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Debate: Cartoons are a source of violence
With the recent increase in violent crimes committed by children, adults have been looking for answers to what causes children to commit these acts. Researchers have performed formal studies, and other approaches have been taken to answer the question. Their ideas and perceptions have strayed far and wide, looking for a suitable answer. Of the many, one answer they have uncovered is television, but especially television geared towards children: cartoons and animation.
Parents see television as a babysitter of sorts and let their children sit in front of it, absorbing everything they see mindlessly, while the parents complete chores. This is when children receive the full force of the violence on television. Parents must step in to remind their children that this is all fantasy or to change the channel when the material is too violent for them.
Virtually, every TV station airs shows — either live action or animated — which involve the characters arguing, fighting or just acting in a malevolent manner towards something or somebody else.
Parents often say they allow the children to watch cartoons only; they probably don’t realize that there is violence even in cartoons. Recently, more and more cartoons with violent themes have been released, but violence in animation has been around for decades. Perhaps the best-known examples of such violence are in the short Warner Brothers Looney Tunes cartoons, those that star Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and Elmer Fudd. These acts mainly involve guns or running off cliffs, but the violence is portrayed in a humorous manner that disguises its malignancy, thus fooling children. These cartoons contain 22 separate acts of violence, and are a mere seven minutes in length. Another vivid example is the all-time and all-age favourite cartoon show Tom and Jerry.
Most cartoon shows have the same theme, i.e. good against the evil, wherein the good fights against the evil forces. Allof these are extremely violent and often use sophisticated hi-tech weapons.
We have to accept that exposure to media violence causes increased levels of aggression and violence in young people, which is the perennial question of media effects researchers. People who watch a lot of media violence tend to believe that the world is more dangerous than it is in reality and it desensitizes people to real violence and stimulates fear in some children.
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