homework

1. MAKING A REASONED
JUDGEMENT
Violent films and behavior – is there a link?

2. Main Case
• The murder On February 12, 1993, two ten-year-old boys from Merseyside murdered a two-year-old
named James Bulger. They took him to a stretch of railway line, kicked him, and hit him with bricks and
an iron bar. They then laid the dying boy across the tracks in the hope that a passing train would run over
him and his death would appear an accident.
• The social and family background The two boys had troubled backgrounds. One was abandoned by his
father five years previously. His mother was a heavy drinker and had problems controlling her seven
children. The children were constantly fighting. Notes from an NSPCC conference stated that they “bit,
hammered, battered and tortured each other”. The mother and one of the children had both
attempted suicide.
• The second boy’s parents were also separated. He lived with his father two days a week and the rest of
the time, with his mother. He was hyperactive and had attempted to strangle another boy in a fight at
school. His mother was severely depressed and had suicidal tendencies.
• Both families lived in poverty. Both boys were neglected by their parents and resented their brothers and
sisters. Both had been put back a year at school and frequently truanted (guardian.co.uk;
wikipedia.org).
• The press campaign At the time of the murder, the Daily Mail had been conducting a campaign against
“video nasties”-violent horror films which they claimed had a harmful effect on children. During the boys’
trial, the judge mentioned that the stepfather of one of the boys had a collection of violent videos. The
judge stated, “I suspect that exposure to violent films may in part be an explanation”.

3. Main Case
• This remark started a campaign of moral outrage against video nasties in the tabloid
press. Let by the Sun and the Daily Mail, they claimed that the boys had been
watching violent horror videos when they were bunking off school. They reported that
the stepfather of one of the boys had rented a copy of Child’s Play 3 a week before
the murder. The film featured Chucky, the child-killing doll. The Sun explicitly stated that
the boys had watched Child’s Play 3 before the murder. And the Sun and other
tabloids claimed that there were significant similarities between scenes in the film and
the killing of James Bulger. From this, they concluded that Child’s Play 3 played a major
part in the murder.
• Child’s Play 3 was denounced as “sick”, “evil”, “disgusting” and “immoral”. Headlines in
the tabloids included: BANCHUCKY NOW; DOES CHUCKY LEAD TO MURDER?; FOR THE
SAKE OF ALL OUR KIDS BURN YOUR VIDEO NASTY. Copies of Child’s Play 3 were
withdrawn from many video shops. Azad Video, Scotland’s largest video renting chain,
burned 300 copies of Child’s Play 3. Xtra-Vision, the Irish Republic’s biggest video chain,
withdrew Child’s Play 3 from its shelves (the Sun, 26.11.1993).

4. Main Case
• Reaction in Parliament A number of MPs echoed the tabloids’ concerns. The Conservative
MP Sir Ivan Lawrence called for action to stop “the constant diet of violence and depravity”
fed to youngsters through television, videos and computer pornography. Sir Ivan, chairman
of the Home Affairs Select Committee, said it was becoming “daily more obvious” that this
was a major reason for the rise in juvenile crime (quoted in the Independent, 26.11.1993).The
Liberal Democrat MP David Alton, who represented the area where the boys lived,
demanded a ban on home videos classified as “15” and “18” saying they were “not suitable
for viewing in the home”.
• The police view Merseyside police detectives, who had interviewed the boys for several
weeks before the trial, rejected any suggestions that “horror” videos had influenced the
boys’ behavior. One detective said, “I don’t know where the judge got that idea from. I
couldn’t believe it when I heard him. We went through something like 200titles rented by the
family. There were some you or I wouldn’t want to see, but nothing-no scene, or plot, or
dialogue-where you could put your finger on the freeze button and say that influenced a
boy to go out and commit murder” (quoted in the Independent, 26.11.1993)

5. Main Case
• The police found no evidence to indicate that the boys had watched Child’s Play 3.
According to a police inspector, “We looked at all the videos in their houses and
checked a list of their rentals from the shop. We did not find Child’s Play 3, nor did we
find anything in the list that could have encouraged them to do what they did. If you
are going to link this murder to a film, you might as well link it to The Railway Children”
(a charming family film).
• Experts disagree In early 1994, the MP David Alton asked Elizabeth Newson, a professor
of child psychology, to investigate the possible effects of violent films on children. Her
report, “Video Violence and the Protection of Children” (1994), looked at a range of
newspaper reports and academic studies. It concluded that there is a strong link
between violent films and real-life violence and that violent films can lead to violent
behavior.

