Videogames & Violence

[GodKid]

ahh.... now we're getting into it...

you see... there is no really great answer to the question I posed.. as tho guns have no sentience they embody and exemplify a power and command that can exert an extraordinary control over those who wield them... almost commanding the individual to shoot... at that point the person becomes a pawn.. and the gun tho not sentient realizes its own destiny... to kill.. indiscriminately of species, character or any other thing. ;D

That's why in dealing with this the first thing to do is recognize the problem.. then deal with it.. the problem isn't ONLY the media, bor is it ONLY the parents... nor (Mitchie) is it ONLY the economy...

a careful examination will reveal that ALL these factors and MORE contribute to the prevailing situation in a VERY systematic way. People need money to survive thus Parents can't parent when they need to provide, if parents were parenting then kids MAY not buy violence, which would force developers to stop producing that type o game... but then society glorifies violence through the hero phenotype as well so... parents parenting also have to be VERY stringent about what shows kids watch (Power Rangers was my example.. and that still turned sour)....

I could continue winding and weaving the web.... and get more and more complicated, all to try to point out that we're a part of a SYSTEM and treating ONE bad cog won't rescue the clock.

so tell me...

[move]What is the Matrix ?[/move]

[BlackCryptoKnight]

GodKid, I agree that the media does incite people to act out what they see, however, I think that if we need to be careful that we don't use the media as a convenient scapegoat. The media as we know it today didn't exist way back in the days before TV and Radio and the printing press. Yet at those times, nuff wickedness di a gwaan same way.

Remember Sodom and Gomorrah? Every slackness you could think of was there, so much so that the Almighty had to download the brimstone pon dem head top. They had no mass media like we do today.

So I agree we need to recognize what is happening in society and the role the media has to play in it, but to hold the media fully and soley responsible for all the ills in society would be an error - there are bigger things at play. The media is just a conduit (as the name implies) - the questions we should be asking is "What's the source of all the negativity?" , "What force can stop it?" and "What role are we playing- boosting the negative, or the positive?"

[BlackCryptoKnight]

I think we all agree on some level that the media does influence the behaviour of people. Having said that, I'm curious as to why there is the impact that there is.

I posed these questions in the Matrix Revolutions thread and as per Xeno's request, I re-pose the questions here:

Why is it that there are so many people who take the Matrix movies so seriously to the point of believing that they serve as some philosophical guideline for their lives?

Is it that they identify so much with the feeling of seemingly being trapped in dreamworld (nightmare for some) or that they have very little control over their lives?

We've seen the same things with the Star Wars and Star Trek films.

What is it about these films that resonate so deeply within psyche of so many people?

To me, they were just good movies.

I guess it's a credit to the W brothers for creating such an immersive experience.

Still it's a little disturbing that some would be so involved on an emotional level with these things, that they adapt their outlook on life to align with these films.

[BlackCryptoKnight]

Why would videogame developers see the need to create violent videogames in the first place?

Because there is a big demand for it in the marketplace. It makes $$$

What influenced them to iconify such imagery?

That's what the people wanted to see.

How did they first find out that violence sells?

They read their history books and learned about the gladiators of ancient Rome, they saw the mass apeal of sports like boxing, they saw how the public reacted positively to the martial arts films. They also did their market research. Making games to emulate these things is the next logical step - little boys have been assuming the identities of these characters and playing at those violent games for ages. A lot of these games really just mirror what society already indulges in through other media outlets (movies, music, magazines etc.)

What's the point of making these videogames if they will ultimately fall into the hands of children

The game makers don't care who plays it as long as they get paid. It's up to the parent's to protect their kids if they feel it's unsuitable (that's what the game makers feel).

[owen]

Why would videogame developers see the need to create violent videogames in the first place? What influenced them to iconify such imagery? How did they first find out that violence sells?

The video game industry like any other is a demand driven. And game makers will continue to make what people want. Nintendo doesn't make voilent games. It's a matter of perspective really a couple years ago "MORTAL KOMBAT" was the most voilent game on the market. A large percentage of the market didn't have access to it.

Videogames change with the market. Voilent games aren't as popular in china as they are in the US. I wish we could get cable t.v. from europe. CNN sucks.

Everything falls into the hands of children. It's kinda like a seek and you shall find kinda thing. It applies to children as well. Children manage to get access to adult media. Removing all adult media would be the best way to prevent children from having access to it.

