Fantasy as Addition to Reality? An Exploration of Fantasy Aggression and Fantasy Aggrace-ion in Violent Media

Criminal behavior and the copycat effect: Literature review and theoretical framework for empirical investigation

“…The creators of violent media are engaged in rapid market-driven ante-upping. For example, Ellison (2012) notes that violent video games such as Grand Theft Auto and Call of Duty that have been considered the most extreme and interactive forms of media violence on the market in recent years pale in comparison with internet-based games such as RapeLay where the player follows a mother and her daughters into a subway station with the goal of stalking and raping them. The exponential increase in violent media, combined with the degree to which digital media has saturated our lives on a global level, has the potential to result in the blurring of boundaries between fantasy and reality through repeated exposure to media violence and the influence of violent media on preconscious scripts.…”

“…Mass media technology breeds false familiarity, a blurred line between fantasy and reality, and a virtual realm within which rationalizations and feelings of guilt (that normally help to mediate criminal action) are absolved (Ellison, 2012;Helfgott, 2008). Mass media technology has changed the modus operandi of criminal elements throughout history and current technological advances have changed the physical environment in which crime occurs (Britz, 2004).…”

“…Rodger's manifesto, his "Retribution" video, and other videos that he posted prior to acting out his fantasy exemplify a culturally reinforced cognitive script and an example of what Ellison (2012) refers to as "social-cognitive observational theory gone awry" (p. 523) whereby this young man's internalization of cultural values (e.g., sex as power, virginity as a social stigma), normalization of violence as a way to solve problems, and his use of devaluation, victim stance, and omnipotence to cognitively neutralize his behavior fueled his fantasy and converged with a long history of mental health issues ultimately culminating in extreme homicidal behavior.…”

Factors influencing the impact of aggressive and violent media on children and adolescents

“…Early research and commentary regarding violence in video games and media debated whether exposure to such content "purged [individuals] of hostile impulses or prepared [them] for future delinquency" (Ellison, 2012, p. 520). Subsequent research has found that exposure to violent video games and media can increase an individual's propensity for violent or aggressive behavior Ellison, 2012).…”