Headlines such as ‘Dexter made me kill my brother’ are unfortunately all too common in today’s world where an increase in violence has been linked, inexorably by some, to violence in the media. In this case, a eighteen-year-old boy in the US has confessed to killing his ten-year-old brother because he felt ‘just like him’, him being the title character in the hit television series Dexter, starring Michael C. Hall as the blood spatter expert who moonlights as a serial killer. The teenager told investigators that he ‘identified with the character [Dexter] and wanted to kill someone for years’.
This article, while remaining relatively unbiased, does bring to the fore issues about the way television shows have been linked to, or held accountable for, the actions and crimes of individuals. Dexter, perhaps unsurprisingly, has been linked to other crimes in the US as well, and has come under criticism from the Parents Television Council because it makes Dexter "the hero, [it] forces the viewer to cheer for a serial killer and hope he succeeds in his attempt to commit a vicious, premeditated murder".
While I don’t think anyone would suggest that shows like Dexter are in any way appropriate for children, the fact that it has been directly linked to actual crimes is concerning, although unfortunately, hardly surprising. Television’s place as one of the most significant socializing agents in children’s lives today, teaching them important values, behaviours and norms (Lemish, 2007, p.147), means that the effect violent behaviour or attitudes has on them is of concern to many. However, to say that television, or media in general, is the root cause of the increase in violence, especially in the Western World, (especially North America) is inaccurate and verging on ridiculous. Researchers, and there are a lot of them, seem to agree that there are many other factors that influence and effect children and adolescents to engage in violent or anti-social behaviour. As Lumby and Fine (2006) note, putting violent media at the top of the root cause list effectively takes the focus off the real problems’. Blaming a television show for the horrifying actions of an individual not only distract from the real issue, but contribute to the ongoing panic over violence in the media.
Violence is unfortunately a part of our society, whether we like it or not. Children and adolescents are being exposed to it on a daily basis through a number of different mediums, not solely fictional television. What is important is not to fall to the knee-jerk reaction of banning or censoring, but instead to educate and engage youth in conversations about what they are watching, and preparing them for the realities of the real world.
References:
'Dexter made me kill my brother': Teenager jailed for murdering brother, 10, claimed he was inspired by the hit show. (2010) Retrieved October 14, 2010 fromhttp://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1320982/Dexter-kill-brother-Teenager-jailed-murdering-boy-10-claimed-inspired-hit-TV-show.html?ito=feeds-newsxml
Lemish, D. (2007) Children and television: A global perspective. Maiden, MA; Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.
Lumby, C. & Fine, D. (2006) Why TV is good for kids: Raising 21st century children. Sydney: Macmillan.
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