The Myth of Media Violence: A Critical Introduction

1. We Like to Watch: A Brief History of Media Violence.

What is Media Violence?.

A Cacophony of Voices.

2. Watching Doesn’t Make Us Violent: Assessing the Research on Media Violence.

Media Violence in Historical Perspective.

Regulation Efforts.

Historical Continuities in Media Violence Debates.

Media Hysteria and the Culture of Fear.

The Media Hysteria Cycle.

The Win-Win Situation.

The Facts about Crime and Violence.

3. We Are Afraid: Media Violence and Society.

Identity and Fear.

Fear and Desire.

Gender and Race.

Crime and Politics.

The War on Terrorism.

4. We Can’t Stop the Violence: The Uses and Importance of Media Violence.

Violence and Education.

Violence and Art.

Violence and News.

The Media Violence Industry.

The New Economics of Entertainment.

The Movie Business.

Disaster Movies.

Science Fiction.

Horror.

Beyond the Theater and into the Toy Store.

Television.

Critical Viewing.

Dramatic Programs.

Reality Television.

Music Television.

TV News.

Children’s Programming.

Sports on TV.

5. But We Can Understand It: Beyond Polemics in the Media Violence Debate.

Publishing Violence.

Computer and Video Games.

The Desire for Media Violence.

The Aesthetics of Violence.

Narratives of Violence.

The Ethics of Media Violence.

Violence and Memory.

Responding to Media Violence.

Index