Violence in the media

Trailer analysis:
Black ops 2 Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3tedlWs1XY
Kill Bill trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-czwy-aVbbU

1.) How do these trailers represent violence?
The black ops 2 Trailer isn't focused mainly on violence and instead promotes the aspects of the storyline. The story has an emphasis on war so it can be seen to show violence as a means to an end rather than something being used just for the sake of making the game look good. The kill bill trailer, however, does have an emphasis on violence and whilst it does not show anyone being killed or injured it does seem to have an emphasis  on fight scenes and shows the plot as revolving around attempting to kill someone. The film appears to meet stereotypes of violent action films through its over the top stunts and action sequences. despite it being in a modern setting there is more of a presence of older weaponry such as Katanas  as this sort of weapons allows for more intense and violent fight scenes.


Other Questions:
1.) Do you believe that the media promotes violence?
Some types of media are more likely to promote violence. One media type that often promotes violence is moving image (both film and TV). a common genre of moving image that promotes violence is the horror genre as many horror films depict death and violence in all manner of grisly and over the top ways in order to increase the impact of a characters death and inspire fear and dread in the audience. another genre would be action as the vast majority of action films and TV programs involve fight scenes that glorify violence by making it look "cool" through using spectacularly over the top violence in some cases. Another form of media that can be seen to promote violence is video games. This is usually because many video games reward the player for fighting and therefore adds an incentive for the player to commit violent acts. The more people are exposed to violent media the more desensitised they become towards it causing them to care less about violence portrayed by the media leading to a possible problem of desensitising towards violence in real life.

2.) Does the media promote violence in young people?
As younger people are more impressionable it would seem as though the media does promote violence towards them. As video games are popular amongst young people they can be seen to promote violence as they are a form of media that is made to be interacted with. This increases the likelihood that this kind of media would promote violence in them as they are in control of the situation rather than institution. Games t such as call of duty or grand theft auto that encourage violence can be seen as therefore promoting violence in a young audience as they are giving the player the power to commit these acts and then rewarding them. another form of media that can encourage violence in young people is TV and films. These forms of media show protagonist and antagonists alike committing acts of violence in a more structured way. because of the show or film sticking to a structure they are more likely to show violence in a more detailed way as each character interaction is more unique and therefore encourages violence to be shown in many different ways. With TV and film media becoming more accessible through the internet it is more likely that young people will be exposed to this kind of violence.

3.)Why do people play video games? 
One reason people may play video games is escapism. This is because video games allow players to take on another role where they are in charge of a world where everything they do has no consequence an encourages them to do what they want. This allows a sort of freedom for the player to choose from as they could choose a racing game or a shooting game in which to interact with a fictional world. The lack of consequences causes players not to worry about anything going overly wrong in a video game. another reason may be for some kind of social interaction as many video games these days incorporate some form of on-line play that allows players to play with friends in this virtual world that the video games create.