| MEDIA
VIOLENCE Violence
in “civilized” society existed long before modern forms of
media; however, since the introduction of modern media, the amount of
violence has greatly increased. But, does this mean that the producers
of violent media are to blame for this increase?
Although it would be absurd to suggest there is a single cause responsible for the incases in violence—as there is simply too many factors that can contribute to, and perpetuate, acts of violence—this does not mean that assessing the effects of media violence and being critical of those who produce and consume media violence is a futile endeavor. Rather, assessing media violence is a useful activity because it can help us think about overlapping ethical obligations that should be considered, and ethically flawed conduct that should be avoided. Hence, the following essays assess some of the lyrics of Jack Johnson that describe and confront media violence and relate these lyrics to a scholarly article on television violence and the moral/ethical philosophy of Robert Neville. |