When a violent action is reported publicly, there is a move to blame someone or something for what has happened. As people look for someone to hold responsible for the action, blame can be attached to a variety of objects: guns, knives, and other weapons, violent images on television and in movies, violent video games, and violent lyrics in songs. For years the question has been “Does watching violence in the media cause someone to become violent in real life?” Janet Reno, the former US Attorney General said, “With the increased exposure of young people to an incredibly broad array of messages from an equally broad array of media messengers, it's all the more important that we teach our young people how to make sense of what they're seeing, hearing, and feeling. Only if we provide appropriate guidance can we expect our young people to understand that not everything on the screen has a place on the street corner or in the classroom” (Stossel). Like Mrs. Reno, many other individuals in high power places also believe that the ever increasing amount of violence in syndication has its effects upon what young people will do. As such, the national gov

Without a doubt, heinous violent acts occur every moment. This can happen for any number of reasons—good, bad, or otherwise. Often times, as in the case of the Columbine Tragedy, video game violence is present as a reasonable influence for murder, but is always strewn amongst a plethora of other reasons. Furthermore, violent actions have also occurred without any inclination whatsoever from violent media forms or games. Most everyone knows of the on-going violence plaguing the Middle-East. Suicide bombings mirror the Columbine tragedy in a number of ways; many people were killed including the two causing the crime, and the events occurred in a highly public area. However, games certainly did not play a role in the case of Middle East suicide bombings. Too many confounding issues attribute to murder in both cases; games cannot pinned as a plausible motivation for murder, as games or media did not play any part in the suicide bombings within the Middle East.

Games and all other forms of media have become increasingly more realistic in the violence sense. Since such images are becoming more and more prevalent, a Rating system has been enforced upon every game, giving an age range in which a game, movie, or other form of media is actually appropriate for. This gives concerned individuals a way of determining the appropriateness of such content. Beyond this, no more codes or restrictions should be placed upon games; the current system must be used now, otherwise the working rating will never prove its usefulness. The rating system is much like the warning label on a bottle full of hazardous chemicals. This product may certainly do harm if ingested the wrong way (in this case, showing it to someone very young without correct guidance), yet the company should not be held liable in any situation because the warning is present. While it is true that these mass forms of violence will influence our thought patterns in a more violent course, its influence is still no greater than other minor influences, like “road rage.” Violent media will not invoke violent crimes.

ernment has repeatedly attempted to control these controversial pieces of literature, most notably against the issue of violent video games and their subsequent effects. Does media violence—Video, game, book, or otherwise—influence people, including young adults? Without a doubt, media violence does influence people. However, does media violence influence people to the point of lashing out in violence? Simply put, media violence does cause people—young, old, or otherwise—to commit violent acts, but only as much as other activities, but never any more often than a case of “road rage” or some other case inciting anger.

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