Saturday, December 5, 2009
Forget violence: Meanness rubs off from watching verbally abusive TV
editor
We all have heard the research that claims watching violent programs and movies can make you more aggressive, but a new UK study suggests that watching films with “relational aggression” (aka verbally abusive characters) can make you mean.
A college professor tested this theory by having 53 college-aged women to watch a clip from—what else—“Mean Girls.” The astounding results? The subjects exhibited the same aggressive reaction to a montage from the teen flick as they did to a brutal knife fight from “Kill Bill.”
"Everyone's concerned about violence in the media,” says Brigham Young University professor, Sarah Coyne, “but we're missing out on lots of violence out there. We need to look at these other types of aggression."
Coyne says reality shows are loaded with instances of relational aggression. Pair that with the current passionate political dialogue and
not-so-nice blogs like Perez Hilton, and it’s safe to say movies aren’t the only vehicle exuding questionable behaviors and feelings for us to absorb.
Do you ever feel heated after watching so-called verbally abusive films and do you think we should be more aware of their impact? [
USA Today]
Related: violence, tv, study, movies, mean girls, kill bill, impact, anger, agression, abuse
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Posted by 2 Damn Defiant Wed Sep 17, 2008 1:20pm PDT
Scientists should study something other than the responses of girls in teen or karate flicks it's called "getting into it" that's what makes movies fun!! as long as they are not like this in day to day life then it's cool and violence is human nature/animal nature we are NOT really high up on the evolutionary ladder just cause we went to the moon come on!! I mean why did Cain kill Abel?, cause of all the RAP/METAL/VIOLENT MOVIES Cain was watching or listening too? We are SAVAGES and that's that!!!!!
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Posted by Angela Wed Sep 17, 2008 8:04pm PDT
The media REFLECTS LIFE, not the other way around. The government should be investing enough money into our education system to figure out why taunting and teasing has escalated to sexual assault and murder. Teachers should be among our highest paid government officials with state of the art resources at their fingertips. When children feel welcome, safe, and proud to be at school, and all students are provided free health care, they'll be more likely to handle their problems like someone cares about them and what happens to them instead of taking matters into their own hands.
Censorship has never solved anything except for the powerful to deny information to those with less power, and these studies are always suggestive of censorship.
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Posted by Adriana Thu Sep 18, 2008 11:00am PDT
Okay well they don't have to be mean or anything like that it is their choice and they cannot blame t.v. because if t.v. were the reason 4 things like this all of those who watch horror films would be muderers or even serial killers now how accurate does that sound to you?
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Posted by larkspur Fri Sep 19, 2008 3:44am PDT
I've been commenting on the meanness and covert sadism that drives not only TV "entertainment," but childrens' commercials.
TV doesn't "reflect life." It is agenda driven (sell product, make people competitive about product) and sets a persuasive example of conduct and standards. Characters are usually enviably dressed, living in luxurious homes, and the subliminal message is that 1. They're successful, 2. Their vile behavior brought them wealth and respect.
Living in a media capital on the East Coast, I've observed the "trickle" (thundering cascade!) effect of this meanness in encounters in both high levels and entry levels. I date it from "Survivor" which was a sociological turn around from the previous "work together (even tho' our parents are knuckleheads)" ethos to each person for himself and anything goes. Well, civility's gone. And let's not blame John McCain for that too. Obama's $30,000 a plate supporters in California are underwriting the dog eat dog messages.
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Posted by larkspur Fri Sep 19, 2008 3:44am PDT
I've been commenting on the meanness and covert sadism that drives not only TV "entertainment," but childrens' commercials.
TV doesn't "reflect life." It is agenda driven (sell product, make people competitive about product) and sets a persuasive example of conduct and standards. Characters are usually enviably dressed, living in luxurious homes, and the subliminal message is that 1. They're successful, 2. Their vile behavior brought them wealth and respect.
Living in a media capital on the East Coast, I've observed the "trickle" (thundering cascade!) effect of this meanness in encounters in both high levels and entry levels. I date it from "Survivor" which was a sociological turn around from the previous "work together (even tho' our parents are knuckleheads)" ethos to each person for himself and anything goes. Well, civility's gone. And let's not blame John McCain for that too. Obama's $30,000 a plate supporters in California are underwriting the dog eat dog messages.
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Posted by frange Sat Sep 20, 2008 12:45pm PDT
The rudeness on tv is out of control. People are not nice to each other.
That is the plain and simple truth. I'm not saying we should go back to wholesome television. That would be so boring. But, getting a laugh at someone else's expense. Give me a break!
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