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Why is it that there are so many people who take the Matrix movies so seriously to the point of believing that they serve as some philosophical guideline for their lives?

people believe in what they choose to believe in. We are nor borgs.

We've seen the same things with the Star Wars and Star Trek films.

it's not really the the same things. It's more like tron.

What is it about these films that resonate so deeply within psyche of so many people?

I really don't know.

[mikedaregentile]

We've seen the same things with the Star Wars and Star Trek films.

What is it about these films that resonate so deeply within psyche of so many people?

I think that their popularity evolves from their format which mimics the old westerns. The good guy rides into town wearing the white hat, solves the problem (USUALLY THE BAD GUY), sometimes gets the girl, and rides off into the sunset (or sometimes Saturnian moonrise). There is usually clear deliniation between good and evil and resolution on the side of good.

Mike

[Nastrodamus]

Ok ......

The effects of social learning is really one to consider indeed, but..... what do we learn for our video games?

Let me see if I can put it another way.....

It is a known fact that people learn a lot from movies. Best way to observe this is a energetic child after a Kung Fu movie! Now movies have ratings to ensure that only a certain group of people watch what is suitable for their age. Is this not the same for games nowadays?

more to come from Nastro

[Xenocrates]

You're quite right about that Mike. That's one of the reasons why Star Wars was so popular. That Cantina scene in Mos Eisley is famous for having that Western appeal. Furthermore, it's Lucas' brilliant diffusion of medieval or classic themes (knights, young hotshot pilots, gunslingers, wise old men) with modern futuristic elements (knights use swords made of plasma energy, hotshot pilots fly faster-than-light ships, gunsligers use energy weapons, and the old men command the power of the universe)...

...but Star Wars' effect isn't one that is overly violent. The violence in Star Wars has very little connectivity with reality. We don't hear news of kids taking light sabres to school with the intension of quickly and cleanly disemboweling their enemies. Furthermore, even if light sabres were real, nobody in reality can use the "force" to use a light sabre well enough to block bullets...

...on the other hand, the Matrix movies have had such an effect on the young audience. The two youths that shot up Columbine were dressed in exactly the same fashion as was Neo and Trinity in that Lobby shootout scene from the first Matrix movie. They sported similar leather clad outfits complete with trenchcoats and even carried the same high powered submachine guns as toted by Neo in the opening shot at the metal detectors. At least they spared themselves the disappointment of the sequels. But it does make BCK's questions pretty worrisome now doesn't it?

Clearly these fellas connected with the movie on a different level - a dangerous level even. They were outcasts unto themselves, and turn to the movie for some kind of relief. When that wasn't good enough, they felt the urge to enact what they saw at the movies. It's a pity they didn't realise that Neo and Trinity were unplugged before they went on a shooting spree. :

BCK's right about the fetish for violence being evident from the days of the Roman Empire. But that's indicative of something else. If we get pleasure from watching something violent occur what does it say about our character? I mean, my pops & uncle actually sat up late at nights watching on FOX where America bombed the living crapola out of Iraq and brought down the regime of Saddam Hussein. This was not an action movie, but was just as good as, in fact, BETTER than an action movie, because this was actually taking place in REAL life.

So that was the News. Not an action movie. The Journalists were so caught up in what they were doing, they were willing to give their own lives so long as they captured on camera the violent shooting exchanges between US Army troops and Iraqi foot soldiers. It was even more pleasurable for them, because they got to shoot live footage of Iraqi soldiers (who were severely under trained and outskilled by the Allied forces) being wasted like ducks in a pond by the American soldiers.

So it's not just about the media is it?

[Nastrodamus]

[quote author=Xenocrates link=board=29;threadid=2274;start=15#msg22156 date=1068478512]
So it's not just about the media is it?
[/quote]


I say again Xeno....."Social Learning".


Humans will tend to adapt behavior patterns that they have observed someone else condoning or accepting as cool or hype etc...

Some worse case senarios do occur when persons want to retailate or just be plain rebelious, they will exhibit behaviors that were observed to be unacceptable.

All these behaviors are not from own initiative and has to come from some medium. The Television whether by games, movies, cartoons or local and international news provides such a medium.

Radio provides psychological aspects to verbal communication. Gone are the days when "NFAP" meant something....if you don't know what that is you only prove my point, (Not F It For Air Play) As this has deteriorated so has communication and the language between youth.