[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 136 (Friday, September 27, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1739]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   INTRODUCTION OF A RESOLUTION EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE HOUSE OF 
           REPRESENTATIVES CONCERNING VIOLENCE ON TELEVISION

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. MICHAEL N. CASTLE

                              of delaware

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 26, 1996

  Mr. CASTLE. Mr. Speaker, a recent review of 34 new pilot television 
shows in U.S. News and Worked Report found that many of them contain 
extensive and graphic violence--some as early as 8 p.m. In one show, a 
criminal drives a nail into the palm of a corrupt mayor. In another, a 
man is buried alive with his mouth and eyes sewn shut. And in yet 
another offering, as the top of a corpse's head is sawed off an alien 
creature pops out.
  Children are particularly sensitive to the world around them, as they 
notice and absorb everything they see and experience. Psychologist 
Stephen Garber of the Behavior Institute of Atlanta has seen an 
increasing number of children in his practice who, despite having no 
actual contact with violence and living in safe neighborhoods, are 
developing not just fears but full-blown phobias about being kidnaped, 
getting shot, and other real-world calamities. He attributes this in 
part to what children see on television. The American Psychological 
Association estimates that a typical child will watch 8,000 murders and 
100,000 acts of violence before finishing elementary school.
  This matters because studies are pretty clear with respect to the 
impact that viewing violence has on children. In 1956, one of the first 
studies of television violence reported that 4 year olds who watched 
``Woody Woodpecker'' cartoons were more likely to display 
aggressive behavior than children who watched the ``Little Red Hen.'' 
Study after study in decade after decade confirmed similar findings. 
However, the harm caused by viewing violence is broader than the 
encouraging of violent behavior. Studies have found that viewing 
violence increases mistrust of others and fear of being a victim of 
violence, and desensitizes viewers to violence resulting in calloused 
attitudes and apathetic behavior toward violence.

  Over the years, Congress and broadcasters have sporadically tackled 
this issue. For example, in 1990, Congress passed the Children's 
Television Act to increase the amount of quality educational 
programming for children. The recent rewrite of the Telecommunications 
bill included a requirement that television sets be manufactured with a 
computer chip that would allow parents to screen out programs, rated by 
the broadcast industry, that are inappropriate for their children. And 
more recently, the broadcasters have agreed to air 3 hours of 
educational television programming per week. I support these efforts.
  But quite frankly, I don't think they are enough. I agree with the 
philosophy that if a river is polluted, you don't just put up a warning 
sign--you try to clean it up. That is why I am introducing a 
resolution, with Congressman Wolf and 10 other Members of Congress, 
expressing the sense of the House that broadcasters should not air 
violent programming between the hours of 6 a.m. and 10 p.m.
  Cleaning up television will not resolve all of the Nation's ills. But 
as former Education Secretary William J. Bennett points out, in recent 
years we have seen a explosion in moral pathologies: abused and 
abandoned children, out-of-wedlock births, drug use, violent crime and 
just plain trashy behavior, as well as the vanishing of the unwritten 
rules of decency and civility, social strictures and basic good 
manners. He attributes this to the fact that ``the good'' requires 
constant reinforcement, and ``the bad'' needs only permission.
  Turning the tide, reinforcing ``the good'' will ultimately take a 
massive collective effort, one that engages our families, our civic 
leaders, our religious leaders, our teachers, our community leaders, 
all levels of government, neighbors--everyone in society. But the 
media, too, with its enormous role in the socialization process, must 
join us in this effort.

                          ____________________