Is it a reactionary move to self-censorship or an enlightened decision by Scandinavian broadcasters from which their American counterparts could learn? And, is there a message in it for American parents who worry about the effects television shows, like "The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers" and "Mutant Ninja Turtles," might be having on their children?
Those were key questions that educators, researchers, child care specialists and parents were asking yesterday in reaction to news that "The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers" -- the highest-rated kids' TV show in America -- had been pulled from the airwaves in Norway.
The show was taken off the air because Norwegians believe it might be linked to the shocking death Saturday of a 5-year-old girl, Silje Marie Redergaard.
The girl's body was found beaten and partly undressed. She had been kicked, punched and hit with a rock, then left to freeze to death in the snow.
Who would do such a horrible thing? Three of her male playmates, police say. Two of the boys are 6 years old, one is 5.
At this point, the only reported link between the killing and children's television comes from an early version of the incident one of the boys gave police. He initially said teen-age boys attacked and killed the girl, and that he chased them away when he "kicked one of them until he bled -- just like the Mutant Ninja Turtles do."
"Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" is an animated show that features likable heroes kung-fu-kicking and karate-chopping evil opponents. "Power Rangers" is a live-action show featuring kung-fu teen-age heroes. Both shows are targeted at 4- to 12-year-olds.
While pulling "Power Rangers" based on the reported link in Norway might seem premature to some, several experts yesterday said there was more than enough evidence in 40 years of research on kids and TV to support this ounce of prevention.
"Let's move to Norway," said Dr. Sheri Parks, about the decision of Channel 3, a commercial satellite channel from London, to pull the plug on "Power Rangers" in Norway, Sweden and Denmark.
Dr. Parks, who teaches a course in "Children and Television" at the University of Maryland College Park, believes there is an indisputable link between children watching violence on television and aggressive behavior, especially younger children.
"From the information available at this time, no direct or indirect linkage between this event and any children's telecast in Scandinavia has been established," said Barry Stagg, vice president of Saban Entertainment, the producer of the "Power Rangers." "Although our show has no direct linkage in this grievous occurrence, we remain deeply saddened by this tragedy."
Fox Broadcasting, the network that carries the series in America, declined comment yesterday. Earlier this year, however, Margaret Loesch, president of the Fox Children's Network, was asked about violence in the show and whether she feared kids might imitate it.
"We're not worried about 'Power Rangers' because frankly we have gotten very little criticism. We've gotten almost no letters of complaints from parents, for example, because it's such a silly show," she said.
"But, clearly, I think our responsibility lies in diversity. I think if we had more shows like that -- more action-adventure -- maybe it wouldn't be the best route for our young viewers. We've always approached our programming like a balanced meal. If you provide a balanced meal, it's not going to be irresponsible."
Loesch also contended there's no proof of a direct causal relationship between viewing TV violence and young children acting aggressively. But even some of Loesch's own colleagues in the broadcasting community sharply disagree.
"When I pick up my 10-year-old at school and I see the little 5-, 6-, 7-year-olds in the playground karate-chopping and kicking one another, they didn't pick that up off 'Law & Order' or 'Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman,' " said Don Ohlmeyer, West Coast president of NBC. "They picked that up from a steady diet of [Fox] programs aimed at them. And what you basically have in 'Mighty Morphin Power Rangers' is a show that's gratuitous violence in search of a plot."
Asked if watching "Power Rangers" could contribute to 6-year-olds attacking a playmate, Dr. Parks said yes, "especially if they see the aggressive behavior as valued the way it is in these shows. And research shows that it's more likely to be boys acting aggressively."
Dr. Jerome Singer, of the Yale University Family Television Research Center, agrees.
"There is a risk to kids from shows like these," said Dr. Singer, a psychologist. "The research data consistently point to the fact that children who watch violent or aggressive material -- material that's relatively realistic and imitatable -- on television or video are more likely to be aggressive afterward."
