THE IMPACT OF MEDIA VIOLENCE IN ACTION FILMS TOWARDS YOUTH’S PSYCHOLOGY AND BEHAVIOUR
Authors: SEGARAN MIRUTHULA , GOPINATHAN SHARMINI , JAYA JOANA 
Published: September 2021

Malaysia is a melting pot of cultures and a country that consists of various ethnic groups and races that livetogether in the similar surroundings. However, the similarity between every race is that most individualsview action fi lms as merely a form of entertainment and get away from stress. Action fi lms have becomea popular genre among youngsters these days. The long hours of television viewing have contributedto this fact. Youngsters of the current generation are exposed to the negative eff ects of media violencein action movies due to their social activities in which they are consumed by the media itself. Theseeff ects have a great impact on our society that regarding their perceptions and thoughts about the world.Many researchers have studied similar social issues, and several theories have been picked to supportthe central objective of the research. Thus, this research intends to study the impact of fi lms exhibitingmedia violence towards potential viewers regarding their behaviour and personality and examine therole of action fi lms depicting extensive violence and brutality in creating distorted perception among thecollege youths regarding social reality. Additionally, the research focuses on examining the popularity andpreference of the movie KL Gangster, representing the action genre in the Malaysian cinema industryamong youths and the extent of imitation of violent actions portrayed in action fi lms among potentialviewers in their daily lifestyle. Furthermore, the research also intends to examine the relationship betweenimitation, preference, behaviour and personality with the eff ects exerted by depictions of media violencein action movies on the perception of youngsters.
 
Anak muda generasi sekarang terdedah kepada kesan negatif keganasan media dalam fi lem tindakandisebabkan oleh aktiviti sosial mereka di mana mereka dikonsumsi oleh media itu sendiri. Kesan-kesanini mempunyai kesan yang besar kepada masyarakat kita dari segi persepsi dan pemikiran merekatentang dunia. Ramai penyelidik telah mengkaji isu sosial yang sama dan beberapa teori telah dipilihuntuk menyokong objektif utama penyelidikan. Oleh itu, kajian ini bertujuan untuk mengkaji kesanfi lem yang menunjukkan keganasan media ke arah penonton yang berpotensi dari segi tingkah lakudan keperibadian mereka dan mengkaji peranan fi lem tindakan yang menggambarkan keganasan dankekejaman yang meluas dalam mewujudkan persepsi yang menyimpang di kalangan golongan muda darisegi sosial realiti. Selain itu, kajian ini menumpukan perhatian untuk meneliti populariti dan keutamaanfi lem KL Gangster, yang mewakili genre aksi di industri perfi leman Malaysia di kalangan belia dan sejauhmana tiruan terhadap tindakan ganas yang digambarkan dalam fi lem tindakan di kalangan penontonyang berpotensi dalam gaya hidup seharian mereka. Selain itu, kajian ini juga bertujuan untuk mengkajihubungan antara tiruan, keutamaan, tingkah laku dan keperibadian dengan kesan yang ditunjukkan olehgambaran keganasan media dalam fi lem tindakan mengenai persepsi golongan muda.