Are the entertainment industries the unofficial advertising department of the illegal drug industry?

[UnSubRocky]

Just for the record, I have about 8 tabs of this topic saved under a bookmark file on my computer. I have listened to about 3 hours of this topic being discussed on Monday night through youtube videos. I do intend to get back and write a response to all posts that are relevant. But, seeing that the JonBenet Ramsey case has made headlines again, I am distracted with that topic for now.

[Bogan]

Lisa wrote

These types of events occur way too many times unfortunately.

The point I was making is that these sorts of homicides are becoming more common. Kids are killing kids. Crimes committed by children were once mainly property crimes, (theft and vandalism). But today, children and young teenagers are becoming more and more involved in very serious crimes like armed robbery, assault, sexual assault, drug trafficking, and homicides. Homicides in particular were once exceedingly rare. Today, juvenile gang killings are the fastest growing crime statistic in the USA.

Children, and disturbed, emotionally immature youths, are being exposed to adult concepts of sex and violence, that have no moral dimension, when some are still struggling to comprehend, why they should not pick their noses in public. They are then given conflicting concepts of right and wrong by different areas of society, as well as ultra violent movie role model heroes, who even hardened criminals would shun.

The most obvious manifestation of their confusion, is a precipitous rise in both the prevalence and severity of violent criminal behaviour committed by ever more younger children. This has been evidenced in the international outbreak in serious school violence. We now have seen 10 year olds who watch a slasher movie appropriately called CHILDS PLAY, then go out and beat a toddler to death with a brick, and adolescent schoolchildren who ambush their classmates and unfeelingly shoot them down. Or a lonely, mentally disturbed, child like, socially isolated offender, who goes on a revenge shooting spree and who kills and wounds, 54 people in Port Arthur, Tasmania.

One U.S. criminologist, Bill Reisman, who specialises in violent juvenile anti social behaviour, has studied the bedrooms of U.S. schoolboys who have committed massacres at their schools. He notes the violent posters, the violent videos, violent computer games, violent comics and the C.D. music with the gruesome lyrics. "When we go into the rooms after the fact", he notes bitterly, "it's all there, the signs are all there."

[lisa jones]

Lisa wrote

These types of events occur way too many times unfortunately.

The point I was making is that these sorts of homicides are becoming more common. Kids are killing kids. Crimes committed by children were once mainly property crimes, (theft and vandalism). But today, children and young teenagers are becoming more and more involved in very serious crimes like armed robbery, assault, sexual assault, drug trafficking, and homicides. Homicides in particular were once exceedingly rare. Today, juvenile gang killings are the fastest growing crime statistic in the USA.

Children, and disturbed, emotionally immature youths, are being exposed to adult concepts of sex and violence, that have no moral dimension, when some are still struggling to comprehend, why they should not pick their noses in public. They are then given conflicting concepts of right and wrong by different areas of society, as well as ultra violent movie role model heroes, who even hardened criminals would shun.

The most obvious manifestation of their confusion, is a precipitous rise in both the prevalence and severity of violent criminal behaviour committed by ever more younger children. This has been evidenced in the international outbreak in serious school violence. We now have seen 10 year olds who watch a slasher movie appropriately called CHILDS PLAY, then go out and beat a toddler to death with a brick, and adolescent schoolchildren who ambush their classmates and unfeelingly shoot them down. Or a lonely, mentally disturbed, child like, socially isolated offender, who goes on a revenge shooting spree and who kills and wounds, 54 people in Port Arthur, Tasmania.

One U.S. criminologist, Bill Reisman, who specialises in violent juvenile anti social behaviour, has studied the bedrooms of U.S. schoolboys who have committed massacres at their schools. He notes the violent posters, the violent videos, violent computer games, violent comics and the C.D. music with the gruesome lyrics. "When we go into the rooms after the fact", he notes bitterly, "it's all there, the signs are all there."

I'm not disagreeing with you Bogie. Ok?

