Is Media Violence a Problem?

School Library Journal

Gr 8 Up-Brief essays highlight major arguments surrounding the portrayal of violence in the popular media. Eight of the 13 selections from news services, periodicals, books, and Senate testimony proclaim media violence's harmful effects on children and young adults. The remaining five essays do not defend violence as beneficial, but state that claims of its potential damage are exaggerated. All articles included were published between 1999 and 2001, making this a compilation of current opinion. The selections pay more attention to video games and "gangsta" rap than Carol Wekesser's Violence in the Media (1995; o.p.) and William Dudley's Media Violence (1999, both Greenhaven). Judicious use of white space, boldface headings, and pull quotes break up large blocks of text, making this one of the more visually inviting volumes on this controversial subject. Its annotated listing of "Organizations to Contact" shares only one quarter of its entries with that in Media Violence. A fine index and a bibliography offering equal numbers of recent books and periodical articles make this relatively slim volume meatier than it first appears to be.-Ann G. Brouse, Steele Memorial Library, Elmira, NY Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.