Violence in Society

"After you read this paragraph, I am going to shoot you... no I'm just kidding", that is just an example of a joke one may find in society these days. Society today is flooded with violence, T.V. shows such as "UFC", "King of the Cage", and "The Contender" which all revolve around the barbaric sport of mixed martial arts. Modern day gladiators have become the role models of today. With over 40% of Americans playing video games, baseball may have a run for its spot as "America's number one past time". Video games have become huge today, some people refer to them as a sport. With ESPN sponsoring MLG (major league gaming) even if one doesn't own the game themselves, they can watch on T.V. the pros go head to head killing each other for a cash prize for the best team. Most games today consist of shooting other players, and with Xbox Live "smack talk" has evolved to a whole new level, being able to put down the other players or tell them how bad you "owned" them. Not only video games, but the movies we watch all have some sort of violence in them, whether it be a super hero defeating evil, or watching "Saw 5" where people are fighting for their lives. Within the first week of its release the movie "Fighting" has brought in $11,441,000. The excitement these kind of movies bring are the closest one can get to the thrill of brutally beating someone, without actually going out and committing the crime themselves. Why would make someone want to imitate the things they see on T.V., in a movie, or something they play on a video game?, maybe it's the message delivered in the music one listens to. With messages in rap music such as "I murder you and laugh, I'm Barry Sanders slashing through the path, you a magician's assistant, I'm sawin' you in half", today's kids growing up to this can only assume that it is normal after hearing it over and over again. Maybe if rap isn't your cup of tea, metal songs such as "let the knife do the talking" or "compulsive psychosis" may interest you a bit more, but they all have the same message "kill the enemy". Today's society has become so obsessed with violence, that it is practically everywhere, and when the news comes on and the big story is a murder... why is one not surprised?