Violent films and behavior – is there a link?

Corroboration and conflict:

Corroboration:

The two boys had troubled backgrounds.

The boys had been watching violent horror videos when they were bunking off school. They reported that the stepfather of one of the boys had rented a copy of Child’s Play 3 a week before the murder.  

There were significant similarities between scenes in the film and the killing of James Bulger.

There is a strong link between violent films and real-life violence and that violent films can lead to violent behavior.

“The research points to a pathway from having a violent home background, to being an offender, to being more likely to prefer violent films”.

Conflict:

The Liberal Democrat MP David Alton, who represented the area where the boys lived, demanded a ban on home videos classified as “15” and “18” saying they were “not suitable for viewing in the home”.

Merseyside police detectives, who had interviewed the boys for several weeks before the trial, rejected any suggestions that “horror” videos had influenced the boys’ behavior.

The police found no evidence to indicate that the boys had watched Child’s Play 3.

Elizabeth Newson: She argued that violent films can lead to violent behavior. The authors of this report argue that a violent home background can lead to violent behavior which, in turn, is likely to lead to a preference for violent films.

Balance of evidence:

Claims that support that violent films lead to that kids behavior:

At the time of the murder, the Daily Mail had been conducting a campaign against “video nasties”-violent horror films which they claimed had a harmful effect on children.

And the Sun and other tabloids claimed that there were significant similarities between scenes in the film and the killing of James Bulger.

 Sir Ivan, chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee, said it was becoming “daily more obvious” that this was a major reason for the rise in juvenile crime.

Elizabeth Newson concluded that there is a strong link between violent films and real-life violence and that violent films can lead to violent behavior.

Claims which support that violent movies are not the main cause of violent behavior:

The two boys had troubled backgrounds.

Police went through something like 200 titles rented by the family. There were nothing-no scene, or plot, or dialogue-where you could put your finger on the freeze button and say that influenced a boy to go out and commit murder.

The police found no evidence to indicate that the boys had watched Child’s Play 3.

Weight of evidence:

More likely:

Some scenes of the movie are related to the crime.

Newson claim that violent films are related to violent behavior.

Less likely:

The police said that there are no evidence that prove the kids watched that films.

Quality of evidence:

The police.

The Sun and the Daily Mail.

Psychologist Elizabeth Newson.

The Conservative MP Sir Ivan Lawrence, chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee.

A team of psychologists at Birmingham University.

Judgement:

After analyzing the case, I think that violent movies are not the cause of the behavior of the boys. Since a lot of evidence shows that kids have not seen those movies and therefore were not influenced. In my opinion the violence that was in the house has more to do with the behavior of the boys.