THE INFLUENCE OF MEDIA IN CRIMINAL BE
The influence
that communications media has in society is growing more and more every day.
Competition among newspapers, Magazines, cinema, and television pushes the media
to develop new ways’ to catch people’s attention. The fascination of knowing
the speed at which news travels around the world has changed the way in which we
view everything around us. We turn to television to find out how the weather is
going to be and choose the cloth to wear. If we want to know how the
presidential elections went or the opinion of the president about an issue of
concern to us, the newspaper becomes a good communicator. Often we comment with
our friends about something that came in the newspaper or that we saw on
television, but news is not the only reason why we read or turn on the
television for. We also do it because we want some entertainment.
Movies, sports
and other programs are the providers that we need to have a relaxing time. The
emotion that we experience in the movies takes us to a different set of mind
while we are watching. For a moment some of us might even believe that we are
the actors of the movie, or we might just enjoy the beautiful sites in which the
scene is taking place. Also, the excitement of the moment could even make us
react by instinct, and jump out of our seats or make a sudden exclamation. We
all know how much impact a terror movie can have on us or our children and that
is why we choose to see it or not. I believe that for some people, the effect
that media has on them does not stop when the movie, the news or the program
that we are watching ends, and that this effect might be the cause of a change
of behavior, and not always for the better.
HOW MUCH MEDIA
INFLUENCES BEHAVIOR?
According to
Victor Hugo Bolanos, the author of "Impacto de la gran prensa"(the
impact of the press), the message that a communicator or an actor wants to get
through the mind of the viewer is one in which the observer identifies him-self
to him. We can easily see it in young kids at the end of an action movie when
they are running around claming to be Rambo, Rocky or any other movie hero. He
also believes that some of the crimes that we hear about in the radio or
television are the consequence of the violence that we see in the media since we
were young. He gives an example the cartoons of Walt Disney in which Donald, Tom
and Jerry, Porky or the Roadrunner are the inspiration for the kids to take into
consideration deceitful acts against others, since those are the means that the
characters us to confront their problems, and that these same children learn to
transfer this to friends and Society.
There are some
Television shows that try to create a different atmosphere in the community and
change the view of some people towards issues like racial differences. One of
these television programs, according to Justine Lewis author of "The
Ideological Octopus," is the Cosby Show in which we can see an upper middle
class black family to which Black and White people could relate to. But even
this kind of shows has provoked criticism in which it is affirmed that the show
is presenting a misleading picture of the reality in which many of the Black
families live. It tries to influence the viewers to fix the relationship between
Blacks and Whites. There are other shows that contradict the way in which this
show presents the life of Black families in America, and unfortunately we pay
more attention to them because we see violence and that is more attractive to
us. Furthermore, the way in which distant people perceive the films is different
because of the fact that we all have differences n our background. I think that
the films affect the minds and perception of the viewers in a variety of ways,
but it does it.
Ron Johnson
and Jane Bone, authors of the book "Understanding the Film," wrote a
comment about the different perception of people towards the same movie. They
said that if we go to the cinema to see a film, at the end the opinions about it
might vary due to the differences of people: out of twenty people, they wrote,
two could be Russian, three could be too young, ten girls or woman, three did
not have lunch before the film, three cold think that guns should be registered
by the government, etc. The reactions about the film are gong to be different
and whatever stays on your mind, may not be something other viewers remember.
EVIDENCE OF
MEDIA INFLUENCE ON PEOPLES’ BEHAVIOR
How many times
we read in the newspaper that a suicidal teen acted imitating her favorite
actress. Just like a case presented on a TV program entertainment tonight in
which somebody, influenced by a movie, set a ticket boot on fire in the sub-way
of New York while imitating a part of his favorite movie. How many times we
heard critics about the reactions of some teenagers to the "Beavis and
Butthead" program. There was a case in 1974 of a nine years old girl that
was raped with a glass bottle by four other girls who claimed they had watched a
similar act on the movie "Born innocent".
We know that
these cases are based (many times) on people that could not distinguish fantasy
from reality. I could not affirm that my personal opinion is the whole truth
because, even though there are books that address this subject, we might need
more studies about it. Some believe that Media has nothing to do with what
others could claim it is its fault. However, this essay was based on my personal
opinion, but it does not mean that it could not change yours…
Luis R Cardenas
Back to Articles Corner
Useful links: citizenship Test, The constitutuion, US President, Bill of Rights