Violence in the Media?

For years--decades even--there has been discussion over a link between various forms of media (popularly including films, hard rock music and video games.) This well-written article at Wired.com By Jason Schreier uncovers an especially weak argument that video games lead to rape. In 1999, the Columbine massacre was considered to have been inspired by everything from video games to the Basketball Diaries, to industrial music. Back in the 1980's, musicians from Frank Zappa to John Denver infamously sat before congress defending their art against Tipper Gore and her Parents Music Resource Center. I could go on and on.

As a gamer and one who generally enjoys consuming media, I will be the first to admit that my imagination can take off in wild directions when presented with new ideas in games, music or movies, but does my love of James Bond films make me want to go out and kill people while having sex with multiple women? I enjoy Metallica as much as the next guy, so does that make me a satanist? As a matter of fact, the founder of Satanism, Anton Lavey, was a fan of Ayn Rand, as am I, so that MUST mean I'm a Satanist, right?

Which brings me to what really bothers me in this ongoing argument of violence and media. It is not the issues of censorship and artistic freedom that bother me (important arguments, though they are), but rather the fact that this rhetoric is so often based on making cause-and-effect relationships where none exist. For example: I'd love to see the science proving that Eminem's music has led to an increase in wife killings in the last ten years, but I doubt such research does not exist. The problem is, that people are making this kind of connection all the time, with no proof to back it up.

What these arguments rarely take into consideration is personal responsibility. It was easy to blame Sarah Palin for the shootings in Arizona until it came out that the shooter was not politically motivated. (Note, I make this point not to defend Palin's rather inappropriate actions surrounding this event but merely as an example). Maybe the Fort Hood shooter was just an angry man. Maybe the kid at Virginia Tech was just disturbed. Why do their favorite movies or video games have to factor into it? Unless an undeniable link can be made, or the perpetrator explicitly states, "yeah, I picked up a Dragunov, went to the 4th floor window and started shooting because I'm a fan of Call of Duty," I think perhaps we need to look at other things besides the media being consumed prior to such an event.

In the wake of terrible tragedies, I certainly understand the need to find a reason, but why is it so acceptable to "blame the media" (be it video games, music, movies, or whatever) rather than turning to the psychological or criminal profile of the person who is responsible for the act?

What do you think?