Effects of Entertainment on Modern-Day Society

The release of "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas," a video game that draws heavily upon gang culture and violence, was a best-selling title in 2004. When playing this game, one can hear phrases such as, Move, bitch and, Ima bust a cap in yo punk ass. The game not only celebrates the gang lifestyle at a time when gang membership is rising nationwide, but makes a mockery of a tragedy thats all too real. This modern day entertainment, as one might call it, shown by video games, music, television, books, and blockbuster films, has the uncanny ability to destroy our society. It can invade and infect the minds of impressionable youth, encouraging drug-use, violence, and premarital sex. It can steal from perfectly good, law abiding citizens many hours of each day that would otherwise have been put to better use. Of course like many aspects in life, there is a good side to all this evil, which in this case comes in the form of educational programs and documentaries, where information is learned and people are educated. When looked upon from a broad point of view, todays entertainment is a plague upon society.

In November of 2008, an eight year old boy killed two men in his home; his father and the fathers friend. When investigating the case, the motive was a large aspect in the boys trial. According to those psychologists that had studied the case, violence found in fictional video games and movies most likely had a big part in this boys actions. But what are we doing to stop these potential killers we call entertainment? We are glorifying them and selling more to kids than ever before. With games such as Grand Theft Auto, childrens minds everywhere are becoming more and more acclimated to violence. The regular murder has been painted into a cliché picture that we all find to be similar in our heads: Someone gets shot; they fall to the ground and die. Society as we know it has seemed to forget about the blood, the screaming, and looking into that persons face as they slowly