Statement of the Problem, Conceptual Definitions, Implications of the Research/Summary

Chapter I: Introduction

Virtually all forms of media violence have come under close scrutiny. Many media entertainment industries have had to devise a self-regulating system or face criticism from the public and run the risk of external regulation by the government. This scrutiny of media entertainment includes most prominently the film industry, television, video games, comic books and music. The topic of media violence has attracted the attention of academic researchers (Comstock and Scharrer, 1999; Rule and Ferguson, 1986; Dodge and Frame, 1982; and Huesmann and Guerra, 1997) as well as public figures, particularly politicians. For years Hollywood has implemented a ratings system of movies shone in theaters and made into videotape or DVD. In addition, technology has introduced the V-Chip to help parents monitor the programs watched by their children. In June of 1999, President Clinton ordered the Surgeon General to coordinate a general study of the effects of media violence on children and young adults (Keegan, 1992:42). A mass of research studies pertaining to media violence has been analyzed by a government agency. The findings of this study suggest that "a substantial body of research now indicates that exposure to media violence increases children's physically and verbally agressive begavior in the short term (within hours to days of exposure)" (Department of Health and Human Services 2001:92). Also, "longitudinal studies suggest a small but statistically significant impact on aggression over many years" (Department of Health and Human Services 2001:92). This thesis addresses on aspect of this very broad issue: comic books.

Statement of the Problem

In America, people are exposed to various forms of media violence. Violence is found throughout movies, video games, television, music and comic books. As this thesis will illustrate in chapter two, social scientists have written much pertaining to how violence in the media affects people, particularly adolescents.

Politicians as well as special interest groups have also focused on media violence. They have spoken out about numerous forms of violence found in the lyrics of music and the types of violent content found in film, television and video games. For example, an article in The Nation (1995) discusses Senator Bob Dole's criticism of motion picture violence and violent lyrics in rap music. Dole goes as far as to stte that "the loss of family values is caused by moral corruption of popular culture, and therefore we should hold rap artists, Hollywood moguls and record executives responsible for our moral chaos" (quoted in Dyson 1995:909). Former Vice-President Al Gore, in a June 1, 1998 article of Variety, blamed recent school shootings on TV violence. Although Gore did not specifically blame TV directly for the school shootings, he did state that "exposure to this amount of media violence is not healthy for children" (Variety, 1998:24). The Parents Television Council states that "depictions of sexuality, violence and profanity are booming" (Variety, 1998:4).

Even law enforcement officials occasionally speak out and blame media violence for the ills of society. A radical stance toward violence in the film industry was given by Joseph McNamara; chief of police in San Jose, California, in an article by U.S. News and World Report. McNamara stated that "What's being depicted is really the end of civilization as we know it-that people will be walking around with their own UZI machine guns," (Sanoff, 1986:55).

In terms of video game violence, a study conducted to test the levels of aggression after playing video games shows that "there has been an increase in the violence and brutality of the games and increasingly realistic graphic and shound that yield blood-gushing, bone crunching special effects" (Ballard and Lineberger, 1999:541). As well, according to articles in the Chicago Sun Times (2000) and the Peoria Journal Star (2000), the city of Indianapolis, Indiana has attempted to enact an ordinance that prohibits any adolescent under age 18 from playing violent cideo games unless accompanied by an adult. Former Attorney General Jim Ryan of Illinois asked stores that sell violent video games not to sell them to children less than 17 uyears of age in which Sears and Montgomery Ward have responded by discontinuing sales of certain violent video games (Golab, 200; Tarter, 2000). In resonse to Indianaplolis's ordinance, the city of Chicago is also attempting to pass similar ordinances in which children younger than 17 would have to bring an adult to the video arcade in order to play games with violent content (Spielman, 2000).

A 1993 article written by former U.S. Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan "Defining Deviancy Down, How We've Become Accustomed to Alarming Levels of Crime and Destructive Behavior" outlines the thesis that violence in American society is spiraling out of contorl. Society has redefined the definitions of what is considered a deviant act in order to cope with rising levels of violence. If Moynihan's observation is correct, then there should be evidence of it in one of the oldest forms of 20th century media entertainment: comic books. To test Moynihan's assertion, this thesis will assess the amount of violent content in Batman comic books from 1940 to the year 2000 in order to answer the following research question: Has the violent content in comic books increased, decreased or remained the same over a peoriod of sixty years?

Conceptual Definitions

For the purpose of this thesis the definitions of murder/non-negligent manslaughter and aggravated assault defined by the FBI Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) have been used. The UCR definition of murder/non-negligent manslaughter is stated as "the willful killing of one human being by another." Aggravated assault is defined as "the unlawful attack by one person upon another for the purpose of inflictin severe or aggravated injury, usually accompanied by the use of a weapon." These definitions have been used to designate what constitutes a violent act as it pertains to coding depictions of violence in Batman comic books. The independent variables in this study are defined by the time periods in which the comic books have been published; they are the Golden, Silver and Bronze age eras. The Golden Age era is the time period from 1938-1949. The Silver Age era is the time period from 1950-1979, and the Bronze Age era is defined as the time period from 1980-present.

Implications of the Research

Why study media violence? What implications can this research project offer that will enhance other people's knowledge about this subject? This research project not only offers sociological insight but practical insight as well. Sociologically, there has been little research to test Moynihan's thesis; Maguire's 2000 study of professional wrestling is an exception. This thesis will contribute to the existing sociological literature by systematically testing Moynihan's thesis in regard to comic books. In the practical sense, there has been continuing concern as to the effects of violent forms of media entertainment upon the observer. Video games, music, film, comic books and television have all been subject to some form of censorship by academics, politicians, and special interest groups throughout American history (Schmitt, 1992). In short, is this concern pertaining to vi