David K. Johnson chairs the Philosophy Department at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts. Judith A. Rowe Violence in cartoons teaches children aggressive behavior and desensitizes them to acts of violence. Children watch and understand television in different ways, depending on the length of their attention span, the way in which they process information, the amount of mental effort they invest, and their own life experiences. Certain plot elements in portrayals of violence are considered high risk for children. These elements include characterizations in which the perpetrator is attractive because viewers may identify with such a character, showing violence as being justified, going unpunished, and having minimal consequences to the victim.
Cartoon violence permeates children's programming.
Violence toward animals is rampant in Saturday morning children's programs, where more than one-half of the animals depicted suffer overt physical violence. These violence-saturated portrayals are not only dangerous to animals, they are also misleading and detrimental to humane attitudes in general. Most cartoons are constructed with vivid production features, which greatly increases children's predisposition to violence. According to researcher Dr. George Gerbner, many studies have concluded that after watching violence, children are more aggressive. Also, children who watch violent cartoons are more likely to think of the world as a violent and dangerous place.