After reviewing 3,000 studies on the effects of TV violence, the American Psychological Association in 1992 issued a report titled "Big World, Small Screen: The Role of Television in American Society." Among other things, the report said: "The accumulated research clearly demonstrates a correlation between viewing violence and aggressive behavior. . . . Children and adults who watch a large number of aggressive programs also tend to hold attitudes and values that favor the use of aggression to resolve conflicts."
The results keep piling up. A California State University study earlier this year found that some grade-schoolers who watched "Power Rangers" then went out on the playground and kicked and punched, imitating what they saw on the screen.
But Maryland parents whose young children are fans of the "Power Rangers" and "Ninja Turtles" don't need someone in California telling them that.
On the playground
"You can see it right here on the playground. The kids at school watch 'Power Rangers' and then go out and try to beat the heck out of each other on the playground," says Nathen Harvey, a teacher's aide at the Center for Young Children Laboratory School at UM.
Why are kids' shows such as "Power Rangers" still on the air, in the face of four decades of research as well as the anecdotal evidence? How have clones -- such as "V.R. Troopers," an equally violent action-adventure show for kids from Saban Entertainment -- found their way onto the screen this fall? Why aren't there warnings attached? Why do parents let their children watch, then buy the toys and costumes that will further their kids' identification with the violent characters?
Answers to these questions are involved and complex. But we can start with the way the debate has been reported in the media; it has left the impression that there's less a problem than there really is.
Academic experts such as Parks and Singer are careful to use terms like "link" and "correlation" while avoiding the word "cause." The reason? You can't make cause-and-effect laws for media. You can't say watching "Power Rangers" will make every child who watches act violently; the effects vary individual to individual.
"To attribute direct influence to any person's act from hearing a popular song or seeing a TV show is demonstrably ridiculous," says Dr. Lawrence Mintz, who teaches popular culture at UM. "I say that because you are immediately faced with the thousands of people who had the same stimulus with a completely different response."
But, adds Dr. Mintz, "You can say it contributes indirectly in a number of ways to an inclination to violence."
Many in the media use statements like Mintz's first one to support the argument that there's no proof violent TV causes kids to act violently.
In fact, the Associated Press is currently using a statement by Dr. George Gerbner, former dean of the Annenberg School of Communications at the University of Pennsylvania, as a warning against blaming the "Power Rangers" for the killing in Norway. While Dr. Gerbner does say you can't "blame" the show -- in the same sense that Mintz does -- he has long criticized such shows for creating a "climate of violence" for children. He has even suggested that they not be allowed on the air.
Charlene Uhl, former director of the Maryland Campaign for Kids TV, says the problem is also one of education.
"Many parents simply don't have as much knowledge as we would like them to have about the effects that television has on kids . . . in spite of all the literature," she says.
Grass-roots work
For the past three years, the organization has been working at the grass-roots level of PTAs and day care providers to get this information to parents. It has also lobbied for local stations to provide more educational programming for kids.
The group's efforts are partially responsible for the Governor's Commission on Television Violence being formed in Maryland -- the only state with such a panel. The 27-member commission, with Uhl as co-chair, will hold its first hearing in December.
Creating the panel was done in reaction to the setback suffered earlier this year by the national TV reform movement when Sen. Paul Simon backed off his pledge to introduce legislation restricting TV violence if the networks didn't clean up their acts. The Illinois Democrat instead allowed the networks and cable operators to handpick their own "monitors" -- in effect, defusing the pressure that was building for reform.
"I, too, was disheartened by what happened in the congressional scene," Uhl said. "We really thought there should be reform at the national level . . .
"Ultimately, the question is: How are we going to act as a society when it comes to children and television violence? I respect the First Amendment-Freedom of Speech argument. But we also have to protect children. What we're facing are the questions: Who do we value more? And who do we err on the side of?"
Norway offered one set of answers this week in the wake of the death of Silje Marie Redergaard.