No Consequences

Another formula to the portrayal of violence is that there are "no consequences."
There is hardly any bleeding involved, although there are guns and fighting involved. The hero usually wins and on TV shows, the hero hardly ever gets in trouble for violent actions. The hero is usually correct in one way or another when committing violent acts. Programs on television that depict violence will hardly ever show a main character lose an arm or a leg. Main characters will also be spared and will not get killed on screen. The "bad guy" is usually the one who gets shot, killed, or burned. The hero can really be as violent as they want to be.

Although some television programs contain a lot of violence, it will doesn't really show the outcome of such violence. A study released by the Center for Media and Public Affairs in June 1999 states that though television may show a lot of violence, it rarely shows its outcome. "We found that despite the high volume of televised violence, viewers rarely see it causing adverse effects," states the report. The report found that acts of violence, such as murder, rape, kidnapping and assault with a deadly weapon, occurred once every four minutes on the major TV networks. However, it notes that "no physical harm was shown three quarters (75 percent) of the time violence occurred on broadcast series and over two-thirds (68 percent) of the time it occurred on cable programs. A mere 7 percent of violent acts on broadcast shows and 4 percent on cable resulted in fatalities."

Children will get the idea that heroes, for example, will be justified for their violent actions. Parents should really be aware of these portrayals. "Good" characters are getting away with hurting others through violent acts.