This week, we were essentially assigned to investigate our domestic news sources to see whether or not we think journalists are simply reporting what political leaders say, or if they are challenging it. My initial opinion was that most are simply reporting what they are told. However, I was pleasantly surprised. 

I went to one of the major news corporations, Fox News, which is primarily a conservative network. I initially thought they would not be challenging much of what President Trump or his campaign is saying because he is republican, but I was wrong. There was a news story I read on FoxNews.com about the selectivity of press the Trump’s campaign would allow into a specific event. I was happy to see that Fox News showcased multiple perspectives, and most that they reported on, were heavily against Trump's campaign media exclusion. Here is part of the quote they used from a statement by the Time’s executive editor, Dean Baquet; “Nothing like this has ever happened at the White House in our long history of covering multiple administrations of different parties. We strongly protest the exclusion of The New York Times and the other news organizations. Free media access to a transparent government is obviously of crucial national interest."

It was nice to see that Fox News is showcasing various opinions that are very challenging to the Trump campaign, especially since it is a conservative network.

Fox News Story: Trump excludes media

GUN VIOLENCE

The first incident that came to my mind when thinking about gun violence as a result of violent movies or video games was the Colorado movie theatre shooter, James Holmes. He openly fired in a movie theatre killing twelve people during a midnight showing of The Dark Knight Rises. According to ABC News, Holmes said, “I am the Joker,” when he was arrested (http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/films-shows-inspired-real-crimes/story?id=16836535).

 James Holmes News Clip

Upon further research, I stumbled upon a site that had plenty of video game-related crimes listed. There was one instance where a teenager named Devin Moore, who was a big fan of the video game Grand Theft Auto, was brought to a police station on suspicion of stealing a car. He then got hold of a gun and shot two officers and a 911 dispatcher. Stealing cars and shooting police officers definitely seems like a Grand Theft Auto inspired crime to me (http://www.criminaljusticedegreesguide.com/features/10-deaths-caused-by-video-games.html).

The first part of the video from the link below discusses Devin Moore's crimes, as well as other video game related acts of violence.
Video Game Violence

What is happy violence?

George Gerbner expresses in his article, “Reclaiming Our Cultural Mythology,” that, “Most of the violence we have on television is what I call happy violence. It’s swift, it’s thrilling, it’s cool, it’s effective, it’s painless, and it always leads to a happy ending because you have to deliver the audience to the next commercial in a receptive mood.”

In my opinion, happy violence is violence on TV or in movies that is gratifying and entertaining to watch. I believe a great example of this type of violence can be found in most action hero movies. These violent movies with amazing stunts and elaborate fight scenes where the “good guys” take out the “bad guys” in violent ways capture the audiences attention, and make violence feel normal or even justified because you are rooting for the hero. One of the first movies that came to mind as an example of happy violence is the movie Taken, starring Liam Neeson.

I’ve posted a link below to the scene in Taken where Liam Neeson’s character electrocutes one of the “bad guys” who leads him one step closer to finding his daughter. This torture scene is a great depiction of “happy violence” as you feel that Liam’s character is justified to do these actions because he is trying to save his daughter.  If you really think of it, the entire movie is basically Liam’s character brutally and violently talking out people responsible or connected to his daughters abduction.  However, the storyline makes the audience support and even root for his violent actions against the foreign criminals.

https://youtu.be/3dCcNhCqzMM

Media Ownership

This week’s assignment was to track down the conglomerates that own the networks of the shows I happen to watch. I was especially excited to track down the owners of the networks and shows that I watch because I have never researched this information before. I looked at a few of the major conglomerates including Disney, Viacom, and Time Warner, and found that most of the networks I watch are owned by Time Warner Inc. Some of my favorite networks currently are HBO, and TBS. I enjoy the comedy shows on TBS such as New Girl, Bob’s Burgers, and Conan. Also, I recently got into a new show on HBO called Westworld. After discovering that Time Warner Inc owned these networks, I decided to do some more digging. I went directly to timewarner.com to see who is the head of the company. I discovered that a man named Jeff Bewkes is the current Chairman of the Board and CEO of Time Warner. I learned from the website that Bewkes received his BA from Yale and his MBA from Stanford Graduate school of Business (timewarner.com). Moreover, Bewke's contribution history indicates a past tendency of democratic leniency, however, his most resent donations fall under unclassified (http://individual-contributors.insidegov.com/l/1535525/Jeffrey-Bewkes). I tried to do more research on his political affiliations, or what religion he follows in order to see if his beliefs are reflected in the media he co owns, however, there wasn’t any major information about his personal views that I discovered. Needless to say,  I wish I knew more about the CEO of Time Warner Inc.