Does Heavy Metal Cause Teen Violence free essay sample

Heap metal has had a bad beat since the dawn of the genre onto the music scene. Slipknot, Oozy Osborn, Marilyn Manson, Judas Priest, and Slayer are Just some of the household names on the metal scene to have come under fire for supposedly Inciting suicide, and in some cases murder. Its a fire that the media has been more than happy to stoke, quick to insinuate links between the brutal lyrics and acts of violence. To quote Twisted Sister front man Dee Snider, Every time a serial killer, mass murderer, Satanists, or any evil person in our society. .. Yetis the medias found out that thieve listened to heavy metal music it has been blown up as the reason for why this person Is doing the things that they do (Dunn). And he couldnt be more right. As In the case of Marilyn Manson and the Columbine shootings, the media Is more than happy to stoke the flames of controversy, even if the evidence points to the contrary. They feel undermined, even stupid and as such tend to act out as a way to gain acknowledgment (Flagmen). While Flagmans research depicts teen lenience to be at an all-time high research done by the FBI from 1 990 through 2007 has shown that rates of serious violence amongst youths under the age 18 has plunged by 49%, including unprecedented declines in murder (down 66%), rape (down 52%), robbery (down 32%), and serious assault (down 28%) (FBI). Furthermore, large-scale surveys such as Monitoring the Future and The American Freshman have found students today reporting higher levels of happiness, optimism, leadership Interest, and volunteerism and lower rates of smoking drinking, depression, dropout, and materialism.And if thats not enough to blow you away, the youngest teens showed the biggest improvements. So what causes teen violence? Is the media to blame? Is it drugs, metal health issues, neglect, peer pressure, or even bad grades? There may never be a satisfactory answer, but as far as metal is concerned, sociologist Donna Gaines had this to say, For young people, its a place to bel ong where you can experience other possibilities and transcend everyday life in a very glorious way Is heavy metal a sacrament? For some people, it is.