I am a TA for Human Development and have just spent the last three days grading dozens of papers that critically analyze an argument that asserts that media violence leads to desensitization to violence, aggression, and acts of violence in young children. It was interesting to think about this argument in the context of the material we have been learning in our media class. The particular article in question is outdated and I am unaware of more current studies on the topic. It is hard to create a valid and reliable study about the effects of media violence that controls for confounding variables and that can be generalized to the population in question. The more I think about it, the less sure I am about the consequences of violent media on subsequent aggression.
One genre I am particularly curious about is fantasy violence. Fantasy violence seems to be a more popular genre portrayed in movies and in video games. Does media that portrays fantasy violence lead to desentization and acts of aggression in individuals?
I have been spending the last few weekends watching the extended versions of each of the Lord of the Rings films (which happen to be my all-time favorite movies on the planet). I grew up on that series and I practically have the films memorized. It is interesting to note that I am incredibly sensitive to violent media. I can hardly handle watching any kind of violent or intense scenes in films that portray more realistic situations. However, the Lord of the Rings films do not bother me at all, and those movies are incredibly violent. I grew up on those films, yet I have not been desensitized to violence at all, nor do I have an aggressive bone in my body. It makes me wonder if fantasy violence does not effect individuals as much as realistic violence, or if violent media in general effects people at all. But I'm just one case out of millions.
Thoughts?
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