The Violence is Fake the Impact is Real

The Violence is Fake, The Impact is Real

In the essay, “The Violence is Fake, the Impact is Real,” Ellen Goodman demonstrates that despite the fact of violence on television is fake, the image it engraves in the minds of children are not. Goodman points out that advertisers know what children watch affects them. However, the same advertisers tell parents that children are not affected by what they watch. To back up her argument, Goodman provides theories by the government on television violence. They believe that just as kids learn their “ABC’s” at an early age, they also learn morals and values from the things they are exposed to, such as programs broadcasted on TV. The government also believes that if kids are exposed to “aggressive behavior” at a young age then they will “accept it as normal behavior.” Goodman also points out that if the media were to show the harmful affects of violent behavior, it would shed a ne...