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ENGL 135 - Advanced Composition SPRB06 - Sec S
Professor Quick
Final Draft
Video Ga=
me
Violence
Violence is everywhere. We see it on televisio= n, we hear it on the radio, and we see it in our streets. Many people blame the v= ideo game industry for creating games with violent material. These people would have video game comp= anies punished for what they created. Th= is is illogical; one does not blame the gun manufacturer for the death of a loved one, one blames the person who pulled the trigger. It is also illogical to blame the video= game industry for some act of violence carried out by someone who played a game = they created. The outcry against video = game violence is misplaced, and is one that deserves a closer examination.
When someo= ne mentions how terrible video game violence is, it always disturbs me. These statements usually go somewhere a= long the lines of “They should ban that game and not sell it anymore.” “It’s so violent, what is the point of that?” When I had this conversation with my mother and father, their argume= nts were something similar to that. I certainly in no way condone what people have done, but to blame only the vi= deo games they played casts a dubious light on all the other games that are out there, as well as those who play these games. Video games bear the blame in at least three major instances of viol= ent behavior. Devin Moore killed three officers after his arrest on unrelated charges. Demarcus Ralls is one of a six-member gang called the “Nut Cases” th= at went around robbing and murdering people over a period of six weeks. Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold killed 12 students and 1 teacher at their High School in Columbine. These are three sales out of tens of millions. One cannot logically say that such an astronomically small figure= is the primary cause of young people’s aggressive actions. Were it not for high profile lawsuits a= nd the media frenzy which always swarms around any sort of bad news, these instanc= es would be viewed for what they are; unrelated acts of aggression that have v= ery little or nothing to do with a video game.
Jack Thomp=
son is
an attorney who has been a long time antagonist against the violence in vid=
eo
games. He had this to say on the subject of Devin Moore and Grand Theft
Auto: “He bought it as a minor. He
played it hundreds of hours, which is primarily a cop-killing game. It's our
theory, which we think we can prove to a jury in
The United=
States
government takes special interest in crime and has a persistent database of
crime showing statistical figures that are actually at their lowest ever as=
of
2004. The trend began in 1994, rig=
ht
near the time that the video game craze was beginning to grow at an exponen=
tial
rate. As of 2004, violent crimes were at the lowest level ever recorded.
The violen=
ce in
video games is part of the product, what people do with the product is not =
the
designers concern. There are sever=
al
ways to keep video game violence away from young, impressionable minds. The Entertainment Software Rating Board
(ESRB) is one, parental guidance is another and retailer responsibility is a
third. Video game publishers volun=
tarily
submit their products to the ESRB; they are in no way required to do so.
Video game=
s are
not the only factor that causes problems with young people; it is a number =
of
factors, of which exposure to video game violence is only one small part. Video games are just the easy target ri=
ght
now, the same as Rock and Roll music was back in the 1950’s. “… in the 1950=
’s,
rock and roll was linked to youth violence in the same way. The hedonistic,
tribal rhythms were going to turn I feel that the current rally against v=
ideo
games will eventually reach that same point. In each of the major court cas=
es
where video games are given responsibility for the crimes committed, there =
are
factors people have chosen to ignore. In
the case of Demarcus Ralls, the Political Gateway brings this to light: “Af=
ter
being captured by police, members of the purported gang told detectives that
they whiled away time doing drugs and playing "Grand Theft Auto III,&q=
uot;
a video game in which the main character commits street crimes”. (Hoffman)<=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> These individuals were living in an
impoverished neighborhood, and ran together as a street gang. This is already a problem, let alone ad=
ding
drugs into the formula. The gang a=
nd the
drugs were more likely to be the causes of their violence rather then the v=
ideo
game they admitted to “making more real” by bringing the violence into the =
real
world. In the case of Devin Moore
mentioned earlier, he played the game for hundreds of hours, day and
night. This is not a healthy situa=
tion. Devin obsessed on the game he played and
tried to use it as a defense for his actions, at the same time Jack Thompson
and others tried to blame it for his actions.
Suddenly Devin is no longer the criminal in the case; it’s the video
game’s fault. An inanimate object =
cannot
be blamed for three murders. In the
Columbine massacre committed by Dylan and Eric, they were neglected by their
peers at school and ostracized for being different, spurring them to violen=
ce
after years of social injustice by their classmates. They were not part of =
the
“in” crowd. Doom did not plan out =
and
critically analyze the assault, nor did it create the pipe bombs or supply =
them
with weapons. Dylan and Eric did all of that.
