Based from our social norms, violence is
prohibited. Self-preservation is one of the reasons for the creation of our
modern society and this makes violence prohibited. Based from our common
perceptions, violence is inherently wrong and should be avoided. With that in mind, I think the only people
who will have a high probability of being directly affected by the
glamorization of violence are the people who has a high tendency of being
violent (i.e. those who were abused during their childhood, abused by a lover
etc. ).
I think, the subtle hints of influences
by the media are more disturbing. The media usually portray a hyper-realistic
image of reality that people cannot immediately delineate as wrong or right.
The things that fall in this category is the portrayal of female beauty in
films or the roles taken by different genders as portrayed by the media. We
tend to believe the life that the media
shows us and considers it as reality. Intended or not, the media suggests subtle
hints of different abuses and is tolerated by the general public.
Thus, although the media does not
directly cause violence. The use of violence will eventually be considered by
people who are affected by the subtleties in power relations in gender or race
that the media tend to portray. For example, some men may think that women who
wear skimpy clothing are “asking for it” because the media portrays women with
skimpy clothing as women who are asking for it. Some women are abused because
they look like they were asking for it.
Another example is the portrayal of “dumb blondes,” “playboy jocks,” and
“latina maids” which affects the mindset of people that sometimes may lead to
violence.
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