RTV Theory and Practice - Special Issue

Nevenka Perković

THE INFLUENCE OF TELEVISED VIOLENCE ON VIEWERS

Whether the broadcasting of violence on television influences the growth of violence in everyday life is a question which is exhaustively studied in the West while httle attention is paid to it in this country. Discussing the violence which is broadcast on television and its influence on viewers, one American author states: «... during a single week in the sbcties an American family witnessed 144 murders, 13 kidnappings, 7 scenes of torture, 4 lynchings and a great number of other forms of violence and сгиеку.« 1 ) Certain measures have been taken in the West to reduce the amount of violence broadcast, but the small screen, especially in America, is still full of violence and aggression. But how do things stand in this country? According to an analysis of programmes by Belgrade Television with regard to acts of violence 2 ) shown in the week between 14 and 20 Мау 1975, there were 215 acts of violence altogether; in other words, for every broadcast there were two acts of violence presented. Although it was not always extreme violence that was involved, physical violence inflicted on human beings, with death as the outcome, was nevertheless more frequent than other types of violence. These figures point to the fact that we cannot remain indiffierent to the question of the presentation of violence оп television and that the problem of the influence of violence presented on the small screen on its viewers is not irrelevant to оиг society. On the contrary, this problem is extremely important in this country because it is the main goal of socialist society to develop personalities capable of cooperation and agreement with people and not of ап aggressive way of behaving and solving problems, which television supposedly promotes by broadcasting an abundance of violence in its programmes.

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1) John O. Pastore; »Televised Violence and Children« in the journal PHP: Л Forum for a Better World, Vol. 6, No. 10, October, 1975. 2) Nevenka Perkovič: »Zapažanja gledalaca o emitovanju nasilja na programima Televizije Beograd«, in the edition »Rezultati istraživanja programa«, Centar RTB za istraživanje programa i auditorijuma, No. 5, 1975.