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Impressions Of Television

Impressions of Television


SOME AMERICANS COMPLAIN THAT THERE IS TOO MUCH VIOLENCE IN TELEVISION,
PARTICULARLY IN AN ACTION SERIES OR CARTOONS. THEY ARE AFRAID THAT PEOPLE,
ESPECIALLY CHILDREN, WILL SEE THESE SHOWS AND THINK THAT THE ONLY WAY TO RESOLVE
PROBLEMS IS THROUGH VIOLENT ACTS. I THINK THAT THERE ARE A LOT OF FACTORS OTHER
THAN TELEVISION THAT EFFECTS PEOPLE. HAVE YOU EVER TRIED SOMETHING JUST BECAUSE
YOU SAW IT ON TELEVISION? I'M SURE THAT ALL OF US HAVE DONE THAT AT ONE TIME OR
ANOTHER. TELEVISION SHOWS THAT ARE VIOLENT CAN HAVE NEGATIVE EFFECTS ON THE WAY
THAT CHILDREN ACT.
TELEVISION HAS EMBEDDED ITSELF WITHIN THE LIFE OF THE TYPICAL AMERICAN
PERSON. ACCORDING TO THE ENCARTA 96 CD ROM ENCYCLOPEDIA THEY CLAIM THAT,
"BETWEEN THE AGES OF 2 AND 65 THE AVERAGE AMERICAN WILL WATCH 72,000 HOURS OF
TELEVISION—AT 24 HOURS A DAY, A TOTAL OF 8 FULL YEARS. THE DAILY AVERAGE IS
ABOUT 4 HOURS. THE HEAVIEST VIEWERS ARE HOUSEWIVES AND SENIOR CITIZENS. CHILDREN
WATCH THE SAME AMOUNT OF TELEVISION AS DO ADULTS; TEENAGERS WATCH ABOUT AN HOUR
LESS PER DAY."
"EARLY EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCHERS COMPARED THE PLAY OF CHILDREN WHO HAD
SEEN AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR ON TELEVISION WITH THE PLAY OF A CONTROL GROUP OF
CHILDREN WHO HAD WATCHED NONVIOLENT PROGRAMS. CONCERN WAS INTENSIFIED BY
FINDINGS THAT INDICATED A HIGHER LEVEL OF AGGRESSIVE PLAY IN THE VIOLENT-
TELEVISION GROUP"(ENCARTA).
ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS SURF SATURDAY MORNING CARTOONS TO SEE THE VIOLENCE.
THE NINJA TURTLES ARE A PHENOMENON THAT HAS CAPTURED THE IMAGINATIONS OF MOVIE,
COMIC, AND EVEN CARTOON FANS ACROSS SEVERAL GENERATIONS. A GROUP OF YOUNG,
TEENAGE TURTLES WHO USE KUNG-FU AGAINST A GROUP OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF CREATURES.
THIS SHOW ANIMATES EXPLICITLY HOW THEY BATTLE THESE CREATURES TO FIGHT FOR
JUSTICE AND THE AMERICAN WAY. THEY LIVE IN THE SEWERS WITH THEIR TEACHER WHO IS
A RAT, USING AN ASSORTMENT OF WEAPONS SUCH AS THE SWORD, NUMCHUCKS, NINJA FORKS,
AND A NINJA STICK TO FIGHT FOES. IT SEEMS TO ME WHEN...