‘A society that glorifies violence will grow more violent’ [1]
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?
This critical investigation will focus on the
negative influences that video games carry and have on audiences. It will investigate
whether games such as ‘Call of Duty’ and ‘Grand Theft Auto’ reinforce or
subvert the stereotypical image of video games where ‘Teenagers who play violent video
games over a number of years become more aggressive towards other people’[2]
and as a result ‘Video games were accused of glorifying violence and
encouraging anti-social behaviour’[3]
. This allegation has created an unpleasant image for the
younger generation who are perceived to be aggressive due to the fact
that 'Video games provide extremely powerful symbols that can be used
to mold a youth subculture’[4]. In this case
the aggressive and violent subculture which has currently been portrayed within
the media as they blame many of the institutions responsible for the
productions of these games, such as Infinity Ward for Call of Duty and Rockstar
Games for Grand Theft Auto, given the amount of attacks over the years which
have taken place from media texts such as the ones mentioned in this critical
investigation.
'Videogames have experienced an enormous growth
in recent years, in terms of revenue’ [5] this is
supported by the fact that its revenue has ‘overtaken cinema and are
now almost at the level of worldwide music sales'[6]. This
indicates how ‘the videogame
industry has thus gone from its birth as a cottage industry to mirror the
organisational structures and working practices of other large media
institutions[7]’. Not only have video
games benefited consumers, but also contributed to the economy as 'In
the UK British games companies contributed around £2 billion to the economy’[8] This demonstrating one of the many positive outcomes
from video games as they have contributed to building a better
infrastructure for the UK and its economy given the current situation of the UK with threats of heading into a
triple dip recession.
With video games emerging in the
late 1970s, ‘violent video games came of
age in the 1990s’[9]
Mortal Kombat a 2d violent fighting game, which redefined the
boundaries of acceptance with its ‘combination
of excessive gore violence’[10].
During the 1990s there were a considerable amount of controversies which Mortal
Kombat brought about, one of those controversies being the lethal finishing
move, known as the fatality which was a unique feature of the game. The way
deaths were portrayed was far too explicit and brutal for that day and age, as
the zeitgeist of the 1990s was the total opposite to gore and violence.
However controversially it was the extreme violence which lead Mortal
Kombat to its success of becoming one the most popular video games of all time.
Mortal Kombat provides the perfect example of how the issue of violence within
video games has changed over the years, with newer games producing more violent
content with aesthetically pleasing graphics, shows
how the advance in technology has manipulated people’s culture into forming a
much aggressive subculture, which has been prevalent amongst the young
throughout the media, this potentially leading to become what Stanley Cohen
would call a moral panic. At the time video games were breaking into a
wider market with the upcoming fourth generation consoles being
produced and distributed by gaming conglomerates Nintendo, Sega and Sony. It
can be said that theories such as Stanley Cohen's moral panic can be applied to
Mortal Kombat as it received widespread complaints of gore and violence, which
resulted in the forming of the Entertainment Software Rating Board, a self-regulatory
body, whose job it is to apply age restrictions on videogames to censor harmful
content from the young and vulnerable. Games
such as this show how the spirit of age has changed, as consumers of modern
society have become desensitised to violent content, as the repeated viewings
of violent imagery has led to consumers accepting violence rather than
rejecting it. This therefore raises the question whether individuals of society
should be concerned with the effects that violent video games have on its
audiences.
With Web 2.0
Converging many of the media platforms, accessibility to violent media content
on the web has been made more easier than ever, ‘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’[11]
This suggesting that there
needs to be a regulatory body to censor the youth from exposure to violent
imagery as copycat behaviour may take place as it has been said that ‘Watching violent films and playing games like Grand
Theft Auto, Mortal
Kombat and Modern
Warfare makes youngsters more prone to violence’[12]. However it can be argued that regulation of sites such as these are
hard to put in place due to the globalisation of the World Wide Web.
Others argue that it is down to the parents to be the censor, to protect their kids
from viewing violent content as Gerbner's cultivation theory suggests that those who are exposed
to violence in the media are influenced to behave in a violent manner[13].
