Viewing Violence [Hardcover]

Madeline Levine (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1996

Presents all the existing data about the detrimental effects of media violence on children in an accessible way and analyzes how parents, government, schools, and the media themselves can best react to the problem. Tour.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Levine?psychotherapist, consultant to preschools and elementary schools in the San Francisco Bay area and mother of three boys?has performed a valuable service for parents here by lucidly synthesizing four decades of research on the harmful effects of media violence on children. Graphic, gratuitous depictions of violence on television and in the movies, she concludes, encourage young viewers to act more aggressively, desensitizes them to real-world violence and instills a distorted, pessimistic worldview. Media violence also makes children more restless, more fearful and less creative. TV programs present limited options for girls and glorify violent solutions for boys. Levine traces the successive stages of cognitive, emotional and moral development, from preschoolers' magical, totally egocentric outlook to teenagers often coping with confusion, apathy and hopelessness. Using this developmental framework, she sets forth guidelines to help parents decide what kids should and shouldn't watch. Of particular interest, she finds that most children's cartoons are antisocial, violent, mindnumbing and inane. An annotated list of resources includes government agencies, TV networks, advocacy groups, organizations active in media literacy.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Psychologist Levine asserts that violence in the media damages children and marshalls 40 years of academic research to support her claim in a parent-friendly manner. Using a "development approach" based on the work of child theorists like Piaget, the author analyzes how children process the media at different stages. Provocative statistics and policy discussions abound here. We learn that American children on average watch double the amount of TV that experts recommend. The book concludes with suggestions and resources to increase the quality of the mass media and the literacy of its viewers. The inadequacy of a movie rating system that brands both Rain Man and Pulp Fiction as "R" and the promise of the V-chip are also explored. Specific recommendations for positive programming that will appeal to various groups are made, but the references will date quickly. Though repetitive in parts, this is an authoritative work on a significant social problem. Recommended for public library media collections and academic libraries supporting programs in mass media or child development.?Antoinette Bruckman, Southwest Indiana Mental Health Ctr. Lib., Evansville
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Doubleday; 1st edition (September 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385476868
• ISBN-13: 978-0385476867
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,308,841 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Moms and Dads, wake up to what your kids are watching!!, November 30, 1996

By A Customer

This review is from: Viewing Violence (Hardcover)

Very disturbing book about what's happening with TV, and the effects of TV violence on our kids. Does a steady diet of violence have negative effects on kids? You won't wonder after reading this book. The author says -- and you won't doubt her after reading this -- that there are hundreds of studies already done that document the negative impact of TV violence on our kids. Yet nobody talks about them. The TV industry likes to claim credit for reducing drinking and driving through its public service ads. Great. But they at the same time REFUSE to take RESPONSIBILITY for also contributing to violence in this country through shows that glorify the stuff. The book is also fascinating for the author's description of the different stages kids go through -- how kids who are 6 perceive the same show differently than kids who are 10, and so on. The author's a psychologist by trade. Fascinating book -- with critically important findings for all of us.