Violent Media is Good for Kids Analysis

From infancy onward, parents and teachers have drilled into the young generation that violence should be avoided at all costs. They have preached cooperation, tolerance, and “using one’s words” as tactics to combat difficult situations. Although those lessons are valid, Gerald Jones claims there is an alternative way. In his essay, “Violent Media is Good for Kids,” Jones argues that “creative violence- bonking cartoons, bloody videogames, toy guns-gives children a tool to master their rage” (Jones). In other words, media violence, used correctly, can serve as an alternative method for powering through adolescence. By reading and writing violent stories, children are able to express
Jones stepped in and channeled her fantasies into stories. At the end of the day, she was still fiery and strong, but she was able to control herself in public. In fact, she even became a student leader in her school. In this case, violent media gave a child an outlet for her aggression. The second example involved an older girl in a very chaotic family situation. She was surrounded by fighting, alcohol, and peer pressure. Jones stepped in with the power of writing. His use of the Power Play program helped the girl escape from her reality. In the girl’s stories, she was powerful and invulnerable. She was able to ignore the world going on around her for a period of time. This proved to be very beneficial. She stayed out of trouble, and grew up to be a writer and political activist. In this case, Jones showed how media violence helped someone power through adolescence and contribute to a very successful future. Jones uses the two examples above to drive home his argument. By employing real life examples, he is able to not only provide concrete evidence, but also put a face to the fact. Instead of spewing a list of facts, he gives two examples the audience could relate to and better visualize. This makes for a stronger use of logos.
It seems that Gerald Jones had his work cut out for him in writing this essay. He had to take the hardwired belief that violence is bad and convince the world that “Through immersion in imaginary combat and