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Desensitization of the Nation
70% of violence in movies goes unanswered when it comes to consequences (Radowitz 1).
This is teaching children that violence and aggressive behavior is acceptable. Media is full of
influential behavior. Media can portray either good or explicit themes. These behaviors in media
that we see and hear can have a positive or negative effect on how you think. The extreme
violence and sexually suggestive visuals in media are desensitizing the way Americans view the
world.
Desensitization of emotions leads to violent behaviors. When people see horrible murders or
violence on the news, they often shudder and think about how awful their families must feel.
Rather than feeling this regret, our future society might pass it off as common news.
“The Surgeon General reports that TV violence is linked to aggressive behavior in
children who view violent shows. Similarly, American Medical Association, American
Psychological Association, UNESCO, and US Attorney General, have all reached the
conclusion that TV violence is linked to the proliferation of violence in our culture.”
(Radowitz 1)
This shows that behaviors portrayed on TV contributes to violence and violent related crimes.
Desensitization is something that can affect the way people view the world and what they believe
is acceptable. If children are continuously exposed to inappropriate images, they grow
accustomed to them and the future generations will see a more violent and sexual culture.
Sex related advertising is common in our media today. Many companies use a sexual
message to sell their product even if it is not related. A major study of the subject said this, “A
major concern with sexist advertising is the simple fact that it becomes so normalized that we
don’t even notice it (either because it’s subconscious, dressed up as artistic or because it’s so
widespread)” (“Many” 2). This writer suggests that people completely overlook the message
behind the advertising and fall for the innuendos or blatantly sexist depiction of women. So
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many companies use this form of advertising that people are becoming desensitized to the
visuals. This makes us not only desensitized to things people should feel are taboo, but it also
skews how we feel women should look. Men expect more out of women, and women feel they
cannot live up to the standards of these fictional girls.
This is not just an unwanted consequence of this type of advertising, but it is purposely used
to make people feel differently of the company putting out the advertisement. In the same article
it mentions how this form of advertising is used. People are being subconsciously enticed to buy
products from companies who believe it is okay to use women’s bodies in a sexual way to make
their brand cool, hip and sexy (“Many” par 3). When people see this advertising, they think the
company is cool or hip, because they depict beautiful women in minimal clothing. The
companies send subliminal messages to make consumers think a certain way about their product,
