Notes and Quotes
Anderson, C. A., Gentile, D. A., & Buckley, K. E.
(2007). Violent video game effects on children and adolescents: theory,
research, and public policy. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
'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 quote could be related to the way the governments lacks censorship of video games as the quote refers to them distributing games without knowing who they are going too, Related to the issue of censorship and regulation of video games-> ‘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
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.
'Video game popularity and real world
youth violence have been moving in opposite directions' Page 8 This quote could be used as a counter argument against the issue that video games are becoming a moral panic -> Stanley Cohen
Massey, R. (2009). The Link Between Video Games and
Violence. München: GRIN Verlag.
'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’ page 2 This quote shows how video game violence has been taken into reality -> This could be linked to Baudrillards theory of hyper-reality as its an example of how gamer's get stuck into the world of simulation
Gunter, B. (1998). The effects of video games on
children: the myth unmasked.
Sheffield, England: Sheffield Academic Press.
'Video games provide extremely powerful
symbols that can be used to mold a youth subculture' page 95
‘Video games were accused of glorifying violence and encouraging anti-social
behaviour’ page 15
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Paradise, A. (2007). Trait aggression and style of
video game play the effects of violent video game play on aggressive thoughts.
Amherst, Massachusetts: ProQuest, 2007.
'Players of this infamous action game
series take on the role of a criminal who can roam around the city
freely, carrying out bank robberies, assassinations and other crimes'
page 9 This is a form of escapism as audiences get the control the player as mentioned in the quote, also links to diversion as audiences are so engrossed in the game they start to forget about any problems they may have in the real world
Dill, K. E. (2009). How fantasy becomes reality:
seeing through media influence. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
‘The blurring of the boundary between text and audience is a
characteristic of all videogames. The audience becomes an active participant in
the text itself’ Again linked to Blumler & Katz’s uses and gratifications theory
Congressional Record, V.
144, Pt. 10, June 25, 1998 to July 14, 1998 – by Congress published by government
printing office
‘Glorifying
violence in popular entertainment, whether it be music or movies or video
games, is dangerous, because a society that glorifies violence will grow more
violent’ page 14599 -> can be linked to Stanley Cohen ->
Moral panics as the more society glorifies violence the more accepted it may become. Also linked to the hypodermic needle theory - popular entertainment feeding/injecting consumers with ideologies which glorify violence, shifting the views of society to make violence more accepted
Government response to the Culture, Media and Sport
Select Committee report on harmful content on the internet and in video games. (2008). London: TSO.
‘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’ page
32 ->
Web 2.0 -> UGC, posting violent content from video games
such as call of duty and grand theft auto -> Not censored , so anyone can
watch -> linked to issues and debates of censorship and regulation. Also an example of globalisation -> all over the internet 'youtube'
Nielsen, S., Smith, J. H., & Tosca, S. P. (2008). Understanding
video games: the essential introduction. New York: Routledge.
‘Grand theft auto vice city became infamous for
a game mechanic allowing the player to have sex with prostitutes. Afterwards
the player could assault the prostitute and steal her money’ page 136-137 -> This quote can be linked to Feminism -> Laura Mulvey - the male gaze - seeing women from the pov of men (sexual objects) -> patriarchy -> men are more powerful then women -> raises the issue and debate of sexism
‘Such actions were made possible by game, and arguably
encouraged, since the player received a health bonus by having sex’ page
136-137 -> Linked to the idea that players are
rewarded for their violent actions - again linked to feminism -> women are oppressed, and also linked to the quote that video games glorify this type of behaviour
Signorielli, N. (2005). Violence in the media: a
reference handbook. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO.
‘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’ page 36 -> again linked to katz and blumlers uses and
gratifications – escapism and diversion
Adams, A. A., & McCrindle, R. J. (2008). Pandora's
box: social and professional issues of the information age. Chichester,
England: John Wiley & Sons.
‘The goal of GTA is to become a wealthy and
respected criminal, through involvement in profitable criminal activitys’ page
79
The effect of
globalisation on the media – Globalisation has allowed games such as Grand theft auto and
Call of duty to spread worldwide, the way that video games have become prevalent
across the world -> through online gaming where players can connect to each
other from opposite sides of the world.
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 behavior -> Stuart halls preferred and oppositional readings, preferred-> video games used an an escape goat as to why young people become violent.
The effect of video game violence in kids is worsened by the
games’ interactive nature. In many games, kids are rewarded for being
more violent -> scientific study (Anderson & Bushman, 2001)
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.
