ABSTRACT
It was 30 years ago when the then Surgeon General of the United States made these statements before Senator John Pastore’s Subcommittee on Communications. The statement resonated with many researchers and policymakers who had been, at that time, investigating the effects of media violence for over 20 years. It was stimulated by the release of the Surgeon General’s massive five-volume report on television and social behavior (Comstock, Murray, & Rubinstein, 1972) with a summary volume on television violence and aggression (Surgeon General’s Scientific Advisory Committee, 1972). This report contained both reviews of prior research and the results of specific projects funded by the Surgeon General’s Scientific Advisory
Committee. It seemed to be well received by the senators, although, like most research, it was minimized and played down by the network executives who testified at the time. Nevertheless, those executives made seemingly concessionary statements that they would work on the problem. However, the sad fact is that despite what the Surgeon General said at that time, very little has been done in the way of reducing and regulating media violence over the subsequent 30 years. Children are exposed to as much or more violence in the media than ever. Although the case for the effects of media violence has grown stronger, producers are as reluctant as ever to admit that violence could be having any effect on children; and, although it speaks out against media violence, the government seems just about as reluctant as ever to do anything about it. In this chapter, we try to address why that is the case and what could and should have been done up to now and in the future.
