Today 99% of homes have a television, with 54% of U.S. children having a TV in their room (Babybag online, 2003). Along with these statistics, three-quarters of the public finds television to be too violent (Babybag online, 2003). TV violence is often graphic, realistic, and intensely involving. Inequity and domination is often portrayed with most victims being women, children, and the elderly (Muscari, 2002). Most programming portrayed interpersonal violence as entertaining and glamorous. Personal power was often portrayed by an individual's ability to fight and their carrying and use of weapons. Also, heroes are often portrayed using violence as a justified way of resolving a conflict or prevailing over others (AAP, 2001). The three-year National Television Violence Study found that "two-thirds of all programming contains violence" (Muscari, 2002, p.586). Of the shows with violent content three-quarters demonstrated unpunished violence, with 58% showing victims not experiencing pain. Children's programming was the least likely to show long-term consequences of violence and portrayed violence in a humorous manner 67% of the time (Babybag online, 2003). Saturday morning cartoons have a higher level of violence than prime-time television. These acts are often portrayed as unrealistic to adults, but to young children it is more difficult for them to distinguish reality from fiction. There are 3 to 5 acts of violence per hour in prime-time, as compared to 20 to 25 acts of violence per hour on Saturday morning (AAP, 2003). .
Movie violence is often portrayed in similar ways as television violence, with a basis in fighting, sexual violence, and murder. The movie industry has been credited with several copycat crimes. The film Menace to Society has been cited as providing a script for two youths that robbed and killed a motorist. The film Scream has been found to have given a 16-year-old boy the idea for killing his mother.