Detailed Essay Plan

How do video games such as 'call of duty' and 'grand theft auto' push the boundaries of on-screen violence and what is the impact of this on audiences?

Introduction – Brief description of my critical investigation

I will start off the essay with a quote as I feel that it’s a nice way to set the essay.

'A society that glorifies violence will grow more violent’ 

My critical investigation will focus on the negative influences that video games have on audiences, [A] and whether games such as ‘call of duty’ and ‘grand theft auto’ reinforce or subvert the stereotypical image of video games [R] which is currently portrayed in today’s society through the media. I shall also talk about how the media blame the institutions responsible for the media products mentioned in my critical investigation.

‘Teenagers who play violent video games over a number of years become more aggressive towards other people’

‘Video games were accused of glorifying violence and encouraging anti-social behaviour’

'Video games provide extremely powerful symbols that can be used to mold a youth subculture'

Paragraph 1 -

In this paragraph I shall give a brief insight into the video game industry and demonstrate how rapidly the industry is growing [I]. I shall also explain how video games benefit not only players but society/economy as they generate high amounts of revenue contributing to the UK’s economy which is a positive thing given the current situation of the UK within the Economic cycle (recovery)

'Videogames have experienced an enormous growth in recent years, in terms of revenue they have overtaken cinema and are now almost at the level of worldwide music sales' 

'In the UK British games companies contributed around £2 billion to the economy, a figure that has probably greatly increased because of the success of the British-designed game Grand Theft Auto IV, which made a staggering $500 million in its opening week '

Theorists/Key terms/issues and debates 

Globalisation
Moved from being a cottage industry
Economy - SHEP

Paragraph 2-

This paragraph will go on to talk about how violent video started to become popular from very early on looking at historical texts such Mortal Kombat. I will also be looking at how technology has enhanced the viewing and playing experience for audiences, portraying how modern games such as the ones mention in my critical investigation have become more graphically violent, with the advance in graphics and look at how the violent video games rewards players for their actions

'Although the first video games emerged in the late 1970s, violent video games came of age in the 1990s, with the killing games Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter, and Wolfenstein 3D' 

Mortal Kombat is a perfect example of how the issue of violence within video games has changed over the years, with newer games becoming more violent not only in story line but graphically aswell shows how an advance in technology has manipulated peoples culture into forming a much aggressive/violent subculture, particularly amongst the young. However during the 1990s there were a considerable amount of controversies which the game brought about. The lethal finishing move known as the fatality was a feature of the game which brought about most of the games controversies, as the way the deaths were portrayed were to explicit for that day and age, however controversially it was the extreme violence which lead Mortal Kombat to its success of becoming the most popular video games of all time. At the time video games were breaking into a wider market with the upcoming fourth generation consoles.

‘ In some games, players are rewarded through verbal praise’ -> This can be Seen within the game Call Of Duty as when you kill someone you are often praised verbally or through on screen text.

‘In the Grand Theft Auto series, players become characters who win points for carjacking, killing prostitutes and running over pedestrians’

Theorists/Key terms/issues and debates 
Desensitisation 
Regulation and censorship
Moral panic - Stanley Cohen
Media technology and the digital revolution
Hypodermic needle
rewarding for violent behaviour
Historical - SHEP

Paragraph 3 –

This paragraph will look at the way violent video games such as call of duty and grand theft auto have become easily accessible with the growth of platforms such as e-media making it easier for content to be accessed.

‘The availability of video games has led to an epidemic of youth’

‘User generated content on sites such as youtube does not carry any age classification, nor is there a watershed before which it cannot be viewed’

I will go on further to talk about the government and other gaming regulators and their role within violent video games such as Grand Theft Auto and Call of Duty ‘US Government has created and distributes violent video games to youths, and does so without checking the ages to whom it distributes the game' page 3 .This showing the lack of governments censorship of video games as the quote refers to them distributing games without knowing who they are going too,.

‘The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) have classified this game as suitable for people aged 18 or over. The government now wants to tighten up the regulation, classification and censorship of videogames

According to legislation being introduced this week, responsibility will be transferred to the Video Standards Council (VSC), which will rate games according to the Pan European Game Information system (PEGI)  This shows how the government are taking action in the regulation censorship of video games as they have assigned the responsibility over to VSC, however the concern raised by critic Nick Robinson that the  'the new rules are just “a smokescreen” because they enable Government to look like it is acting when in fact it is abdicating its responsibilities' This raises the question that although the government have given responsibility of regulation and censorship to VSC, there's still nothing stopping younger kids getting their hands on games which may display violent and x rated content.

Theorists/Key terms/issues and debates 
Regulation and Censorship
Ownership and Control
Web.2.0
Political - SHEP

Paragraph 4-

This paragraph will convey the concerns of violent video games on audiences, looking at how scientific research has shown that individuals that play these types of games are more prone to violent thought s and aggressive traits.

