Television was invented as a means of providing entertainment and began with shows such as "Leave It To Beaver" and "Lassie". Throughout the years, though, television, along with it's counterpart, the movie, has evolved into perhaps one of the most graphic displays of violence and is having a large effect on the children of our society. It is thought by many that television and movies are the leading factor in the violence and aggression that many children display in today's world.
             During the past few years, there have been countless cases of children acting out with violence reported by the media. One of the most widely known and talked about acts is that of the numerous school shootings. These shootings began in Pearl, Mississippi, where a boy was accused of not only shooting his mother, but then traveling to school where he went on a shooting rampage, killing two students. They have also occurred in places such as Paducha, Kentucky, Springfield, Oregon, Jonesboro, Arkansas and most recently in Littleton, Colorado. In the Colorado shooting, two boys, Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris, opened fire in their high school killing 12 students and one teacher during their three-hour raid. They then killed themselves before the police could apprehend them.
             So the question then arises what causes these children to commit these horrendous acts of violence. In an attempt to answer this question, many people have come up with a variety of possibilities.
             Many experts believe that the violence of many Hollywood movies is to blame for putting such ideas as committing mass murders in schools into children's heads. Such a movie as The Basketball Diaries, where a student dreams of walking into his homeroom and shooting everyone, has a tremendous impact on every-day children. "When children look for a role model, they look for a glamorous role model similar to themselves-that similarity is terribly important," says Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, a former...