“My 4-year-old child loves Spiderman. He is always imitating Spiderman, leaping and hopping from one piece of furniture to the other pretending to cling to a hair-width string that he has flung to stay suspended in mid-air and help him climb from one piece of furniture to the other. He also collects Spiderman’s clothes, shoes, the covers of notebooks that have drawings of him and even anything that is remotely connected to Spiderman,” said Manar Hamad, a mother of four children.
A child's mind mostly depends upon imagination and fantasy, and the picture is never completed till imitation is employed; therefore danger lies in what the child might do after watching violent cartoons. Such cartoons constantly present a measure of violence that is intensive, compared to these tender minds which need constant care and a watchful eye to make sure that the child grows in a hazard-free environment, away from negative influences. To put it more clearly, and in an interview carried out by TYT with Nour El-din Salah, a psychologist at Save the Children Organization, Salah defined violence as any form of abuse; whether physical, emotional or verbal, inflicted upon any person. So if a person abuses another on any of the said levels, he or she is undoubtedly committing an act of violence.
When asked about the age-group most susceptible to cartoon violence, Salah said: "Let me say that cartoons in general have a considerable effect on children aged between 3 and 10 years, because their behaviour is influenced by 4 factors: family, school, companions, and last but not least; mass media which sometimes indulges their dreams and encourages them to spend many hours watching specific TV shows in which they become so engrossed to the extent that it becomes quite difficult to draw their attention to anything else."
Nada Sharbat, an 8 year old girl, said “I watch cartoons a lot, specially the series that contain fighting. I like to act like superheroes…. I like the action in them”. Waleed Sabani, a boy from the same age group said, “I like all the beating and kicking in cartoons and I like all the games of fighting.”
The question is: Does violence in cartoons really hold children in its grip rendering them easy preys? And why?
"Some TV cartoons attract children because these cartoons relate to the violence inside them. Most of the violent cartoons present superheroes as the symbol of right and whatever they do is justified to regain that right."
Mr. Salah added, “Cartoons have both, a positive and a negative effect on children. Children exposed to such programs, may learn more words and new cultures. In addition, they may also acquire communicative skills to deal with others .On the other hand, cartoons may negatively affect children’s behavior, way of thinking, and put at risk their relations with the others; they may beat one another and utter bad words. It is noteworthy to say that affecting the children’s way of thinking and their system of values could be the most serious risk of all, especially when they watch the superhero escape punishment though he has given somebody else some good pounding, possibly even killed him. Such shows might encourage children to rationalize such acts thinking that they too might get away with punishment if they choose to harm some of their peers, and if such an act is for a good cause, so much the better.”
Mrs. Mai Khouri said “I ask my children to switch to another channel every time there is a violent movie on TV because I can see that my children are easily affected by what they watch and they live the role so much that they act it afterwards."
Children & imitation?
"If children love a hero, they will imitate him whether he is good or not. I think imitation is a perfectly normal behaviour which is clearly manifested in children; a small girl will wear cosmetics and will pay attention to her clothes and to accessories because she sees her mother wearing them, while a young boy will wear his father’s after-shave or even shave in an attempt to copy his father. This shows that behaviour is acquired not inherited. Consequently children learn by imitation; a fact which leads me to advise parents not to let their children watch violent movies on TV."
It's very common in our schools to see boys of about nine or ten years fighting one another and hear them calling one another some strange names. And if we ask them about the reasons of the fight we find that they have been watching the same cartoon in which its heroes were a team fighting for justice; Later on, however, we get to know that the heroes in that cartoon fought savagely and mercilessly, punching and kicking and going as far as using weapons. Similarly, the children play-act the different characters which they have previously seen; which is why we see them fighting.
signs to watch in children
"There are two types of aggression revealed by children, an active aggression and a passive one; by the Active aggression, implies that the child imitates the aggressive practises which he sees on television; such as insulting and fighting others; whereas passive aggression is indicated through facial expressions, or in other words; non-verbal actions. Frequent nightmares can also be a sign of acquiring violence as a mode of behaviour because defensive gestures can be noticed while sleeping."
Watching TV is one of the most popular activities among Palestinian children because there are rare entertaining places or clubs in Gaza and the West Bank which they can join or where they can play, so most of the children watch not only one cartoon but a big number of them, and accordingly, the consequences are multiplied.
"Palestinian children live in complicated circumstances due to poverty, unemployment, and inner clashes. Added to these difficulties, some families can’t afford their children’s main needs, let alone facilities which children in other countries already enjoy and consider their right. The unavailability of these basic rights is one very good factor towards the acceleration of violence amongst Palestinian children."
Many of the children we have met, disliked watching violent cartoons. Abed El-Hai Hussein, a six year old said: "I don't like watching violent cartoons because I hate fighting and beating".
Mr. Nour El Din Salah added," human beings are good by nature, and children don't have violent emotions but violent cartoons enhance the bad aspects in their behaviours. Man is structured along three domains: thinking, feeling, and behaviour. If you affect one's way of thinking this will be reflected on his feelings and this, in turn will be reflected on his behaviour. A change in behaviour requires a change of thinking and feeling first.
A Good Tip:
"Just to remind you of a famous saying: "If the jail collects criminals, TV is the initiative provoker to a crime," quoted Mr. Salah.
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موضوع: Cartoons and violence 
الإثنين مايو 26, 2008 7:52 pm
