Why Does the Media Industry Get Blamed?

Originally posted on April 26, 2006

There are so many activities you can do to keep yourself entertained instead of entering the world of boredom. One of them would be the media industry; they provide entertainment to the public. There are a large variety of concepts in the industry. The media industry is incredibly powerful; they’re everywhere you go, even in the public washrooms.

The movies are obviously my favourite part of the industry, as you can tell from reading my blog on a frequent basis. They can be found to be quite entertaining and something to pass the time by. I will be the first to admit that there are more awful movies being pumped out of Hollywood than the gems are. It has become a standard in the industry to provide mediocre and horrific movies, it is part of doing business. They want to make big bucks, but they don’t always succeed at it because they do blow a large amount of it on advertising their products quite often. Still, that doesn’t justify the blaming game.

The sad part of reality is that the media industry especially the video game developers and film producers often get blamed for the violence in our society these days. Parents set up lawsuits against the media industry for what their children did. The media industry includes a large number of established industries such as television, magazines, newspapers, advertisements and more. The reason why parents try to lay the blame on the industry is because they cannot handle the responsibility of their children’s horrific actions against the society. It is easier for them to blame someone else other than themselves. The parents have a legal and moral obligation to be responsible for their children till the age of eighteen, and they often ignore the importance of educating their children about life and responsibilities. Especially when their children are in their teenage years, for many, it is a hard time to go through with all the changes both emotionally and physically. The minute it becomes too late to take action with a child’s personal conflict is when they commit a murderous act; for example, a school shooting. The parents’ reaction to a school shooting on several occasions resulted in a multi-million dollars lawsuit. Of course, all or most of them ended up being dismissed from the courtroom.

To err is human, but to lay the blame on someone else is more human. It rings true when the parents attempt to lay the blame onto the others for their children’s actions. It is dead-on wrong to blame someone else for something that you know you are responsible for. Children are responsible for their actions too, but they do look to you to guide them through the journey to adulthood.

You would think that some parents would have an ounce of common sense when it comes to watching movies. If a movie has a warning label on it saying it’s not suitable for children, that’s exactly what it means. It doesn’t mean anything else. Yes, it is your decision on what to allow your children to view and what they can’t. That’s your responsibility, and if you see signs of the negativity from the movies influencing your children, take action, don’t blame the movies, and blame yourself. You allowed them to watch it in the first place; the movie producers don’t come to your doorstep and beg you to let your kids watch their movies. It’s all up to you; you have the absolute power when it comes to what movies they can watch in your household. The movie ratings are there for a reason, it’s to suggest what inappropriate contents are featured in the movie and how age-appropriate it is. God forbid you allow your children to watch ‘Debbie Does Dallas’! My father once said to me, “These parents whose blame the media industry should realize that the parents should be the one to be blamed in many ways because they are supposed to take care and watch over them”. I agreed firmly with him on his opinion, the media industry shouldn’t be blamed. It’s just business, nothing personal.

Peer pressure is common among all schools, and they can be a powerful influence on your children, mostly negative. As I grew up, my parents educated me on the dangers of some certain activities and the fact that they are illegal. They didn’t want to see me fall victim and ruin my future by getting involved. Thankfully, I was given the information I needed and I resisted the peer pressure, which is surprisingly easy to do if you know what to do. Education is the key, and having the parents commit to guiding their children through their life greatly increases the chances at being successful. Life is short, but children grow in a flash and will be out of your grip before you know it. So don’t wait, spend time with your children and teach them about life.

The media shouldn’t be blamed for the violence happening in this world. Violence is everywhere. You don’t need the media industry to cause problems; people already are doing a good job of it. We aren’t exactly a peaceful society; we have rapists and murderers on the roam every single day traumatizing and killing the innocents. Long before we had violent movies, Romans used to watch gladiators fighting each other and being eaten by the lions. The horrific wars between the American Natives and the American settlers, the slavery in Egypt, the two World Wars and many more barbaric events to go over in the history books.

The media industry is not responsible for the violence in our society.

It’s us.