I will add this though ... do NOT expect the entertainment industry to change. They will continue to spew their sewerage (as entertainment of course) IRRESPECTIVE of the "collateral damage" caused. If you wish to discuss this aspect of the discussion a tad more .....I'm more than happy to be a part of the conversation. Cheers

[Bogan]

Lisa wrote

I will add this though ... do NOT expect the entertainment industry to change. They will continue to spew their sewerage (as entertainment of course) IRRESPECTIVE of the "collateral damage" caused. If you wish to discuss this aspect of the discussion a tad more .....I'm more than happy to be a part of the conversation. Cheers

The entertainment industry will not change (unless forced too) because even though, (like the tobacco companies before them) they themselves know perfectly well that they are changing the culture of their people from pro social values to anti social values, and that is having a detrimental effect upon their own societies. Left wing activists, who normally would be active in fighting such corporate greed, are missing in action on this cause for a couple of good reasons.

The first is, that the liberalisation of the entertainment industries from very severe censorship was once a liberal left cause celebre'. They once argued that entertainment is just entertainment, and it did not affect anybody negatively. Even today, many people (like USR) still believe that crap, even though it is easy to disprove. Arguing that the entertainment industry does indeed affect people's behaviour negatively, and it promotes criminal behaviour among the most vulnerable in society, means that the liberal left must acknowledge that they were wrong. And that is a particularly unpleasant piece of crow to eat. Left liberals have this self belief that they know everything, and it is just the stupid lower classes and the greedy upper classes who get everything wrong.

The second is, that too many left liberals are part of the media itself. They know that they have incredible power in their hands which creates rivers of gold for them, and like the aristocrats of old, they do not want to give it up.

But within societies that are decaying because of the greed of one section of their society, sooner or later, people capable of thinking, especially if they are concerned about children, start to work things out. In the USA, parents worried about the ever increasing violence and sexual innuendo aimed squarely at their kids, began a nationwide "Turn off the TV day" in protest, and it worked a treat. TV station executives started to figure out that they had to tone things down a bit because parents were up in arms.

The problem with the USA is their constitution, which guarantees freedom of expression. While this is a noble cause, like so many other apparently good causes, it can be exploited by greedy men who take a very good principle and take it to the most extreme level possible, in order to enrich themselves. Take any good idea to it's most extreme and it becomes a parody of itself. it is in the USA, which seems to create the most violent and crime endorsing media programs, that is where violent crime is simply getting right out of control. So the USA has proportionately the most people who are fighting against the excesses of the US entertainment industries. Regardless of the US constitution, these people ask why the entertainment industry alone is exempt from the normal application of product liabilities, that are a fact of life for every other industry?

Like every other social issue in history, once people get into the rut of believing that everything is okay the way it is, then even though things around them get worse and worse all the time, they will never admit that they were wrong until things get so bad, that they are forced to look past their wishful thinking, think rationally, and make changes to their society. I think that western society is getting to the stage where the link between media violence and real life violence is becoming self evident. But unfortunately, there are still too many USR clones around who still can not think straight on this issue. Maybe if USR lived in the USA, things would be a lot clearer to him?

[UnSubRocky]

It does not take 60 years of having violence televised in homes or violence screened in cinemas for over 100 years for people to act to counter depictions of violence in entertainment. Obviously, something must be wrong with your theory, Bogan.

[J o h n S m i t h]

which were the more violent periods of our history?

The middle ages and the dark ages?

Modern age with TV?

[UnSubRocky]

With the show "Neighbours" finishing, it became a reminder that Britain was a primary region that had the biggest fan base for the show. When the Australian soap operas were shown for the first time in Britain, children would go indoors and watch the shows religiously. Juvenile delinquency fell. Car accidents with pedestrians fell. We might well have seen another hour's rise in sedentary lifestyle happening. But, at least the shows got people off the streets.

Generation Xer children had a theory about what their parents did for entertainment when they did not have television growing up. But, they were not completely sure, even after asking their 7 brothers and sisters for their opinions.

[UnSubRocky]

which were the more violent periods of our history?

The middle ages and the dark ages?

Modern age with TV?

With the shooting in NQld the other day, theories were made that we are safer now than we were in the early 1900s.

[J o h n S m i t h]

which were the more violent periods of our history?

The middle ages and the dark ages?

Modern age with TV?

With the shooting in NQld the other day, theories were made that we are safer now than we were in the early 1900s.

the shooting in qld was an anomaly bought on by a dispute over property boundaries. it had nothing to do with TV

[UnSubRocky]

Irrelevant. The amount of violence in the early 1900s seemed to be more common than what you find in the early 2000s. It is not a numbers game, but one of per capita.