In researching the effects of cartoon violence on children and how it relates to their health; the only major effect was how it influenced children’s emotional behavior. The first violent cartoons were “Popeye the Sailor” and “The Flintstones” from the 1950s (Kirsh, 2006). Since then it is obvious the amount of violence and graphics have changed in the cartoons children watch today. In the older cartoons violence contains comedic elements. For example, “The Road Runner Show” and “Tom & Jerry” cartoons. Those cartoons always contain comedic relief and not so much graphic detail such as blood; this in turn makes the violence in these cartoons seem more obscure. Cartoons with comedic elements and those without comedic elements are still perceived to be less violent than live-action forms of media violence observed by children. Experiments have shown in the past that aggressive behavior is a lot higher after children watch non-comedic cartoons such as “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” and “X-Men” (Kirsh, 2006). One thing that differentiates these types of cartoons is perceived reality. In non-comedic cartoons the characters seem more unrealistic and the acts or abilities are more fantasy like. For example, turtles who are ninjas and characters with powers like becoming invisible or X-ray vision. A child’s ability to distinguish between fantasy and reality impacts the control on aggression.
Kirsh, S. J. (2006). Children, adolescents, and media violence: A Critical look at the research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
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