Susan Gillespie

ENG/ CJ 3001
9/2/15
Response 1

Do films, television, and other forms of media that portray

violence, death, or murder influence homicidal acts by youth? This
topic of discussion is quite controversial and even though there have
been numerous amounts of research, it is still something very
unknown.
It seems as though the most obvious reason for violent homicidal
youth is because these children are the product of their own
environment by which they live. In the movie The Bad Seed,
Christines father wrote a book and did a lot of research on homicidal
people. He found that the only reason why people act out in a violent
and homicidal way is because they grew up in a bad environment
where they saw horrible things at a young age and developed into
horrible people who perform horrible acts. Indeed I agree with
Christines father that the main reason that these violent people lash
out in such horrific ways is because they grew up in poverty, were
abused, witnessed violence in the family and in their surrounding,
participated in substance abuse, or had parents, family members, or
close friends who also were violent and homicidal. Children are easily
influenced and develop in a certain way based on their upbringing. So

this is definitely one reason why children might act in a homicidal

manner.
However, this film The Bad Seed shows that children arent
only a product of their environment, but could also be affect by their
genetic makeup as well. In the movie Christine feels as though she is
adopted and after remembering her birthmothers name, Bessie
Dinker, she beings to make the connection as to why her daughter
Rhoda is a murderer. Christines father wrote a book on his
investigation of the murders committed by his adopted daughters
birthmother, Bessie Dinker. Since the Dinker family was a horrid family
who committed horrid crimes, the violent homicidal genes must have
been passed down through Christine and into Rhoda. Rhoda was
definitely not a product of her environment because she lived in a
beautiful home, went to a lovely school, and had a caring family. So it
must have been genetic. Rhoda was a heinous killer who killed her first
maid, her classmate Claude, the farmhand Leroy, and would probably
continue to kill (just like her grandmother Bessie).
In past times, it seemed as though homicidal people and
homicidal youth specifically exhibited that behavior due to their
environment they grew up in or their genetic makeup/imbalance in
their brain. However, in todays world, another aspect could play a role
in and be a factor for homicidal youth. This aspect is the media,
television, and movies that display violence. Do watching movies such

as The Bad Seed play a part in youth development into becoming

violent? In my personal opinion, I think these horror movies do play a
part in some youth development and dont play a part in others. Let
me explain. I think children who are normal (normal in the sense that
they have no genetic background of violence and grow up in a nice
loving family and are involved in a good environment) are less
susceptible to being effected by violent films, television, and other
forms of media. Witnessing these forms of violence in the media will
take away youths innocence but I dont think it will turn them into
coldblooded homicidal people. That being said, witnessing violent
media could very well turn youth into homicidal people if they are
already at risk of violent behavior based on their genetic makeup,
psychological disorders, or exposure to violence. I found this really
great article that talks about the impact of media violence of children
and it also talks about how children who are already at risk for violent
behavior are more influenced by violent media than children who are
not at risk. If you would like to learn more, this article can be found at:
https://www.aacap.org/aacap/Medical_Students_and_Residents/Mentors
hip_Matters/DevelopMentor/The_Impact_of_Media_Violence_on_Childre
n_and_Adolescents_Opportunities_for_Clinical_Interventions.aspx
All in all, there are many factors that can contribute to violent
and homicidal youth. But from my point of view, watching violent films
and other forms of media are not a very prominent factor resulting in

this type of children. Instead, I think either a psychopathic disorder or a

violent and unhealthy upbringing is the primary reason why the
majority of violent youth are violent.