'Edutainment'.

• Author: Amos, John
• Position: Media violence and the young - Brief Article

Statistics inform us that by the time an American child is nine years of age, he or she has witnessed over 8,000 real or simulated homicides or acts of violence on American television.

Responsibility for programme content has been subjugated in favour of profit. But what does it profit a man to gain the whole world if he loses his soul? However, there are exceptions.

Some years ago, a television programme was introduced to the American public to which the critics gave little chance if any of success. The show, Touched by an Angel, despite having an unprecedented spiritual message, consistently climbed in the all-important ratings to establish itself as one of the television-viewing public's favourites.

In one of the early episodes, I portrayed a small-town hw enforcement officer who had a son with big problems. These problems ultimately led my son's character to attempt to take his own life. This fictitious episode mirrored a situation in my life that resulted in my nephew, Shaka Franklin, taking his life some years earlier. He was 16 years of age. Obviously, that episode was one that touched me very closely and deeply. However, it also acted as a healing agent for the many thousands of young people who are confronted with what seems to be overwhelming social problems.

After a career which has spanned over 30 years in the entertainment industry as a writer, producer, director and actor, I can state with total conviction that by developing programmes for television and producing films that encourage spirituality and emphasis on positive characters, we can have a profound effect on the thinking processes and the mental development of our children. In an ideal world, a parent or guardian would have the responsibility of determining what television programming, radio and film, and now on-line communication and/or entertainment, a child is exposed to. However, in today's world, movies and television often become our babysitters.

Some years ago, I was invited by a Paulist priest, Father Bud Kaiser, to visit Ethiopia, Somalia and several other refugee sites in East Africa. After observing firsthand the unimaginable suffering and death...