This may lead to the theory
of copycat behaviour where people who consume violent texts
may start to imitate the behaviour seen within violent video games
such as Grand Theft Auto and Call of Duty. Evidence of this would be the most recent incident being
the Connecticut school shooting where 27 people were killed. It was said
that the shooter ‘Adam Lanza spent hours playing violent video games such as
Call Of Duty in a windowless bunker’[14]
Not only does this show how the game may have influenced his behaviour in
the real world, but also shows how the media drew connections between the
shooting and the video game Call of Duty. This therefore reinforces the
issue/debate whether violent video games are corrupting its audiences, and
highlights how the media are turning violent video games into a moral panic.
Following the increase of violent content being
prevalent amongst most video games in today’s era, there have been a number of
concerning issues surrounding violent video games. ‘Neuroscientific
studies show reduced cognitive brain
functions in individuals exposed to violent media.’[15] This infers that
violent content can have a damaging effect on audiences as it reduces vital
mental processes such as decision making and problem solving. Similarly ‘Gentile & Anderson (2003)
state that playing video games may increase
aggressive behaviour because violent acts are continually
repeated throughout the video game[16]’
this again can be linked to the desensitisation and the copycat theory as
the repeated viewing of violence may influence audiences to mimic the actions
seen within games such as Call of Duty and Grand Theft Auto. This could perhaps
be present within this incident where the video game Grand Theft Auto was ’used as the rationale
behind the fatal shootings of three police officers at the hands of 18 year old
Devin Moore in June 2003’[17]. This conveys the influences that
violent video games such as Grand Theft Auto have on its audiences, as
individuals are no longer becoming consumers of media texts, but becoming
products of them instead. ‘One
boy followed the motto of “eat, sleep and play games” and had got kicked out of
higher education, which subsequently meant he was damaging his relationships
with his friends and family’[18]
This study illustrates how Baudrillard’s hyper-reality concept comes
in to play as ‘the time spent in our hyperreal states means we are ignoring
the loss of the ‘real’ and the world’s shift into simulation[19]
In contrast, the oppositional reading (Stuart Hall)
of violent videogames is that they may benefit some audiences as it ‘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’[20]. In this sense, violent videogames may offer a source of enlightenment
as they offer many therapeutic desires. Similarly violent videogames may
offer audiences, Katz and Blumler’s uses and gratifications such as escapism as
audiences are diverted away from any problems that they may have in the real
world. ‘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’[21]this infers how players
become immersed within the virtual world as
they become someone else rather than themselves, it can be argue that this can
be a positive outcome from violent video games as it’s ‘a way to explore their violent tendencies without
hurting anyone’[22].
This can be applied to Grand Theft Auto as ‘if they want to steal a car, they steal a car in
the game instead of in the real world’[23]
therefore can be argued that violent video games do carry some positives about
them as it offers audiences with uses and gratifications, and gives them a way
of exploring their violent nature without causing any harm in the real world.
Moral Panics about violent video games have been
present throughout the years concerning the excessive violence within video
games. It can be said that ‘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’[24] This shows how the media
use violent video games as an escape goat for the anti-social behaviour seen
within society, creating an amplification spiral, leading to an overall moral
panic over violent video games. This can be linked to Gerbners cultivation theory
as audiences who consume heavy amounts of TV will start to believe what the
media show them, leading to an eventual acceptance that violent video games are
corrupt. Some argue that violent video games needs to be censored in order to
protect the youth, according to new legislation which has be introduced the
government claim that ‘responsibility will be
transferred to the Video Standards Council (VSC), which will rate games
according to the Pan European Game Information system (PEGI)’ [25] This
shows how the government are taking action in the regulation and censorship of
video games as they have assigned the responsibility over to Video
Standards Council, 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'[26] This raises the
question that although the government have assigned responsibility of
regulation and censorship over to VSC, there's still nothing stopping younger
kids getting their hands on games which may display violent and x rated
content, thus posing a concern to society. An example as to where censorship
and regulation has taken place would be the incident of Anders
Behring Breivik, where he ‘claims
in his manifesto that he used this video game to perpetrate the 2011 Norway
attacks’[27] as
a result of this ‘Coop Norway, a chain of retail stores in Norway, removed
this video game from its shelves as a result of the Norway attacks’. [28] This
incident illustrates the modelling theory as violence from the virtual world
had been taken into the real world which lead to the deaths of many innocent
civilians, thus showing the impact violent video games can have on its
consumers.
