Essay, Research Paper: Violence In The Media

In the world we live in, violence is a way of life for many people. Chances are, most of the people reading this live in nice, upper-middle class suburbs, just like I do. But, just because we don't see this violence doesn't mean it doesn't happen. We all know it happens, we're not stupid, we watch the news, we read the newspaper. So why does the government try to censor violence? Why does the government try to censor sex? Is it because we can't handle it? No. I can handle it. I may be what most psychologists would call desensitized, but that doesn't mean I'm going to shoot up my junior high school. I could never do that. After all, the government has kept me away from guns. We simply aren't allowed to view violence and sex because... well, I can't think of a good reason. But, hey, at least the government sucks at censoring stuff. I'm 13 and I've seen Playboys. I've seen at least a gajillion R rated movies, and I can walk into any store in Connecticut and buy some M rated video games. You know why? No one cares anymore. They're as desensitized as we are, and that's a good thing. It is a sad fact that we find violence so entertaining, but hell, it is. I freaking love to see movies where there are more scenes of mindless violence than there are actual scenes of acting. These movies are aimed at the lowest common denominator because intelligent movie goers are as extinct as the Dodo bird. Movies like Showgirls make more money than Panther because they are more fun, not because they are better. It will always be this way. The government should not, and can not, keep us from seeing what we want to see. Just for a moment, let's pretend we live in a future where TV containing sex or violence is illegal, and so are video games and any other medium. Now, if we want to see sex, under agers are going to have sex. If you can't get sex in the media, you're going to want it in real life. If you can't get it there, some psychopaths are going to rape poor, defenseless people. That creates a lot more problems than it solves, not to mention that rape is hell of a lot worse then a minor watching Striptease. The same holds true for violence. Crazy people will always do crazy things, and there is nothing the government can do to stop it.