6. Main Case
• This conclusion has been strongly criticized. Research funded by the Home Office and
conducted by a team of psychologists at Birmingham University concluded that, “The
research points to a pathway from having a violent home background, to being an
offender, to being more likely to prefer violent films” (Browne & Pennell, 1998).This report
argues that Newson got it the wrong way round. She argued that violent films can lead
to violent behavior. The authors of this report argue that a violent home background
can lead to violent behavior which, in turn, is likely to lead to a preference for violent
films.
• Question
• Come to a reasoned judgement as to how likely it is that violent
films lead to violent behavior.

7. Corroboration and conflict
• CORROBORATION:
 The two boys had troubled backgrounds.
 The children were constantly fighting. Notes from an NSPCC conference stated that they “bit,
hammered, battered and tortured each other”.
 the judge mentioned that the stepfather of one of the boys had a collection of violent videos.
 the Sun and the Daily Mail, claimed that the boys had been watching violent horror videos when
they were bunking off school.
 reported that the stepfather of one of the boys had rented a copy of Child’s Play 3 a week before
the murder.
 And the Sun and other tabloids claimed that there were significant similarities between scenes in
the film and the killing of James Bulger.
 In 1994, professor of child phsychology, Elizabeth Newson concluded that there is a strong link
between violent films and real-life violence and that violent films can lead to violent behavior

8. Corroboration and conflict
• CONFLICT
• Police detectives said they went through something like 200 titles rented by the family,
and they couldn’t find nothing that influenced a boy to go out and commit murder.
• The police found no evidence to indicate that the boys had watched Child’s Play 3.
• According to a police inspector, they looked at all the videos in their houses and
checked a list of their rentals from the shop. And they did not find Child’s Play 3.
• team of psychologists at Birmingham University concluded that, “The research points to
a pathway from having a violent home background, to being an offender, to being
more likely to prefer violent films”
• The authors of this report argue that a violent home background can lead to violent
behavior which, in turn, is likely to lead to a preference for violent films.

9. Balance Information.
• Sources which supports the conclusión that the boys crime was
more likely to have been influenced by violent movies.
• the judge mentioned that the stepfather of one of the boys had a collection of violent
videos.
• The sun and the Daily Mail reported that the stepfather of one of the boys had rented a
copy of Child’s Play 3 a week before the murder.
• The Sun stated that the boys had watched Child’s Play 3 before the murder.
• the Sun and other tabloids claimed that there were significant similarities between
scenes in the film and the killing of James Bulger.
• Elizabeth Newson, a professor of child psychology, concluded that there is a strong link
between violent films and real-life violence and that violent films can lead to violent
behavior.

10. Balance information
• Sources which supports the conclusión that the boys crime was
less likely to have been influenced by violent movies.
• The police detectives went through all the house and 200 titles rented by the family,
and they havent found any movie that could had influenced the kids to commit the
murder.
• They couldnt find Childs play 3, or evidence that they have watched it.
• psychologists at Birmingham University concluded that there must be a violent home
background that could lead them to see violent films.

11. Weight of evidence
More likely
• Violent home background
• Family problems.
• The stepfather´s collection of violent films.
• The stepfather rented Child´s play 3.
• Similarities between the film and the
murder.
• Notes from an NSPCC conference stated
that they “bit, hammered, battered and
tortured each other.
• Studies show that violent films lead to
violent behaviour.
Less likely
• Polices haven’t found any movie that
could ´ve led the kids to commit the
murder.
• Child´s play 3 was not found.
• Studies show that violent home
background led kids to watch violent
movies.
Total: 7 Total: 3

12. Quality of Evidence
• From Better quality evidence to less quality evidence:
• The social and family background: Notes from an NSPCC conference
• The police view: Police detectives
Police inspector
• Experts: Elizabeth Newson/ psychologists at Birmingham University.