Dramatic Violence is defined by George Gerbner as " The overt expression of physical force (with or without a weapon, against self or others) compelling action against one's will on pain of being hurt and / or killed or threatened to be so victimized as part of the plot"(Griffin, 350). Most Dramas that have violence in them have an average 5 violent incidents per viewing hour. And there is 20 cases an hour of mayhem on weekend children's shows. George Gerbner is also the director of the Cultural Indicators research project which for over 20 years has selected a week to videotape ever prime-time Network show as well as programming for children on Saturday and Sunday. they have found that " By the time the typical TV viewer graduates from High School, he or she has observed thirteen thousand violent deaths.
This clip from TVs LOST shows all Deaths from season 3
On a TV drama Gerbner says that it is risky to be " other than White" and also female. It is believed that old people and children are harmed at a much greater rate than are young or middle-aged people, also that African Americans and hispanics are beaten or killed more than their Caucasian counterparts. Gerbner's analysis of television records show that 50 Percent of the people on TV are white males. Women are outnumbered 3 to 1. But the most excluded minority is by far the elderly which only make up 3 Percent. the Cultural Indicator project reveals that the margins of amercain society are put into harms way more then others. when written into the script they are put there to be a victim.
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While all of this is information is true, it is important to try and understand what it means in our society. The depiction of the people on the "margins of American society," and their vulnerability to violence is overplayed. Therefore television depicts a misrepresentation of what life is really like. It is also true that the existence of these people in television scripts is understated. Because of the false images and stories on television, viewers are led to buy into misconceptions which, in turn, affect their everyday life and interpretation of society.
It is also important to mention that the fallacies that are presented on television shows create a sense of fear among viewers. For this reason, Gerbner realized that viewers were being conditioned to fear the untrue. The heavy viewers of our society are being trained to believe that a certain amount of violence exists outside of the safety of their homes and, therefore, directly affects whether or not they will leave their house.
There are many who criticize George Gerbner, I being one of them, for his cultivation theory and its inaccurate research studies. Gerbner places all television violence on an equal playing field, whether it’s a cartoon, or an episode of Lost; they’re all victimizing examples. However, wouldn’t the affect of somebody watching an episode of Tom & Jerry have less of a violent impact than one who sees the scripted murder of someone from Lost? I don’t think Gerbner’s tactic of judging his findings based on simple “light or heavy” viewers really holds up to more important factors, like the above. Although I agree with Morgan and Shanahan, two researches mentioned in Griffin’s critique, that greater specification “results in losing track of the real social significance of it all (392).” I really don’t think it’s fair to lump all types of victimizing into one category alone, and further, to be tested on the amount of hours spent in front of the television.
I agree with George when he mentions that the depiction of the people are margins of American society. But most people don't get to live out lives like those on Lost, 24, or one of the 234980 Law & Order/CSI type shows. So when one can't really relate to the lives of those depicted on TV, one could assume that things might really be like that in those situations.
I also agree with Becca on the Lost vs. cartoon comparison. As I was reading the chapter, I too thought that Gerbner's research/conclusions to be rather broad and unfocused (mainstreaming).
I forgot to mention this before... Becca commented how an episode of Tom & Jerry would have less of an impact as opposed to an episode of Lost. While I agree, I think that as kids start to watch humorous violence starting from cartoons, their tolerance and intake of violence leads up to realistic violence as their show selection begins to change through time. So I can see Gerbner's theory coming into play somewhat in that aspect...
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