Running Bibliography

What are Moral Panics

Moral panic is a sociological term, coined by Stanley Cohen, meaning a reaction by a group of people based on the false or exaggerated perception that some cultural behavior or group, frequently a minority group or a subculture, is dangerously deviant and poses a menace to society. It has also been more broadly defined as an "episode, condition, person or group of persons" that has in recent times been "defined as a threat to societal values and interests."^[1] They are byproducts of controversies that produce arguments and social tension, or aren't easily discussed as some of these moral panics are taboo to many people.^[2] Characterization of the group reaction as a moral panic requires a presumption that the group's perceptions are unfounded or exaggerated.

These reactions are often fueled by media coverage or propaganda around a social issue, although semi-spontaneous moral panics do occur. Mass hysteria can be an element in these movements, but moral panic is different from mass hysteria in that a moral panic is specifically framed in terms of morality and is usually expressed as outrage rather thanfear. Moral panics (as defined by Cohen) revolve around a perceived threat to a value or norm held by a society normally stimulated by glorification within the mass media or 'folk legend' within societies. Panics have a number of outcomes, with one being the certification to the players within the panic that what they are doing appears to warrant observation by mass media and therefore may push them further into the activities that led to the original feeling of moral panic

Bibliography

www.reason.com/news/show/33259.html

http://www.eric.ed.gov:80/ERICWebPortal/custom/portlets/recordDetails/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=EJ636245&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=EJ636245

http://www.schoolsecurity.org/trends/school_violence05-06.html

://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbine_High_School_massacre#Long-term_impact

http://www.sfu.ca/media-lab/research/mediaed/Moral%20Panics%20Video%20Games.pdf

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_game_controversy

http://wiki.media-culture.org.au/index.php/Video_games_-_Columbine_and_violent_video_games

http://www.slideshare.net/wuzziwug/controversy-moral-panic-caused-by-early-video-games/

http://www.lionlamb.org/media_violence_video_games.htm

http://www.apa.org/releases/videogames.html

Start of Media Unit 05 Critical Research

Question: To what extent do different media texts create moral panics with specific reference to the impact of Violent Video Games.

Hypothesis: To investigate how different media texts create moral panics associated with violent video games and to what extent there involvement's are.

Personally i think that different media texts get so involved with the issue that they enhance the truth to such an extent that they themselves create a moral panic within the general public, I aim to research this topic to the extent of which i can draw up a clear picture of different media texts and their involvement's, in enhancing topics and therefore creating moral panics associated with the violent video games industry.

I will refer to different media texts, such as newspapers, magazines, websites, television programs, the news, and films to gain a deep picture into there presentation of how violent video games can cause the users to be violent in there own actions therefore creating a moral panic.

I will also pay specific reference to moral panics themselves such as the incidents surrounding violent video games and see how the media's coverage enhanced the topics to create a moral panic within the public.

I will also look at the effects of moral panics within the public, and look to what extent people respond to the medias portrayal of such violent video game related topics.