Mind abuse: media violence in the information age

This is a readable book that argues for the links between media and violence as framed by George Gerbner’s work on the cultural environment. Love it or hate it, Gerbner’s work has a strong theoretical base and is grounded in systematic empirical analysis. It is also informed by a critical and ethical perspective: “The issue of media violence is really just the first phase of a major cultural debate about life in the 21st Century. What kind of people do we want our children to become? What kind of culture will best give them the environment they will need to grow up healthy and whole?” (Gerbner, 1993, p. 2, cited on p. 183).