TV Violence: Why do we love it?

TV violence has affected society over time. Popular television shows such as Dexter, The Sopranos, Game of Thrones portray murder throughout their

A poster of the show “Dexter.”

entire series. The TV series, Dexter is about a sociopath, Dexter Morgan, who murders criminals. Dexter has affected society with his bold character and makes lots of people question if they should sympathize with him.The Sopranos is a series about an Italian-American mobster, Tony Soprano, who is attempting to juggle the responsibilities of being a father, boss, and husband. The Sopranos has affected society and TV culture by regularly displaying brutality. Game of Thrones is a story about characters who are in a battle to claim the “Iron Throne.” Game of Thrones has affected society through its characters portraying how people can change for the better.

Watching brutal television shows can affect someones attitude in various ways, common effects are cringing and looking away. According to Taylor Sheppard’s Psychology 200: How Crime shows Affect Attitudes she says, “…but the more one watches these shows, the more likely they could get increased anxiety and nightmares, boosting your body’s overall stress levels.” Sheppard makes a good point on how watching murderous television shows affects society but wouldn’t these effects be a good thing? Watching shows like this helps us heighten our instincts on the dangers around us. Is something wrong with us when millions of people around the world are obsessed with barbarous shows? Is it normal to glamorize, glorify, and be entertained by violence? The answer is yes. As a society, we find evil fascinating and addicting. It is human nature for society to be drawn by violence because of one’s curiosity to understand the reason for a crime being committed.

 

There is often the question, “Do you think violent shows could cause a bad progression as a society?” It is wondered if someone is capable of becoming a violent person because they grew up watching violent tv shows. According to Chris Archila (Senior), he believes violent TV shows can’t and will never be able to change the way a person acts.The purpose of these shows is to portray the reality of society’s violence and bring awareness. Anyone in society can be evil and watching brutal shows is not a factor in why someone commits a crime. Chris states, “Those shows they’re mostly for entertainment, they’re not for promoting violence. watched those shows and I’m not a violent person. For a person to murder someone they have to be in a mental state that’s really bad, and I don’t think everyone’s like that, and I don’t think they’re gonna promote murder.” Watching evil TV shows cannot change the way a person acts, murderers have a mindset to murder out of personal motives. Motives outside of watching a series on tv or Netflix.

According to Ms. Fords, who is a psychology teacher on campus, there are studies to prove how people are or aren’t influenced by the violence they see on television. In her opinion, she believes society doesn’t become violent by watching shows based on crimes. “I kinda agree with the studies that say that it doesn’t actually lead to more violence in society. I think it makes people think that it happens in a more glorified manner than it

A crime scene.

really does,” remarks Ms. Ford. Violent TV shows are just to convey murder and violence in a glorified way, these concepts of crime are entertaining and addicting to watch. Murderous television shows like Dexter are incorrect in how murder truly is making it entertaining to watch. “People like to be scared. It allows them to experience the adrenaline rush without actually being in the danger. I think it also perplexes people. They find it interesting that people would do those things because it’s so different from the way they are,” states Ms. Ford. Violent shows will never lead to any violence in real life. It is fiction that could never lead to any real violence happening in the world.

 

Though violent television shows have affected today’s society, it does not change it for the worse. It heightens our interests and allows us to be entertained. It is true many shows portray murder, suffering, betrayal, and torture but they will never change the way one acts. A television show such as that will not make someone go do something horrible. TV Violence is so interesting and intriguing, and thus, the reason why we love it so much.