Connections:
The article, “Teaching Kids to Kill”, and the video, “Former child soldier Ishmael Beah recounts his past”’, are both relatable and connect to each other in various ways. For example, both different media types portrayed a specific theme, which is violence. Violence is portrayed in the video through Ishmael’s life story that he recounts. He spent his childhood as a child soldier, killing other just so he can stay alive. Similarly, the article expresses violence by talking about how children are exposed to media violence and violent video games, which influences them to kill to stay safe in certain environments. The article and video connect to violence because both media types are showing how violence endorses a person and how it changes their perspectives. As a result, children have been killing to stay safe because of what their surroundings and peers influence them, just like in the article and Ishmael’s childhood recount.
Challenges:
“Where does a 14-year-old boy who never fired a gun before get the skill and the will to kill? Video games and media violence.”This statement may be true but I do not agree with this statement. The reason why I disagree is because not all fourteen-year-old boys are influenced just by video games, there can be many causes why a boy that age would be willing to kill. For example, environments can impact a young boys thinking and purposes. Environments such as “the hood” can impact a child’s thinking a lot because of what goes on like shootings, stabbings, street fights and etc. Another example for a cause could be a child’s troubles such as family problems, school problems and others. Such problems can lead to anger problems or depression, which effects one a lot and very intensely. Therefore, not only do video games and media violence affect fourteen-year-old boys thoughts on killing others, but also so do mental disorders, social troubles, and environmental surroundings/activities.
Concepts:
The most important key concept worth knowing would be how our world is connected with different types of violence. I chose this as worth knowing key concept because in the video, Ishmael talks about how he survived his childhood by numbing himself with drugs and killing others with no feelings, and in the article it states how innocent young boys believe what they see and get brainwashed by violent video games and media violence. Ishmael’s childhood story relates to our current world issues because children right now are forced to do the same in current wars and rebellions in order to stay alive. On the other hand, the article also relates to our current world because children, teenager, and adults are playing these violent video games and viewing media violence as entertainment. Thus, knowing relations of violence with the world is very important to know and recognize.
Changes:
Changes that happened in the video about Ishmael’s childhood life story turned out to be life changing for him and helped build his future. When he was a child, his family had been killed by an attack in their area and he was left all alone. Since he was alone, he had to find some way to survive. Surviving as in finding food, water, shelter, and avoiding being shot. This is when he decided the only way to live is to become a child soldier, and ever since then he was a child soldier. His role as a child soldier was to daily take stimulant drugs that would numb his feelings before going to kill other people. Rehab saved his life; a few workers from a rehabilitation center rescued him and tried erasing all those memories of killing people and his drug problem. He hated it there and misbehaved a lot until he found some worker at the center who understood him and listened to him. In total when he was rescued, that was a new chapter of his life where he also met a woman who adopted him and brought him to America. When Ishmael hit college, he started writing about his childhood , and that is where his writing journey began.
The article, “Teaching Kids to Kill”, and the video, “Former child soldier Ishmael Beah recounts his past”’, are both relatable and connect to each other in various ways. For example, both different media types portrayed a specific theme, which is violence. Violence is portrayed in the video through Ishmael’s life story that he recounts. He spent his childhood as a child soldier, killing other just so he can stay alive. Similarly, the article expresses violence by talking about how children are exposed to media violence and violent video games, which influences them to kill to stay safe in certain environments. The article and video connect to violence because both media types are showing how violence endorses a person and how it changes their perspectives. As a result, children have been killing to stay safe because of what their surroundings and peers influence them, just like in the article and Ishmael’s childhood recount.
Challenges:
“Where does a 14-year-old boy who never fired a gun before get the skill and the will to kill? Video games and media violence.”This statement may be true but I do not agree with this statement. The reason why I disagree is because not all fourteen-year-old boys are influenced just by video games, there can be many causes why a boy that age would be willing to kill. For example, environments can impact a young boys thinking and purposes. Environments such as “the hood” can impact a child’s thinking a lot because of what goes on like shootings, stabbings, street fights and etc. Another example for a cause could be a child’s troubles such as family problems, school problems and others. Such problems can lead to anger problems or depression, which effects one a lot and very intensely. Therefore, not only do video games and media violence affect fourteen-year-old boys thoughts on killing others, but also so do mental disorders, social troubles, and environmental surroundings/activities.
Concepts:
The most important key concept worth knowing would be how our world is connected with different types of violence. I chose this as worth knowing key concept because in the video, Ishmael talks about how he survived his childhood by numbing himself with drugs and killing others with no feelings, and in the article it states how innocent young boys believe what they see and get brainwashed by violent video games and media violence. Ishmael’s childhood story relates to our current world issues because children right now are forced to do the same in current wars and rebellions in order to stay alive. On the other hand, the article also relates to our current world because children, teenager, and adults are playing these violent video games and viewing media violence as entertainment. Thus, knowing relations of violence with the world is very important to know and recognize.
Changes:
Changes that happened in the video about Ishmael’s childhood life story turned out to be life changing for him and helped build his future. When he was a child, his family had been killed by an attack in their area and he was left all alone. Since he was alone, he had to find some way to survive. Surviving as in finding food, water, shelter, and avoiding being shot. This is when he decided the only way to live is to become a child soldier, and ever since then he was a child soldier. His role as a child soldier was to daily take stimulant drugs that would numb his feelings before going to kill other people. Rehab saved his life; a few workers from a rehabilitation center rescued him and tried erasing all those memories of killing people and his drug problem. He hated it there and misbehaved a lot until he found some worker at the center who understood him and listened to him. In total when he was rescued, that was a new chapter of his life where he also met a woman who adopted him and brought him to America. When Ishmael hit college, he started writing about his childhood , and that is where his writing journey began.
You have noted some important changes in Beah's life. What are some of the changes that he suggests that the audience should make?
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