To unravel some of the contradictions in opinions about the effect of mass media on viewers, an integration of mass media research and sound sociological theory is necessary. This paper reports the results of an attempt to apply sociological theories of socialization to a sample of Australian children and their reactions to film and television violence. Two comparison groups were selected from a large sample on the basis of "self-esteem," a variable hypothesized to be closely related to mass media usage. These groups responded to a questionnaire on television viewing habits and family background variables. They also took part in an experiment in which they viewed "fantasy" and "realistic" violence in films, after which they were interviewed on their responses. One result was that high-esteem males preferred factual shows to fantasies, whereas low-esteem males preferred fantasy shows with male protagonists. Females preferred fantasy shows with female protagonists, and low-esteem females preferred them more than do high-esteem ones. High-esteem males viewed realistic violence more objectively, on the whole, than did other groups. (JK)