QUESTION: "Come to a reasoned judgement as to how likely it is that violent
films lead to violent behaviour"
CORROBORATIVE AND
CONFLICTIVE
-Corroborative
evidence:
.the Sun and the
Daily Mail claimed that the boys had been watching violent horror videos when
they were bunking off school.
.the stepfather of
one of the boys had rented a copy of Child’s Play 3 a week before the murder.
The film featured Chucky, the child-killing doll.
.The Sun explicitly
stated that the boys had watched Child’s Play 3 before the murder.
.the Sun and other
tabloids claimed that there were significant similarities between scenes in the
film and the killing of James Bulger
.Elizabeth Newson, a
professor of child psychology, stated that there is a strong link between
violent films and real-life violence and that violent films can lead to violent
behavior.
-Conflictive
evidence:
.The police view
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.
.no evidence to
indicate that the boys had watched Child’s Play 3.
. it was not found
Child’s Play 3, nor anything in the list that could have encouraged them to do
what they did.
.Research funded by
the Home Office and conducted by a team of psychologists at Birmingham
University concluded that Newson got it the wrong way round. She argued that
violent films can lead to violent behavior. The team 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
Sources which support
the conclusion that violent films lead to the kid's violent behaviour
.The judge suspects
that violent movies are related with the crime
. The Sun and the
Daily Mail state that the stepfather has rented Child's Play 3 a week before
the murder and there are coincidences between the film and the scene of the
crime
. The Conservative MP
Sir Ivan Lawrence, chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee, said it was
becoming “daily more obvious” that "the constant diet of violence and
depravity fed to youngsters through television, videos and computer pornography"
was a major reason for the rise in juvenile crime
.Elizabeth Newson, a
professor of child psychology, stated that there is a strong link between
violent films and real-life violence and that violent films can lead to violent
behavior.
Sources which support
that violent movies are not the main cause of violent behaviour
.Both kids had
troubled relations with their families and were victims of lonely parents
incapable to maintain their children. They both had problems as regards
domestic violence and had violent behaviours
.The police 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.
. a team of
psychologists at Birmingham University argue that a violent home background can
lead to violent behavior which, in turn, is likely to lead to a preference for
violent films.
WEIGHT OF EVIDENCE
More likely:
-There are relations
between the film and the crime
-The police have
found no evidence that both kids watched the movie
-Both kids had
troubled families
-They are 10 years
old and they get influenced by what they see at home (domestic violence)
-No violent films
were found in neither of the houses
Less likely:
-There's no evidence
for what the Sun and the Daily Mail published
-If there's no
evidence that they have watched the movie, then the link between it and the
crime can be just a coincidence
QUALITY OF EVIDENCE
-The police
-the Sun and the
Daily Mail
-Child psychologist
Elizabeth Newson
-The Conservative MP
Sir Ivan Lawrence, chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee
-A team of
psychologists at Birmingham University
CONCLUSION
Taking into
consideration all the items mentioned previously, I believe that it is not
likely enough that violent films lead to violent behaviour as it is that
domestic violence does.