Visual Intelligence

Is there a connection between television viewing and senseless violence? Most everyone seems willing to muster an “armchair opinion” on the topic, but Ann Marie Seward Barry makes a learned and convincing case for an affirmative answer to that question in her book Visual Intelligence.

Sometimes writers who tackle this subject appear too biased to state a convincing opinion. But Barry doesn’t appear to bring an agenda to her research. I don’t mean to imply that she’s detached from the subject. It’s just that she doesn’t let her passion about this serious issue bypass the considerable amount of information she collected. Instead of putting me on the defensive as many lesser writers could, her scholarly and methodic approach allowed me to convince myself.

Barry chose a good cross section of trustworthy sources, including the American Medical Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, the Center for Media and Public Affairs, and the National Institute for Mental Health. She also utilized a variety of physicians, educators, and statisticians in her writing. Avoiding for the most part special interest groups lends credence to her conclusions. The only source I question her using was Ted Turner, because he has such a reputation for making inflammatory—and not always well thought out—comments. I understand why it’s tempting for a writer to make use of such colorful comments, but “you’re known by the company you keep…” A minor quibble.

Barry doesn’t write in generalities. She very carefully defines aggression and violence. She doesn’t make an ultimately futile case for a connection between a specific TV program and a direct violent action. Instead, she proposes that repeated viewing of violent media is a desensitizing influence to young children. Preadolescents build an “emotional memory” that connect violent images and pleasure—later senseless acts might just be a way for the subconscious to relive happy moments setting in front of the TV.

The effect of media violence is a complex issue—so complex that it’s hard not to spot a misassumption or a flaw in the communicator’s logic. But Barry logically builds her case and finds reliable statistics and sources to support her argument to its chilling conclusion. I suppose that the best analysis of her work is that it motivated me to pay closer attention to what my children are watching!