Refine Search

Are Violent TV Cartoons Harmful?

By Awake! correspondent in Britain

“BUGS Bunny Blamed for School Fights,” headlined The Times of London. The newspaper reported how some teachers feel about the behavior of youngsters who, it is claimed, imitate violent scenes from TV cartoons.

“Most cartoons are violent,” asserted one deputy head of a primary school, “and even if the good guy wins in the end, the way he does so leaves much to be desired.” Do you feel the same way about the trend of TV cartoons?

Faced with the increasing popularity of animation, which is now widely available on video, many parents feel concerned. Some are anguished by their youngsters’ “cartoon mentality” and even accuse cartoons of promoting violence, deceit, and disobedience.

But can there really be any harm in viewing cartoons, even if they do contain some violent scenes?

Any Harm?

According to BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) guidelines, TV producers must carefully consider the effects of any violence their programs portray, cartoons included. “Emotional arousal as a result of violence increases with the ability of the viewer to identify with the situation” is the official view.

By their very nature, cartoons present fanciful situations; so is the danger minimal? Most youngsters who avidly watch TV cartoons obviously do so for amusement. Cartoons do amuse. But can they do more? Yes, indeed, since any cartoon can make a lasting impression. Dr. Gregory Stores of Oxford University told the program-listing magazine TV Times that the cartoons children watch are one source of the “monsters, ghosts or wild animals” that are widely present in children’s nightmares.

Similarly, the British government study Screen Violence and Film Censorship acknowledges that the company in which a child views a film influences the effect it has on him. So a danger for children can lie in unsupervised cartoon viewing.

The same report contends that preschool children readily imitate violent actions they watch and that with “some sort of emotional ‘push,’” older children about the age of five or six will engage in aggressive acts they have learned.

Consequently, broadcasters admit the possibility that over a period of time, viewing the portrayal of violence on television may have “a desensitising or trivialising effect particularly on children,” whatever their age. This can make them less sensitive to engaging in violence themselves or make them calloused when it is inflicted on others.

The “Bugs Bunny” or “Tom and Jerry” addict, who may have first seen those characters years ago on the movie screen, may now be a parent and can, at the touch of a button, tune the TV in to their modern antics. But standards have changed. With their children in mind, parents will surely seek to monitor the content of cartoons shown today.

Take the case of the “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.” These American film characters were considered too violent for many transatlantic audiences. Consequently, before showing the spin-off cartoon series in Britain, the BBC cut out some scenes. It even deleted the word “Ninja” because that refers to Japanese warriors. Instead, it called them “Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles.”

Even so, parents expressed some disquiet. One mother told the Scotsman newspaper: “Children are very gullible. I have a five-year-old who is a turtle maniac. When I go to collect him from school the children in the playground are all trying to kick each other.”

The concern felt by parents and teachers is unexpectedly shared by some toy-store owners. One British store announced a ban on sales of the reptile warriors amid fears of children “terrorising each other with karate kicks and risking death by hiding in sewers.” Are there any other dangers?

Hidden Dangers

“Perhaps the most cynically successful children’s marketing ploy of all time” is how one newspaper described the link between the “Turtles” cartoons and the marketing of associated products. Although such linking is not new, “what is new with the Turtles is the sheer size” of the market.

In this case the licensees are eager to sell an estimated 400 Turtle products, such as comics and T-shirts, to enthralled youngsters. Now if cartoon viewing so entices children to want these goods, the scenes they watch in those same cartoons must surely have some effect! However, some may say that these new fads do not last long.

Even if such fads do not persist, old cartoon favorites retain their appeal. “Mutant Turtles may come and go, but Tom and Jerry are for ever,” claims The Times of London. So you may need to ask yourself some questions. Does viewing such cartoons in your home indicate to your children that you approve every action depicted? What about scenes of cruelty to animals? You may, of course, reason that cartoons cannot be equated with real life. But do you know what is now happening to cartoons? Animatronics!

“Animatronics” is electronic wizardry that makes cartoon fantasies look real, so real that audiences find it difficult to distinguish between cartoon and reality. “The animatronic kingdom is so convincing in close-up,” reports The Sunday Times Magazine, “that even the most cynical of viewers, used to fantastical movie tricks, are not distracted by a false pore or fake wrinkle.” Violent scenes presented this way possess a shocking realism.

Consider also the standards of behavior modern cartoons offer the next generation. The characters featured in one new cartoon craze are “an obnoxious family of loudmouths, layabouts and ‘underachievers,’” reports The Times of London. They appeal “partly because they are so anti-establishment.”

Yes, parents, you may well have cause for concern when you consider your children’s cartoon viewing. What, then, can you do?

Banish ‘Violence for Fun’

Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of prepared entertainment. With family welfare in mind, some parents have decided to do without TV. Others help their children weigh the pros and cons of the programs they are allowed to watch. “The more equipped a child (or even a grown-up) is to look at a cartoon, an advertisement, or a news broadcast critically and analytically,” explains The Independent of London, “the more she or he is going to get out of the media.” Parents are certainly in the best position to help their children do this.

A recent study of television’s involvement in family life focused on two different methods of teaching. One involves reasoning and explaining, coupled with an appeal to the child’s sense of achievement. The other basically uses punishment and threats. What did the results show?

The children whose parents threatened them with punishment displayed a preference for “antisocial television content,” whereas “children with mothers who primarily disciplined with reasoning and explanation were least affected” by such scenes. Thus, caring parents explain to their children why it is unwise to watch violent cartoons. But remember, youngsters are born imitators, and this places a heavy responsibility on parents to avoid watching violence for fun. If you watch it, your children will see nothing wrong in watching it themselves.

‘How, then, can I keep my children amused?’ you may ask. One suggestion: Why not seek amusement by watching real-life animal antics? Do you live near a nature reserve or zoological park that you can visit as a family? If not, you can always choose suitable wildlife videos to watch at home.

Unfortunately, none of us can presently escape the violence of the world in which we live. But whether we are young or old, we can wisely choose, if we so desire, to avoid watching anything that nurtures violence.

[Picture on page 12]

Do cartoons promote violence?