Why do companies spend billions a year on advertising?
If reading something or seeing something has no effect, then advertising would have no effect.
For that matter, literature or poetry would have no effect. Propaganda would have no effect.
But we all should be able to concede that they do. The question is really on what effect does it have on individuals.
Each of us are different. Each of us are influenced from things within our environment and that includes television and movies.
Does that mean we need to censor movies, no. It just means we need to acknowledge that for some, the violence of television, movies and video games will influence them in ways that may not influence you or me.
The question to ask is where do children learn what is right and what is wrong? The family of course, but also in the stories told. If you look into the past most of these stories (even the violent ones) had a moral lesson to learn.
Perhaps that is what is missing in our current culture, the wrong moral lesson is being taught.
For a long time the movie industry had a moral code, one being the bad guy could not, must not win. That is no longer the case. Every since the anti-heroes of the 1960s the bad (evil) person may just as likely to win in the in as not.
completely agree with you and perfectly stated.
advertising and culture do have an effect. books have an effect, the Bible has an effect, movies, TV and music all have a cumulative effect.
to state otherwise is ridiculous. Violence in movies and games has a different effect on everyone.
what to do about it? there’s the rub. better attention paid to things in the culture that DO have a positive effect on our young, hard work, goodness, prayer, etc..
we need to counter the awful effect of that crap.
1st amendment must stand, obviously...
I’d like to add to your comment if I may. To say that violence in video games and movies have no effect on the behavior of those watching it would is wrong. Just look at how pornography effects those who watch and read it. So if movie violence doesn’t stimulate some ideas in some people, how can they account for the effects of pornography on people?
Would a child exposed to porn suffer any ill effects? I’m sure they would. So how can someone say that a child who views numerous acts of violence, either in movies or video games (where they take part in the violence) isn’t at all effected by that violence?
Some people seem to be in major denial at this thought.