Portraying School Violence and the Kids That Kill

Through the different posts I have done, I have discussed specific examples of cases in which the news media has reported and the way in which the media portrayed the people involved. It is now time to look more generally at how the media tackles the idea of school violence and what people think about the way in which the media reports on such violence and incidents.

First, there are a lot of shows that have tackled the idea of school violence and other school-related problems, such as Degrassi, ICarly, Gossip Girl, The Secret Life of the American Teenager, and other teen and adolescent aimed shows. One series in particular aims to tackle a lot of school-related violence and problems, Glee.

Glee Cast during Shooting Star episode

In a recent episode of the show titled, "Shooting Star," the cast took on the topic of school shootings. Although the show has normally done a great job at tackling hard issues dealing with school-related topics, the episode is receiving a lot of bad reviews. Some reviews stating that the episode depicts school shootings as something that is accidental and something that is not that serious. However, school shootings and all school violence are very serious.

I do have to say that to me, the show does an amazing job at tackling the hard topics, such as bullying and stereotyping.

Another show is also tackling school violence, in particular mass school shootings. The show, Guns In America will be taking a look at mass shootings that have been taking place since the Columbine Massacre. The series season will tackle topics ranging from the tragic case of Kip Kinkel at Thurston High; Adam Lanza, the shooter at Sandy Hook; and the Safe Schools Initiative.

Advertisement photo for the series

This series from PBS America is seen to be a series that will be highly watched.

To find out more about the series, click here.

Not everyone is happy about not only the way that shows are portraying these tragedies, but also how the media is seemingly "glorifying school shootings," as stated by Roger Ebert.

Ebert basically stated that the news media influences school violence and events such as Columbine because the children see how famous someone becomes when they do something so horrible that they think to themselves that if they do the same they will become famous as well.

Ebert discusses how the news media portrays young killers and kids who act out as a major media event that is plastered everyone for everyone to see. The people become instant stars and everyone knows who they are. Ebert states that the news media should not publicize the killers but rather the victims since that is where the truly story lies.

My opinion?

I do want television shows and movies to tackle the issues of school violence and bullying, and I do want the media to report on the topics as well. However I agree with Ebert in that the news media portrays these kids as sensations and makes them highly publicized. The victims to me are the important part and I think in a lot of instances the bullies and the killers are the ones who get the most stuff written about them and have the biggest depictions within the news media.

The news media, in my mind, needs to do a lot more investigating and also needs to get down to the true stories and what is at the heart of stories about school violence, the victims.

Sources:
http://www.tvwise.co.uk/2013/04/pbs-america-announces-guns-in-america-season/

http://jezebel.com/5968669/roger-ebert-calls-out-the-media-on-glorifying-school-shootings

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-207_162-57579323/glee-takes-on-school-gun-violence-in-shooting-star/