John Leo When Life Imitates Video

Violence is a major problem in American culture, and many people wonder about the role of media. With all of the gun violence happening across the nation at the hands of our youth, one must wonder where the cause of this violence stems from. In John Leo’s article, “When Life Imitates Video”, the author firmly believes that violent youth behavior is associated with media violence. Throughout his article, the author attempts to persuade his audience of the impact video games have on children. He begins to build his credibility with personal facts, citing reputable sources, and engaging emotional appeals. With mostly unsupported facts, the author subjects his readers to his point of view. John Leo’s main point is, “If we want to avoid more Littleton-style massacre, we will begin taking the social effects of the killing games more serious” (64).
In Leo’s article, he opens his argument by describing a specific scenario from the Colorado massacre and draws a comparison to various video game scenarios. He then describes details from certain violent video games that mirror the actions of the killers, while also citing a Los Angeles Times reporter. Leo continues by providing is own views on the influences video game violence has on children, convincing himself that these actions “reflect the style and feel of the video killing …show more content…
He does this by sharing briefly the opinions of psychologist and retired Army officer, David Grossman. Leo points out facts concerning the effects of video game violence by citing Grossman, who compares “point and shoot” video games (63) to that of military strategies and by discussing another shooting carried out by the hands of a young boy in Kentucky. According to Grossman, the US military uses violent video games to train soldiers to kill. Presenting these statistics and facts emphasizes to the reader that this is a problem worth