By Amy Norton
NEW YORK, May 23, 2000 (Reuters Health) - The "G" in G-rated movies does not
necessarily mean "good for kids," according to a Harvard study of six
decades' worth of animated films.
Looking at 74 animated movies currently available on video, researchers
found that all of the films contained at least one act of violence. And it
is not just slap-stick, "cartoonish" violence. In 81% of the movies, at
least one character committed a violent act "with intent to cause bodily
injury."
Kimberly M. Thompson and Fumie Yokota from the Harvard School of Public
Health in Boston, Massachusetts, report their findings Wednesday in The
Journal of the American Medical Association.
"The G rating may give parents a false sense of security," Yokota said in an
interview with Reuters Health. While the amount of slap-stick violence in
animated movies has remained steady since 1937, she noted, violence in which
characters try to seriously injure each other has climbed over the years.
Whether or how media violence influences children's behavior is much
debated. Yokota said that she and Thompson did not attempt to analyze how
the animated violence in their study could affect children. Instead, they
were looking at the prevalence and type of violence in the movies, which
ranged from 1937's "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" to 1998's "The Rugrats
Movie."
In all but two of the films, at least one "good" character committed a
violent act. When good guys acted violently, the researchers note, it was
depicted in a "light" manner. The majority of violent acts involved only the
body as a weapon, but many movies featured swords, knives and guns.
Even though the role of media violence in children's attitudes and behaviors
is unclear, this study "reveals a striking behavioral message" that "good
guys triumph over the bad through the use of physical force," the authors
write.
"No one's really sure how kids absorb this information," Yokota said. "It
probably affects all children differently."
Parents, she noted, should be sure to watch movies with their children,
regardless of the rating. If a film does contain violence, according to
Yokota, parents and kids should discuss the acts-and whether there were
better, peaceful alternatives. The motion picture industry, she added, could
help by giving parents content information, rather than just a letter-based
rating.
"The G rating doesn't give enough information," she said. "You can't assume
it's okay."
SOURCE: The Journal of the American Medical Association 2000;283:2716-2720.