Violent Media Is Good For Kids By Gerard Jones
Evaluation of Jones’ Persuasion Techniques
The essay, “Violent media is good for kids”, written by Gerard Jones, was first published in Mother Jones magazine in the year 2000, and nearly two decades later, this subject is still relevant today. Jones is author of violent media himself, as he has written many books for Marvel Comics. The essay argues that violent media is good for kids, which is also Jones’ thesis. To support his thesis, Jones discusses several arguments, such as his personal experience with violent media, as well as his son’s use of superheroes to overcome fears and other overwhelming emotions. Jones also references to authority to back his theory and assert the necessity of violent media as an outlet for overcoming emotional …show more content…
Even though Jones’ opening paragraphs have a strong appeal to emotion, the reader is aware that he is a proprietor of violent media, thus he has a financial incentive to propagate a theory that would benefit him. Jones introduces the idea of violent media as a method of therapy for kids, explaining that as they immerse themselves into it, children become more capable of handling stress in their own lives. He draws the reader in through his personal story from when he was young and had his first encounter with Marvel Comics, along with the stories of other young in people with whom he worked using Power Play, the program Jones developed in collaboration with Melanie Moore Ph.D. psychologist. The late example of Power Play is another aspect of self-promotion and implicit bias in Jones essay. The use of visual materials in his article is limited to his own violent cartoons, which emphasizes his bias for one type of media on one hand, and ignorance for other forms of violent media and their negative effects on children, on the other. All examples brought as evidence in this essay are in favor of violent media, thus, lack of data comparison for pros and cons is evidence of bias (or ignorance). While the information presented by Jones is interesting, it promotes his own work disguised as imperative
The essay, “Violent media is good for kids”, written by Gerard Jones, was first published in Mother Jones magazine in the year 2000, and nearly two decades later, this subject is still relevant today. Jones is author of violent media himself, as he has written many books for Marvel Comics. The essay argues that violent media is good for kids, which is also Jones’ thesis. To support his thesis, Jones discusses several arguments, such as his personal experience with violent media, as well as his son’s use of superheroes to overcome fears and other overwhelming emotions. Jones also references to authority to back his theory and assert the necessity of violent media as an outlet for overcoming emotional …show more content…
Even though Jones’ opening paragraphs have a strong appeal to emotion, the reader is aware that he is a proprietor of violent media, thus he has a financial incentive to propagate a theory that would benefit him. Jones introduces the idea of violent media as a method of therapy for kids, explaining that as they immerse themselves into it, children become more capable of handling stress in their own lives. He draws the reader in through his personal story from when he was young and had his first encounter with Marvel Comics, along with the stories of other young in people with whom he worked using Power Play, the program Jones developed in collaboration with Melanie Moore Ph.D. psychologist. The late example of Power Play is another aspect of self-promotion and implicit bias in Jones essay. The use of visual materials in his article is limited to his own violent cartoons, which emphasizes his bias for one type of media on one hand, and ignorance for other forms of violent media and their negative effects on children, on the other. All examples brought as evidence in this essay are in favor of violent media, thus, lack of data comparison for pros and cons is evidence of bias (or ignorance). While the information presented by Jones is interesting, it promotes his own work disguised as imperative