Television violence has been misinterpreted says Jib Fowles, Wiscasset resident, author, and Professor of Media Culture and Communication at the University of Houston in Texas. Fowles spoke to the men's fellowship of the First Congregational Church at their November meeting.

His address was the subject of his latest book "The Case for Television Violence" published by Sage Publications. The author is recognized as an authority on the changes in social culture affected by the advertising and media industry. He has written several books and numerous articles on this and related subjects.

He illustrated his talk with a video of scenes from the popular TV series "The Sopranos."

Fowles said the discussion "challenges conventional wisdom by placing the arrival of televised violence within the historical context of the disallowance of traditionally sanctioned targets of aggression such as cops and robbers, and cowboys and Indians, both favorites from the earlier days of television history.

Fowles is a member of the men's fellowship which meets at noon the third Tuesday of every month except December, for a brown bag lunch and discussion of interesting current topics.