SOC 202 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Tragic Hero, Romanticism, Clickhole
Document Summary
Violence exists and has existed in all societies. In contemporary north american society, we also see violence frequently in media--from news to films to video games. These representations have been blamed for creating a culture of fear and inspiring real violence, particularly among youth. Media analysts argue that the question of media and violence must shift from a focus on violence in media to a focus on violence in our broader society. They argue that we need to make interconnections between class, gender, race and inequality in the debate on violence. This can be a difficult shift to make because contemporary media is rife with overt and subtle instances of violence. Violence is portrayed in the news, music videos, reality tv crime shows, films and video games. For instance, in the wake of the tragic shooting in newtown, connecticut, media pundits discussed whether video game consumption was producing violent people.