On April 20, 1999, two gunmen walked into Columbine high school in Littleton Colorado, and open fired. The gunmen Eric Harris, 18, and Dylan Klebold, 17, killed thirteen people that day (Springhall 1999). The shooters had trench coats, and ski masks, further, they walked into that school “armed with a semi-automatic carbine rifle, two-sawed off shotguns, a semi-automatic assault pistol, and dozens homemade bombs” (Springhall 1999:622). Students fled the school, and the gunmen entered the library and told the jocks to stand up; moreover, they went through at least ten clips of ammunition (Springhall 1999). There are many moral panics involved with Columbine this paper will focus on three: the goth music panic, the Marilyn Manson panic, and the
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Columbine really instilled fear into people and this seems to be because the image of two students going into their high school and slaughtering their fellow classmates was a particularly disturbing image. This paper will examine the moral panics that surrounded Columbine. In particular, I will examine the goth music panic, the Marlyn Manson panic, and the violent video game panic. Further, this paper will evaluate the relationship between the changing media frames and the moral panics and claims-makers that were being used in the media. Finally, using Columbine as an example this essay will argue that the media uses moral panics to distract from the real problems facing society. This paper is divided into three sections. In the first section, I will explain moral panics in general terms. Then I will go into details about goth music panics, the Marilyn Manson panic, and the violent video game panic. In the second section, I will examine the changing media frames before and after the Columbine massacre. In the third section, I will be linking the first two sections …show more content…
A moral panic is a recurring media theme that instills panic in people. A moral panic can be extreme and go on for a long time, or they can be quickly forgotten (Garland 2008). Moral panics mostly focus on the worst society has to offer, and extinguish definitive enemies of societies (Burns and Crawford 1999). Further, moral panics have to threaten society and people must also feel threatened (Burns and Crawford 1999). This is especially true when it comes to school shootings. Moral panics seem to be designed to keep society on its toes. Furthermore, when it comes to the Columbine massacre the panic towards it is still deeply set into people’s worries, so much so that even up until 2016 President Obama was referencing it in speeches about gun control. Three moral panics stuck out to me during my research. According to Steve Cohen, the term moral panics was used to characterize reactions from the media (Goode and Ben-Yehuda 1994). Which is an interesting definition because it implies that the media chooses what to air, in other words, the media creates these moral
Columbine really instilled fear into people and this seems to be because the image of two students going into their high school and slaughtering their fellow classmates was a particularly disturbing image. This paper will examine the moral panics that surrounded Columbine. In particular, I will examine the goth music panic, the Marlyn Manson panic, and the violent video game panic. Further, this paper will evaluate the relationship between the changing media frames and the moral panics and claims-makers that were being used in the media. Finally, using Columbine as an example this essay will argue that the media uses moral panics to distract from the real problems facing society. This paper is divided into three sections. In the first section, I will explain moral panics in general terms. Then I will go into details about goth music panics, the Marilyn Manson panic, and the violent video game panic. In the second section, I will examine the changing media frames before and after the Columbine massacre. In the third section, I will be linking the first two sections …show more content…
A moral panic is a recurring media theme that instills panic in people. A moral panic can be extreme and go on for a long time, or they can be quickly forgotten (Garland 2008). Moral panics mostly focus on the worst society has to offer, and extinguish definitive enemies of societies (Burns and Crawford 1999). Further, moral panics have to threaten society and people must also feel threatened (Burns and Crawford 1999). This is especially true when it comes to school shootings. Moral panics seem to be designed to keep society on its toes. Furthermore, when it comes to the Columbine massacre the panic towards it is still deeply set into people’s worries, so much so that even up until 2016 President Obama was referencing it in speeches about gun control. Three moral panics stuck out to me during my research. According to Steve Cohen, the term moral panics was used to characterize reactions from the media (Goode and Ben-Yehuda 1994). Which is an interesting definition because it implies that the media chooses what to air, in other words, the media creates these moral