beliefs. Repeated viewing of violent films causes the right lateral orbitofrontal cortex to be less active, causing the victims to have less control of their aggressive behaviors (Zulfiqar 2). The movie producers and distributors benefit so much at the expense of the youth; they tend to produce and distribute movies that are eye-catching, relevant to the happenings within the society, and addictive. Interventions need to be implemented to reduce the rate at which the current violent movies and television programs affect the general psychological health of the significant fun adolescents. Violence in film or television can negatively affect adolescents and desensitize some in real life.
Media Parenting
Media parenting has been an issue since adopting technological tools like televisions and smartphones. Parents constantly argue that parenting has gotten hard ever since the advancement in technology. Over 60 percent of English parents believe that television affects their childrens behavior, dress, and talk (Browne and Hamilton-Giachritsis 703). Violent television content got investigated in the USA, and the results showed that over 55 percent of the programs contained violence (Browne and Hamilton-Giachritsis 703). Parents not restricting the adolescents from viewing these films are the resultant cause of the increasing accessibility of the materials to the youth. In urban and part of rural centers, 93 percent of the adolescents who attended school spent 50 percent of their time watching films (Browne and Hamilton-Giachritsis 703). Over 45 percent of adolescents have a television in their bedrooms in England. Less than 43 percent get restrictions from their parents, limiting them from watching violent and unsuitable films or programs (Browne and Hamilton-Giachritsis 703). Without any restrictions imposed by parents, adolescents watch violent movies, which affects their general psychological health. As a result, they adopt violent behaviors as portrayed in the movies they watch and become bullies.
The Effects of Television and Film Violence
Television and films are powerful influences in shaping behavior and developing value systems among adolescents. Television violence is a significant factor that causes violent behavior among adolescents and can only be prevented through media parenting (Bushman et al. 203). Adolescents extensively viewing television and movies with violence forces them to be aggressive. Those with impulse control and emotional and behavioral problems are the significant victims easily influenced by television and movie violence (Anderson et al. 82). The ones who view films in which violence is repeated seem to be realistic or unpunished are more likely to imitate the behavior. They also become less sensitive to the pain and suffering of others as they portray this to be expected, as seen in the films. Adolescents get desensitized to violence in the real world, viewing it as part of life. With exposure to violent films, adolescents become fearful of the world around them since films are believed to be related to real-life happenings (Anderson et al. 84). Additionally, constantly viewing violent films increases the likeliness of adolescents to behave aggressively towards their peers. Adolescents tend to experiment with what they see against others, intending to act superior just as the aggressors do in the films.
Movies Revealing Existing Trends in Society
Narcos
Movies are now accessible on various platforms such as Amazon, YouTube, and Netflix, creating a fun activity that adolescents can engage in during their leisure time. The majority of these television programs and films portray real-life trends within the society; they are based on true stories like Narcos. Narcos is an American action and drama film which depicts the real-life encounter of Pablo Escobar. This Colombian drug trafficker rises to fame and acquires money by selling drugs (Khan 38). With this kind of film, the adolescents tend to believe they can earn money in the same ways, thus engaging in similar vices. Other films tend to portray robbery, drug abuse, sex, violence, and the use of offensive language, which are expected within society (Bushman et al. 205). The adolescents viewing such films may behave in similar ways as they get assimilated to the acts being portrayed by the actors.
All-American Film
Drug and alcohol abuse is nowadays considered an away of life among adolescents. Over 41 percent of high school students and 21 percent admit using alcohol and other drugs (Khan 39). Drug and substance abuse among the youth is a common trend in this modern society, and it is efficiently portrayed in movies. With this being a common trend, adolescents adopt the same, resulting in being corrupted morally. Another trend shown by movies is the increasing violence in schools (Khan 42). In the All-American film, violence in schools is considered typical, especially in areas occupied by African Americans. The film shows what happens in most of our schools, where suicides, shootings, and stabbings occur by fighting. Adolescents viewing such movies may adopt the same with the belief that it is the right way of handling certain matters. They are, in turn, influenced negatively and end up acquiring aggressive behavior as the actors portray them.
Violent Movies Influence Real-Life Experiences
Since the end of the 20th century, movies have been occupying a large portion of the media products consumed by adolescents. Most adolescents prefer spending over 50 percent of their leisure time streaming movies related to love, action, and drug abuse (Browne and Hamilton-Giachritsis 703). These films influence real-life experiences of the youth and adolescents in several ways, which generally determine their subsequent behaviors. Adolescents are exposed to violence in movies and television, increasing the likeliness of portraying aggressive behavior (Zulfiqar 4). In the past, bad vices among adolescents were related to bad neighborhoods, or those with bad friends were exposed to violent behaviors (Wiedeman et al. 193). Nowadays, a virtual wrong street is accessible to each in the form of movies. Adolescents now get access to films that show bad vices such as drug abuse, drug trafficking, shootings, and stubbing, which affect their psychological health as they tend to imitate the acts.