Throughout violent video games,
there have been clear boundaries between genders; it can be argued that the
dominant sexes that play these types of video games are males as ‘males are
more attracted to violent imagery than females are’[29] this can be reasoned as most men are seen as having a dominant hegemonic
masculinity, and therefore play violent video games to uphold this. From a
feminist perspective, violent video games such as Grand Theft Auto oppress
women, as it can be argued that voyeurism is omnipresent within the game. An
example of this would be in the grand theft auto trailer as we see a girl cross
the road seductively, portraying women as sexual objects, as the character is
seen wearing hot pants and a low cut top, and also the camera angles shown
within the trailer reinforce this oppression as the angle shown shows a man acting
in a voyeuristic manner as the girl walks past. Another example of voyeurism
would be the prostitution seen within the game, ‘Such
actions were made possible by game, and arguably encouraged, since the player
received a health bonus by having sex’[30]
this
connoting how women are seen as sexual objects linking Laura Mulvey’s theory of
male gaze, as the game demeans women, portraying them as worthless.
To
conclude, it can be argued equally whether the boundaries of on screen violence
have been pushed, as some argue that the on screen violence provided to
audiences within video games produce a copycat behaviour where by audiences
imitate the behaviour seen, whereas others argue that it’s simply a medium
where users can explore their violence tendencies without harm in the real
world. With gaming institutions producing and distributing masses of violent
video games, it is becoming clear that this has evolved into a major concern,
as it may pose a threat to society as the more desensitised audiences become
with violent content the more they will think that violence is acceptable,
leading to an eventual moral panic. Conversely it can be believed that 'Video
game popularity and real world youth violence have been moving in opposite
directions'[31] as Henry Jenkins of Massachusetts Institute
of Technology noted that ‘players are able to leave the emotional effects of
the game behind when the game is over’[32]
thus providing evidence against the hypothesis that on-screen violence
causes individuals to behave in a violent manner whereby is seen as going against
societies norms and values.
Word count: 2295
[1] Congressional Record, V. 144, Pt.
10, June 25, 1998 to July 14, 1998 – by Congress published by
government printing office, Page 14995
[2] Violent video games make
teenagers more aggressive, study finds - Telegraph. (n.d.). Telegraph.co.uk
- Telegraph online, Daily Telegraph, Sunday Telegraph - Telegraph.
Retrieved January 10, 2013, from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/video-games/9593188/Violent-video-games-make-teenagers-more-aggressive-study-finds.html
[3]
Gunter, B. (1998). The effects of video games on children: the
myth unmasked.
Sheffield, England:
Sheffield Academic Press, Page 15
[4]
IBID, Page 95
[5] MediaEdu - Media Studies
Resources. (n.d.). MediaEdu - Media Studies Resources. Retrieved
January 10, 2013, from http://media.edusites.co.uk/article/understanding-video-games/
[6]
IBID
[7] GTA IV
Cultural Milestone MM25 Fans Sept 08. (n.d.). Scribd. Retrieved January 10, 2013, from http://www.scribd.com/doc/83377244/GTA-IV-Cultural-Milestone-MM25-Fans-Sept-08
[8]
IBID - MediaEdu - Media
Studies Resources. (n.d.). MediaEdu - Media Studies Resources.
Retrieved January 10, 2013, from http://media.edusites.co.uk/article/understanding-video-games
[9]
EFFECTS OF VIOLENT VIDEO GAMES ON AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR, AGGRESSIVE COGNITION,
AGGRESSIVE AFFECT, PHYSIOLOGICAL AROUSAL, AND PROSOCIAL BEHAVIOR: A
Meta-Analytic Review of the Scientific Literature By Craig A. Anderson and Brad
J. Bushman, from http://www.soc.iastate.edu/sapp/videogames1.pdf
[10] Mortal
Kombat (video game). (n.d.).GiantBomb.com ~ Video Game Reviews, News, Videos
& Forums - Giant Bomb. Retrieved January 31, 2013, from http://www.giantbomb.com/mortal-kombat/61-15743
[11] Government response to the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee
report on harmful content on the internet and in video games. (2008). London: TSO, Page 32
[12] Screen
violence 'desensitises teenage brains' - Telegraph. (n.d.). Telegraph.co.uk - Telegraph online, Daily
Telegraph, Sunday Telegraph – Telegraph from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/8059204/Screen-violence-desensitises-teenage-brains.html
[13]
MediaEdu - Media Studies Resources. (n.d.). MediaEdu - Media Studies Resources.
