The Critics of American Television Violence Culture

中图分类号：J905 文献标识码：A 文章编号：1003-2738（2011）11-0101-01

Abstract: Culture is a historical phenomenon. It is a deposit of social history as well as the carrier of history, so culture is considered to be a historical culture form and it can be interpreted from a historical perspective. This thesis chooses contemporary American popular culture---television as the research object, starts from the concept of culture by Raymond Williams, and gives a comprehensive illustration of popular culture. And finally, draws the conclusion on the violence television’s impact on American society and culture.

Key words: Culture；Popular culture；Television violence

1.Culture

In order to define popular culture we first need to define the term ‘culture’. Raymond Williams (1983: 87) calls culture ‘one of the two or three most complicated words in the English language’. Williams suggests three broad definitions. First of all, culture can be used to refer to ‘a general process of intellectual, spiritual and aesthetic development’ (ibid : 90). A second use of the word ‘culture’ might be to suggest ‘a particular way of life, whether of a people, a period or a group’ (ibid.). Finally, Williams suggests that culture can be used to refer to ‘the works and practices of intellectual and especially artistic activity’ (ibid.). Using this definition, we would probably think of examples such as poetry, the novel, ballet, opera, and fine art. To speak of popular culture usually means to mobilize the second and third meanings of the word ‘culture’.

2.Popular culture

There are six definitions about popular culture. The first definition is to say that popular culture is simply culture that is widely favored or well liked by many people. We could examine sales of books, sales of CDs and DVDs. A second way of defining popular culture is to suggest that it is the culture that is left over after we have decided what high culture is. A third way of defining popular culture is as ‘mass culture’. It is mass produced for mass consumption. A fourth definition contends that popular culture is the culture that originates from ‘the people’. It takes issue with any approach that suggests that it is something imposed on ‘the people’ from above. A fifth definition of popular culture, then, is one that draws on the political analysis of the Italian Marxist Antonio Gramsci, particularly on his development of the concept of hegemony. A sixth definition of popular culture is one informed by recent thinking around the debate on postmodernism.

3.Some critics about contemporary American popular culture

Some critics are concerned that popular culture in the form of contemporary movies, television, and rock music distracts students from serious literature and philosophy, thus ruining their imagination and undermining their abilities to recognize good art. The assumption is that because popular forms of culture are made for profit, they cannot be experienced with the same personal intensity as more elite are forms. Another concern is that popular culture is not just undermining or exploiting high culture but that it has inundated the culture environment, driving out higher forms of culture and cheapening public life. This concern is supported by data showing that TV sets are in use in the average American home for more than seven hours a day, exposing adults and children each year to thousands of hours of TV commercials and popular culture.

4.The cultural impact of violence television

Since television has become the most dominant mass medium, it has been the focus of most of the media-effects research in recent years. Over the years, a consensus has developed that high level of violence viewing in the media cause aggressive behavior. Many critics claim that TV violence increases violence in our society and that the increase of violence in our culture is a direct result of television.

The new concern about violence in television was sparked by a growing amount of violence in American society and increasing evidence showing that viewing violence increased aggressive behavior among heavy viewers. According to a survey by the American Psychological Association called “Big World, Small Screen,” 1,000 studies, reports, and commentaries concerning the impact of television violence had been published since 1955, and the accumulated research clearly demonstrated a correlation between viewing violence and aggressive behavior.( Neil Hickey, “How Much Violence? What We Found in an Eye-opening Study,” TV Guide, August 22, 1992, P.12.)

The public also believes a strong correlation exists between violence on television and violence in the streets. A 1993 poll by the Los Angeles Times found that four out of five Americans believe violence in television entertainment programs has directly contributed to violence in our society. Of the 79 percent who said there is a connection between TV violence and society’s increasing violence, two-thirds said they believed it was a significant cause. ( Daniel Cerone, “Most Say TV Violence Begets Real Violence,” Los Angeles Times, December 18, 1993, P.1)

Today’s American child no longer obtains his or her cultural values from the traditional family structure but instead gets them from the mass media. And some critics say that what they are getting is a popular culture filled with sex and violence.

Works cited:

[1] Storey, John.2009. Cultural Theory and Popular Culture: An Introduction, 5th edition, Harlow: Pearson Education.

[2] Williams, Raymond. 1983.Keywords, London: Fontana.

[3] Neil Hickey, “How Much Violence? What We Found in an Eye-opening Study,” TV Guide, August 22, 1992, P.12.

[4] Daniel Cerone, “Most Say TV Violence Begets Real Violence,” Los Angeles Times, December 18, 1993, P.1

[5] Campell Richard. 1998. Media and Culture: An Introduction to Mass Communication, St. Martin’s Press New York.

[6] Wilson James and Wilson Stan Le Roy. 1998. Mass Media Mass culture: An Introduction, 4th edition, McGraw-Hill, Inc.