Argument outline
Violence a growing problem in our culture:
* Intro
* I feel that violence is growing to be an accepted part of our society
* Examples, [music, movies/television, sports]
* Growth in technology making violence more visible to younger generation
* Violent culture evolving media to become more violent- it sells
* Stat about violent movie or album sales
* Some forms of violence seen as funny, others can’t look but can’t look away
* Increase in R ratings due to violence
* Growth of violence in sports and at sporting events
* Athletes have too much pride to “back down” and take the peaceful route
* Athletes “warrior” mentality idolized in our culture
As Norman Mailer himself
comments, “nobody was born a man; you earned manhood provided you were good
enough, bold enough” (quoted in Gilmore 1990: 25). In American letters, as in
American culture in general, the heroic image of a violently achieved manhood thus
remains widely legitimized. The image, as Gilmore has concluded, is pervasive, “ranging
from Italian-American gangster culture to Hollywood Westerns, private-eye tales, the
current Rambo imagoes, and children’s He-Man dolls and games; it is therefore deeply
ingrained in the American male psyche” (1990: 20).
Armengol, Josep M. "GENDERING MEN: RE-VISIONS OF VIOLENCE AS A TEST OF MANHOOD IN AMERICAN LITERATURE." Atlantis (0210-6124) 29.2 (Dec. 2007): 75-92. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. [Langsom Library], [Cincinnati], [OH]. 4 May 2009 <http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=28408440&site=ehost-live>.
*
* Competition’s role in violence
* Growth of violence in video games and television programs to pre-teen/teens
* Quote about development of the human psyche and observing violence
* Counter argument- violent culture overblown
* Counter claims and acknowledging opposing sources
* Conclusion: Focus on...