Retrieved January 10, 2013, from http://media.edusites.co.uk/article/understanding-regulation-and-censorship/
[14] Connecticut
school massacre: Adam Lanza 'spent hours playing Call Of Duty’ - Telegraph.
(n.d.). Telegraph.co.uk -
Telegraph online, Daily Telegraph, Sunday Telegraph - Telegraph. Retrieved
January 31, 2013, from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/9752141/Connecticut-school-massacre-Adam-Lanza-spent-hours-playing-Call-Of-Duty.html
[15]
Playing violent video games good or bad. (n.d.). Psychology today. Retrieved January
10, 2013, from www.psychologytoday.com/blog/moral-landscapes/201011/playing-violent-video-games-good-or-bad
[16]
Norcia, A. (n.d.). The
Impact of Video Games on Children. Doctors,
Patient Care, Health Education, Medical Research | PAMF. Retrieved
January 10, 2013, from http://www.pamf.org/preteen/parents/videogames.html
[17] Massey, R. (2009). The Link Between Video Games and Violence.
München: GRIN Verlag, Page 2
[18]
Gaming
addiction: myth, medical condition or moral panic? « Rebecca Craft's world….
(n.d.). Rebecca Craft's world…. Retrieved January 31, 2013, from http://rebeccacraft.wordpress.com/2010/12/06/gaming-addiction-myth-medical-condition-or-moral-panic/
[19] Call of Duty Gamer as Author MM33 Sept 10. (n.d.). Scribd.
Retrieved January 31, 2013, from http://www.scribd.com/doc/83377533/Call-of-Duty-Gamer-as-Author-MM33-Sept-10
[20] The Free Expression Policy Project. (n.d.). The Free Expression Policy Project.
Retrieved February 27, 2013, from http://www.fepproject.org/factsheets/mediaviolence.html
[21] Signorielli, N. (2005). Violence
in the media: a reference handbook. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO,
Page 36
[23] Diploma – the c-word: censoring the media?. (n.d.).www.englishandmedia.co.uk.
Retrieved January 31, 2013, www.englishandmedia.co.uk/mm/subscribers/downloads/archive_mm/_mmagpast/mm28_diploma_censor.html
[24]
The Positive and Negative Effects of Video Games.
(n.d.). Smart Kids Parenting | Raise
Smart Kid. Retrieved January 10, 2013, from http://www.raisesmartkid.com/3-to-6-years-old/4-articles/34-the-good-and-bad-effects-of-video-games
[25] (BBFC), t. B., & manufacturers, t. g.
(n.d.). New video games regulation a ‘smokescreen’ - University of Leeds. University of Leeds. Retrieved
January 10, 2013, from http://www.leeds.ac.uk/news/article/3273/new_video_games_regulation_a_smokescreen
[26]
IBID
[27]
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
2 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (n.d.). Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved January 10, 2013,
from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Call_of_Duty:_Modern_Warfare_2
[28]
IBID
[29] " Family and Relationships: Our Appetite for
Aggression." Vision-Insights
and New Horizons. A quarterly journal.. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Feb. 2013. http://www.vision.org/visionmedia/article.aspx?id=457
[30] Nielsen, S.,
Smith, J. H., & Tosca, S. P. (2008). Understanding video games: the essential introduction. New York:
Routledge, Page 136
[31] Kutner, L., & Olson, C. K. (2008). Grand theft childhood: the surprising truth
about violent video games and what parents can do. New York: Simon &
Schuster, page 8
[32] IBID - The Positive and
Negative Effects of Video Games. (n.d.). Smart
Kids Parenting | Raise Smart Kid. Retrieved January 10, 2013, from http://www.raisesmartkid.com/3-to-6-years-old/4-articles/34-the-good-and-bad-effects-of-video-games
