NCJ Number
167326
Date Published
1997
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This paper contends that television programs often use violence to teach moral lessons; that is, evil (destructive violence) is shown in contrast to good (peaceful behavior except where violence is necessary to eliminate evil).
Abstract
The concern regarding television programming should be to distinguish and contrast violence that is morally justified and violence that is immoral. When Cain slew Abel, it did not have the same moral dimension as when David killed Goliath. Also, capital punishment is morally justified as an act of justice for an immoral act of violence. Television programming that clearly distinguishes between violence in the interest of preserving moral order and violence whose only purpose is revenge, greed, or the thirst for corrupt power is a lesson in how the real world operates to maintain moral order. The answer to complaints about specific programs does not lie in intrusive actions by the Federal Government any more than the presence of violent and trashy novels or tabloid newspapers in supermarkets should require Federal intervention. Calls for "v-chips" or other technological quick fixes miss the point, since morally uplifting programming based on Old Testament tales could be lumped into the same category as gratuitous violence. Campaigns against television violence should not be in the hands of naive pacifists. A better approach is that followed by Rev. Donald Wildmon and the American Family Association, who monitor shows for foul language, gratuitous violence, and explicit sex. The group keeps detailed records and then brings pressure to bear on advertisers that sponsor the show deemed inappropriately violent. Churches and religious organizations, rather than the government, should make media reform a priority.