Euphoria
Real-life experiences are significantly influenced by violent movies, which adolescents like viewing. Through violent movies, bad habits, greediness, and wrong messages get sent to the entire public (Khan 39). A good example is the film Euphoria which revolves around a group of teens engaging in early sex practices even with older adults and drug abuse. Bad habits which are part of the real-life experiences influenced by violent movies include drug abuse and engaging in early sexual acts. As seen in the film they view, adolescents tend to engage in early sexual practices, which may have severe consequences such as getting sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and early pregnancies (Khan 40). Another bad habit seen in these films portraying real-life experiences is greediness. The majority of the violent films constitute the theme of greed, where the actors represent this vice in addition to violent deeds. Adolescents who get access to these movies practice the same sins as they try to relate to their favorite actors in the films.
Beneficiaries of Violent Films
With a majority of the adolescents and the general movie lovers opting for movies with action, drama, and romance, the industry focuses much on the three genres. Violent movies are addictive to the youth as they portray the activities they like to engage in, like drug abuse making them fun to watch (Bushman et al. 204). Movie producers take advantage of this and see opportunities to make a lot of revenue given the violent films sales. The beneficiaries of violent films production are streaming sites, actors, writers, directors, and producers. Streaming sites like Amazon and Netflix opt to make this kind of movie a priority on their platforms, making many of them accessible to the public (Zulfiqar 4). The streaming sites receive a lot of revenue given the number of subscriptions. These streaming sites can get accessed from most devices like smartphones, laptops, and android televisions, increasing the streaming sites revenue rate. Despite the production of violent films benefiting the streaming sites and producers, these movies also help the adolescents by offering a great chance of finding great meaning in life.
Interventions
Parents, media producers, policymakers, and professionals must implement specific interventions to reduce the effects of violence in movies on adolescents. Policymakers need to ensure education related to media awareness teaching on the impact of violent films on the public. They must monitor the nature, extent, and context of cinema portraying violence and implement strategies to reduce adolescents access to such (Browne and Hamilton-Giachritsis 709). Media producers need to reduce violent content and advocate for anti-violence. They are to ensure that violent actions in the produced films are not justified. When violence is presented, it should be associated with penalty, remorse, and criticism (Wiedeman et al. 197). Parents need to reduce exposure to media violence by limiting screen time and taking charge of what adolescents watch. Another intervention by parents is reviewing the context, nature, and extent of the violence in the films before making it available to the adolescents for viewing (Browne and Hamilton-Giachritsis 709). On the other hand, professionals need to offer advice and support to parents regarding unsupervised screen time by adolescents. Lastly, they need to intervene by educating the adolescents in critical film appraisal in terms of consequences, realism, and justification.
Conclusion
Violence in films and television programs has negatively affected adolescents general mental and physical behavior while also desensitizing some in real life. Lack of proper media parenting has been a significant cause for the increase in accessibility of violent films. Violence-orientated television programs and movies are the essential sources of violence among adolescents as they opt to imitate what they view. The existing trends within the society, such as drug abuse, early sexual acts, violence in schools, vulgar language, and robbery, are revealed in violent movies such as Narcos and All American. Violent films such as Euphoria influence real-life experiences by showing what happens in the adolescents world. These films show harmful vices such as greed and bad habits that depict real-life experiences. The primary beneficiaries of these violence-based movies are the streaming sites, producers, and actors. Lastly, interventions by parents, policymakers, media producers, and professionals such as imposing restrictions and offering education to adolescents are essential in limiting the effects of violent movies on the behavior of adolescents.
Works Cited
Anderson, Craig A. et al. The Influence of Media Violence on Youth. Psychological Science In The Public Interest, vol 4, no. 3, 2003, pp. 81-110. SAGE Publications.
Browne, Kevin D, and Catherine Hamilton-Giachritsis. The Influence of Violent Media on Children and Adolescents: A Public-Health Approach. The Lancet, vol 365, no. 9460, 2005, pp. 702-710. Elsevier BV.
Bushman, Brad J. et al. There Is Broad Consensus: Media Researchers Agree That Violent Media Increase Aggression In Children, And Pediatricians And Parents Concur. . Psychology of Popular Media Culture, vol 4, no. 3, 2015, pp. 200-214. American Psychological Association (APA).
Khan, Muhammad Uzair. THE IMPACT OF VIOLENT MOVIES. Journal of Media &Amp; Communication, vol 1, no. 1, 2020, pp. 36-43. ILMA University. Web.
Wiedeman, Ashlee M. et al. Factors Influencing the Impact of Aggressive and Violent Media on Children and Adolescents. Aggression and Violent Behavior, vol 25, 2015, pp. 191-198. Elsevier BV.
Zulfiqar, Syed Hassan. Does Media Violence Cause Violence? Can Exposure To Violent TV Shows, Movies, And Video Games Turn People Aggressive And Desensitized To Violence? SSRN Electronic Journal, vol 1, no. 1, 2020, pp. 2-24. Elsevier BV.
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