Essay, Research Paper: Cartoon Violence

Ever remember watching Looney Tunes, the cartoon show when you
were a child? Of course you do because it was funny and you could sit and
watch it all afternoon. You didn t watch it because of the voilence in it, you
really didn t even notice the violence, but it was there. Violence has always
been present in all types of cartoons. A lot of cartoon shows today still show
violence and instead of watching the shows because they re funny, kids are
watching them because of the violence. Parents need to view cartoon shows
before hand and decide whether these shows are too violent for kids to watch,
because the violence in cartoons cause kids to act out these scenes that can
result in severe accidents.
In cartoons you usually see the bad guy beating up someone, kids
notice this and want to act the same, if they are not told different than they
will act in the same rough manner. Alicia Kaufman expresses her opinion on
the affect of violence on children. Since all of life is one big learning
experience, we need to be more aware of what our children are actually
learning. Does the vulnerable Bugs Bunny really demonstrate the value of a
sense of humor and resiliency? Or do children get the message that a bop on
the head or a stranglehold is the best way to solve disputes? (New York
Times, p:14)
Parents think cartoons are harmless because they re not real, but they
arent harmless, the violence in cartoons show or teach kids how to play
rough, in which can result in them hurting themselves or someone else. We
have the most trouble getting people to be serious about cartoons. They re
sort of like apple pie and mom, part of the American scenery. They seem
rather innocous, said Dr. Mary Hudak.
For kids to not play so rough while watching cartoons, parents need to
explain to their kids that these shows are fake and that the cartoon characters
don t actually get hurt, but they can if they act that way. Even in cartoon
violence, we see victims that really don t die, said clinical psychologist
Evelyn Kohan. But people do die when they re shot with guns, and people
really do die when people hurt them in violent ways. Our children have to
know that. (www.cnn.com)
Cartoon shows need to be viewed by parents before their kids watch it
in order to reduce the violence their kids are exposed to, which in turn
reduces the number of accidents that happen among kids from being too
rough.
Bibliography
Hall, Lee. D oh! Cartoons No Longer A Man s World , Vol. 16
Contemporary Women s Issues Collection, 25 Aug. 1997. pp4
Kaufman, Alicia. Kids TV Viewing New York Times, Late Edition, 12
July 1999: Sec: Editors Desk, pp.14, interview with Dr. Mary Hudak.
Moret, Jim. AMA Offers Prescription to Cure TV Violence , Los Angeles
(CNN) www.cnn.com/health, interview with Evelyn Kohan.