Violent films have 'little impact'

Reservoir Dogs was criticised for its use of violence

A government report in the US has suggested that media violence has a relatively small impact on actual violence.

The report by the surgeon-general was ordered after the Columbine High School massacre in 1999, in which 12 students and a teacher were killed by two teenagers.

At the time politicians, religious leaders, and parents attacked the entertainment industry, claiming violent films, TV shows and video games were to blame for the actions of the killers.

But the report found no conclusive link between screen violence and actual violence.

Political pressure

"Taken together, findings suggest that media violence has a relatively small impact on violence," the report states.

Its conclusions have been welcomed by film bosses who have been under constant political pressure in the last 12 months to "clean up" Hollywood.

Senator Joseph Lieberman, Al Gore's running mate in last year's American elections, angered Hollywood when he said the film industry corrupted America's culture and children.

He said there was "too much violence, too much sex, too much incivility in entertainment".

The average American child watches an estimated 40,000 dramatised murders by the time he or she turns 18.

Seminal report

Jack Valenti, head of the Motion Picture Association of America, said: "It's the seminal report."

"Anyone who wants to deal with this issue has to use this report as gospel," he added.

But the report did find that media violence does have the tendency to increase aggressive behaviour in a small to moderate fashion, a finding leapt on by Hollywood's critics.

A spokesman for Senator Lieberman said: "In essence, they didn't settle the question.

"They did state, conclusively, that media violence can be harmful to kids by heightening aggression."