Moving
Image - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVjUr2zXtb4
– Video Game Violence – Interesting Facts and Data -> Behavioural
scripts -> Most popular games are the one that reward you for doing violence
against others
Institutions
- > Infinity ward, Activision -> Call of
Duty, Rockstar games -> Grand Theft Auto
Theorists
Gaming and Postmodernism ->
Baudrillard’s concept of hyperrealism - The
time spent in our hyperreal states means we are ignoring the loss of the ‘real’
and the world’s shift into simulation
.
Blumler & Katz’s uses and gratifications
theory- offers escapism for audiences, transporting them to a different
emotional place and diverting them from problems within their life.
Stanley Cohen - Moral Panics – Are violent video
games becoming a concern, will this lead to a moral panic?
Web 2.0 – Posting user generated content of their killings
on social platforms such as youtube which have been done through the games such
as call of duty and grand theft auto.
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
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
The Call of Duty franchise has sold over 100 million
copies, with Modern warfare 2 selling over 14 Million which brought the company almost £665m in revenue.
The Call of Duty franchise has been about for
6 years, the first game within the sequence was realised on November 7,
2006,
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 - again linked to moral panics -> the way the chain retail Coop Norway reacted by taking down the game from their shelves (Censorship) also another form of Baudrillards concept of hyper-reality
The videogame industry has thus gone
from its birth as a ‘cottage industry’ (where lone programmers worked away on a
game largely by themselves) to mirror the organisational structures and working
practices of other large media institutions -> shows how the gaming industry is taking over and 'mirroring the structures of other large media institutions'
The Holy Grail for TV executives is
producing and/or broadcasting ‘must-see’ TV which produces ‘watercooler
moments’ the following day – where people talk about what they saw in last
night’s episode of Prison Break or Lost, for example. GTA IV has achieved a
similar status, and within 24 hours of its release established itself with the
status of a ‘must-play’ game. -> Linked to globalisation
‘The availability of video games has led to an epidemic of
youth violence’ -> Linked to
‘ In some games, players are rewarded through verbal praise’
-> Seen
within the game Call Of Duty as when you kill someone you are often praised
verbally or through on screen text.
‘Teenagers who play violent video games over a number of
years become more aggressive towards other people as a result, a new study has
found’
‘Video
games are perhaps the most significant source of entertainment for young
children that were first introduced in the year 1970’
‘It is
believed that excessive video game playing may reduce a child’s empathy or
his/hers willingness and desire to help others’
‘Video games can be
addictive because they give immediate rewards for learning’
‘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’
‘Gentile & Anderson
(2003) state that playing video games may increase aggressive behaviour because violent acts are continually
repeated throughout
the video game’
‘Watching violent films and playing games like Grand Theft Auto, Mortal Kombat and Modern Warfare makes youngsters more prone to violence’
‘In the Grand Theft Auto series, players become characters who win points
for carjacking, killing prostitutes and running over pedestrians’ -> Hypodermic theory: the idea that audiences consume media passively, and are ‘injected’ with information or ideas -> Grand theft auto -> negative ideologies presented would be the way in which dangerous actions are rewarded -> such as getting money for killing people, participating in illegal activities, etc
Source - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/8059204/Screen-violence-desensitises-teenage-brains.html
New Research
'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'
'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 '
'The audience for videogames has been stereotypically represented as solitary players, usually male, usually in their teens and probably suffering from increased aggression'
'Today with the rise in popularity of online gaming and networked play the idea of the solitary gamer seems more the exception than the norm'
Source - http://media.edusites.co.uk/article/understanding-video-games/
Regulation and Censorship - 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 quote 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 -> Critic of the legislation -> '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'. -> also raises the question that although the government have given responsibility of regulation and censorship to VSC, there's still nothing stopping younger kids getting there hands on games which may display violent and x rated content
Source - http://www.leeds.ac.uk/news/article/3273/new_video_games_regulation_a_smokescreen Article published on the 30th of July 2012
'Some parents might not be aware of the risks of buying "18-plus" games for children' -> this can be used as an counter argument as the quote suggest that its the lack of knowledge from parents as they don't know the risks of 18 + games therefore shifting the blame from the government and regulation to parenting and censorship (protection)
British censors have banned a violent video game from the UK for the first time in a decade.
Source - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/leicestershire/6767623.stm
"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"
Source - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/9752141/Connecticut-school-massacre-Adam-Lanza-spent-hours-playing-Call-Of-Duty.html
