Sony Media Argumentative Persuasive EssaysBoy Killed by 19″ Television Set “Blaming the Media” No Longer Just an Excuse for Bad Parenting BRAGGS, OKLAHOMA-The concept of media-induced violence took what is being called its most disturbing and literal turn last week when an eleven-year-old boy was assaulted and killed by his family’s television set. The boy, a sixth grader who “liked TV more than he liked being crushed by heavy things,” was pronounced dead in his living room shortly after the incident. The television, a 19″ RCA stereo unit with universal remote, was unharmed, and is currently in custody. Avery, a student at Muskogee County Middle School, was reportedly sitting in his home watching the suspect after school last Thursday.
Joseph Avery, the boy’s father, was in the house with his son, but remained unaware of the tragedy until finding his son and calling 911 some twenty minutes after the incident. Police arrived shortly to subdue the television, and paramedics tried unsuccessfully to resuscitate the victim. “I just can’t believe this,” Mr. Avery said Friday.
“I always thought TV would kill my son, but I thought it might do it a little more indirectly. ” Early reports indicate that Mr. Avery may have been distracted at the time of the killing by another television set in another room. This second set, a 27″ Sony, is being questioned for its possible involvement in the killing.
Like most incidents that are blamed on television violence, it seems that warning signs forecasting the tragedy were present but ignored. “We were just watching Gladiator on that TV the other day,” said Mr. Avery tearfully. “And right there on the screen, looking right at me and Kyle, was Russell Crowe, looking all pissed and vowing vengeance. But I thought he was talking to Commodus.
” Since the introduction of the television ratings system in recent years, experts say that many parents tend to underestimate the risks that are still involved when their children sit in front of a television. Even some television executives are admitting the dangers of these wretched picture boxes. “People tend to think that a V-chip will protect kids from any sort of violence that might be caused by television and its child-destroying programming,” said child destroyer and NBC programming chief Jeff Zucker. “For complete safety, NBC suggests more substantial means of protection, like some V-Leather-Straps and a V-Six-Point-Roll-Cage. ” Speculation has already begun as to what may have motivated the television set to lash out so aggressively. It is possible that the TV may have been facing another TV on the other side of the room, which, only moments before the killing, could have been showing a particularly violent scene from an uncut version of Best of the Best 2, giving the TV the idea to kill something.
These reports could be neither confirmed nor deemed plausible. Ron Calder, a family friend, says that the tragedy has changed his own opinions about media-induced violence. “Really, I always thought the whole idea was just ridiculous. In fact, me and Joe were just talking about this a few weeks ago.
He was trying to tell me that TV is responsible for this and movies are responsible for that. So I told him, ‘Joe, the day your TV actually jumps off the goddamn stand and kills your boy, I’ll believe it.’ Well, I guess this shuts me up pretty good.” .
