Disney and smoking
I heard earlier this week that Walt Disney Studios are banning smoking from their films in future because a study showed that young people are influenced by it on screen.
So if smoking influences the young, why do the so called pundits refuse to accept that violence will have the same effect? There is more violence in films and game these days than ever, and it is the young who witness it. How can they learn that what is on screen is supposed to be make believe when the action is so realistic? And how can they then not be desensitised to violence and death when they see so much of it?
So many parents are careless of the category of films they hire or tune into on TV and let their offspring watch. They hire an 18 and it doesn't seem to disturb them that their 12 year old is watching it alongside them. They must have some idea of the damage the violence the child is watching can have on it and yet they don't seem to care. This doesn't, of course, apply to every parent, as many are responsible in their watching habits and might wait until their children are in bed before watching such films. But way too many who, under other circumstances, consider themselves responsible parents think nothing of allowing their children to stay up and watch violent films on the TV in their rooms, or with them. There has been a hug increase in violence committed by children and it can't just be a coincidence that access to violent films and games could go a long way to explain it.
Not sure what the answer is because obviously there is a huge market in this sort of film, but perhaps in the light of Disney's action re smoking, it might make parents stretch their imaginations to assume that their young might also be influenced by other factors in films that are shocking, bloodthirsty, violent and sadistic. And hopefully they might retrench their lax attitudes and begin to see that curbing what their children watch might prevent them committing harmful acts.
So if smoking influences the young, why do the so called pundits refuse to accept that violence will have the same effect? There is more violence in films and game these days than ever, and it is the young who witness it. How can they learn that what is on screen is supposed to be make believe when the action is so realistic? And how can they then not be desensitised to violence and death when they see so much of it?
So many parents are careless of the category of films they hire or tune into on TV and let their offspring watch. They hire an 18 and it doesn't seem to disturb them that their 12 year old is watching it alongside them. They must have some idea of the damage the violence the child is watching can have on it and yet they don't seem to care. This doesn't, of course, apply to every parent, as many are responsible in their watching habits and might wait until their children are in bed before watching such films. But way too many who, under other circumstances, consider themselves responsible parents think nothing of allowing their children to stay up and watch violent films on the TV in their rooms, or with them. There has been a hug increase in violence committed by children and it can't just be a coincidence that access to violent films and games could go a long way to explain it.
Not sure what the answer is because obviously there is a huge market in this sort of film, but perhaps in the light of Disney's action re smoking, it might make parents stretch their imaginations to assume that their young might also be influenced by other factors in films that are shocking, bloodthirsty, violent and sadistic. And hopefully they might retrench their lax attitudes and begin to see that curbing what their children watch might prevent them committing harmful acts.