‘Watching violent films and playing games like Grand Theft Auto, Mortal Kombat and Modern Warfare makes youngsters more prone to violence’

‘Gentile & Anderson (2003) state that playing video games may increase aggressive behaviour because violent acts are continually repeated throughout the video game’

 ‘Video games were accused of glorifying violence and encouraging anti-social behaviour’

‘Neuroscientific studies show reduced cognitive brain functions in individuals exposed to violent media’

‘Violent video game play the player learns to associate violence with pleasure (rewards for hurting another character)’

I shall go on further to also address the issue of how these effects are taken into the real world, given a wide range of examples of cases of murders and violence which have been specifically linked back to violent video games.

'Grand Theft Auto used as the rationale behind the fatal shootings of three police officers at the hands of 18 year old Devin Moore in June 2003’

Another study revealed the violent results of parents trying to gain control over an “addicted gamer”, the boy kicking a hole in his sister’s wall and becoming full of rage after his parents disconnected the internet’ This study shows how the time spent in our hyperreal states means we are ignoring the loss of the ‘real’ and the world’s shift into simulation (Baudrillard - Hyper- reality)

‘It is believed that excessive video game playing may reduce a child’s empathy or his/hers willingness and desire to help others’

"The Connecticut school massacre gunman Adam Lanza spent hours playing violent video games such as Call of Duty in a windowless bunker, according to an interview with a plumber who worked at the family home" – this being a recent event shows the concern perhaps a moral panic of violent video games within society today

Theorists/Key terms/issues and debates 
Moral panic
Baudrillard - Hyper reality
Media effects - Cultivation
Copycat theory 
Social - SHEP

Paragraph 5 –

In contrast to paragraph 4, I will show the alternative view, showing how violent video games can benefit audiences by enhancing their skills such as hand eye co-ordination, etc, I shall also use the theory of uses and gratifications to explain why audiences play violent video games and the pleasures it offers.

“Satisfies some basic human needs. The adrenaline rush, the satisfactions of imagination, fantasy, and vicarious adventure, probably explain why millions of nonviolent people enjoy violent entertainment.”

“Violent entertainment may offer viewers – especially young males – a way to explore their violent tendencies without hurting anyone.”

‘Today, most children play real-time, first person shooters in which the players view the world through the eyes of the video game character that they control’ This shows how audiences play video games that are true to real life as they allow audiences to see through the eyes of video game characters within first person shooters such as call of duty without having to risk their lives.

I shall also talk about how not all audiences that consume violent video games behave in a rational way as 'Henry Jenkins of Massachusetts Institute of Technology noted that there is a decreased rate of juvenile crime which coincides with the popularity of games such as Death Race, Mortal Kombat, Doom and Grand Theft auto. He concludes that teenage players are able to leave the emotional effects of the game behind when the game is over'.

'Video game popularity and real world youth violence have been moving in opposite directions'

Theorists/Key terms/issues and debates 

Uses and Gratification - escapism (diversion)
Social - SHEP

Paragraph 6 –

This paragraph will talk about how the media have caused a widespread moral panic about violent video games as they blame most violent video games for the reasoning behind violent behaviour.

Violent video games are easily blamed by the media and some experts as the reason why some young people become violent or commit extreme anti-social behaviour -> Stuart halls preferred and oppositional readings, preferred-> video games used an escape goat as to why young people become violent

'The media effects theory has achieved widespread acceptance by society. This theory suggests that those who are exposed to violence in the media are influenced to behave in a violent manner'

Anders Behring Breivik claims in his manifesto that he used this video game to perpetrate the 2011 Norway attacks. . Coop Norway, a chain of retail stores in Norway, removed this video game from its shelves as a result of the Norway attacks – This could be linked to moral panics due to the way the chain retail Coop Norway reacted by taking down the game from their shelves (Censorship) also another form of Baudrillard’s concept of hyper-reality.

Theorists/Key terms/issues and debates 

Baudrillard- hyper reality
Stanley Cohen - Moral panic
Censorship
Stuart hall - Preferred and oppositional readings
Social - SHEP

Paragraph 7 –

This paragraph will talk about gender, the different types of audiences which consume violent videogames. This paragraph will also talk about how violent video games such as Grand theft auto oppresses women and portrays them to be shown as sexual objects, as the games includes prostitutes who roam the streets, therefore bringing up a feminist debate.

·         Mostly males who play - “males are more attracted to violent imagery than females are”

·         Prostitution - ‘Such actions were made possible by game, and arguably encouraged, since the player received a health bonus by having sex’ – This showing how women are seen as sexual objects linking to the theory of male gaze, Laura Mulvey, it also demeans women, oppressing them as they are seen worthless

·         Hegemony -> dominant ideologies
   

       Theorists/Key terms/issues and debates 

       Feminism - Laura Mulvey - male gaze

        Marxism - Hegemony 

        Representation - sexual violence - prostitution 

Conclusion 8-

In the conclusion I shall gather all previous points made and come to a conclusion whether violent video games are corrupting audiences and will take into account whether the on-going stories published about videogame violence should be considered a concern as it could potentially turn into a widespread moral panic