In all of these tragic situations, the video games alone cannot be
blamed for what happened. The blame
belongs to those who committed the crimes.
To try and ban a game because of its content is an easy way out. I believe the problems with violence go
deeper than that.
Exposure to
virtual violence desensitizes people to the real world consequences of those
actions. This has been scientifica=
lly
proven. The studies primarily focu=
sed on
children and teenagers, however, who react differently then an adult. Pam Willenz of the American Psychologic=
al Association
states, “One study reveals that young men who are habitually aggressive may=
be
especially vulnerable to the aggression-enhancing effects of repeated expos=
ure
to violent games," said psychologists Craig A. Anderson, Ph.D.,”
(Willenz). What this means is that=
those
who are already predisposed to violence have a greater chance to become vio=
lent
when exposed to the virtual equivalent.
Peer pressure, disruptive home lives, broken families, street gangs,
drugs, neglect and socio-economic status are all examples of things that can
make a child predisposed to violence.
This is the point at which parental responsibility should come into
play. There is a rating system in =
place
to keep the most violent games out of these easily influenced children’s ha=
nds. Some games are inappropriate for childr=
en to
play, and they will have adverse effects on young, developing minds. The American Psychological Association =
has
shown that the violent behaviors mentioned above are credited to multiple
factors, and not just video games. I
strongly disagree that video games should get all the scrutiny. People tried to blame the video game Do=
om
when the Columbine shootings occurred; ignoring the total isolation these t=
wo
boys were going through. I can rel=
ate to
this social stigma, as I was never part of the popular crowd either and had=
on
occasion tiptoed into the darker side of human nature in my imagination. I feel that
negligent parents and retailers are due more of the blame then the game
designers. Parents play a huge par=
t in
the prevention of tragedy. There h=
as to
be an authority and leadership in one’s family.
This doesn’t mean cruel iron-fisted dictatorship, but leading by
example, encouragement and support. A
parent who is actively involved in their child’s life will have better odds=
of
steering a child away from situations they should not yet be exposed to. Banning vi=
deo
games that contain violence will not stop these cumulative factors from
joining. The problem has several s=
ide
roads to take into consideration. =
All
parents have a responsibility to keep their children grounded in reality to
keep the lines between the real and unreal from blurring. They are also responsible for knowing w=
hat
their children are doing with their spare time, either under their own roof=
or
at someone else’s home. Retail sto=
res
have a responsibility to require positive ID to purchase games not intended=
for
certain audiences. You cannot simp=
ly
drop all the blame at game industry’s feet and say, “It’s your fault for ma=
king
this product”. If there is no
intervention in the amount of exposure someone has to violent content, of
course they will be pushed more towards violent behavior because that’s all
they have been taught. I think par=
ents
play a key role in this situation. Be
involved with your child and what they spend their time in doing. Certainly, you cannot forever isolate y=
our
child from everything, but you can have enough of an effect as to keep them=
on
the right path until they reach an age that they understand the true moral
implications of their actions, be those actions positive or negative. If Devin Moore’s parents had been more
involved in his life and aware of what he was doing, perhaps those three
officers would not have died. Works Cited OFF Bradley, Ed. "CBS News | Can A Video Game Lea=
d To
Murder? | March 8, 2005 10:25:30." Can A Video Game Lead To Murder?”. =
06
Mar 2005. CBS News. 18 May 2006
<http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/03/04/60minutes/main678261.shtml>=
;. ON Ferris, Duke. "The Truth About Violent Youth a=
nd
Video Games." The Truth About Violent Youth and Video Games. 19 OCT 20=
05.
Game Revolution. 14 May 2006
<http://www.gamerevolution.com/oldsite/articles/violence/violence.htm>=
;. OFF <http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/glance/viort.htm><=
/p>
OFF <http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/glance/offage.htm>=
ON Hoffman, Bob. "'Grand Theft Auto' video-game k=
iller
gets life in prison." 'Grand Theft Auto' video-game killer gets life in
prison. 18 Apr 2006. Political Gateway. 18 May 2006
<http://www.politicalgateway.com/news/read/8165>. OFF Willenz, Pam. "Violent Video Games Can Increa=
se
Aggression." APA press releases. 23 Apr 2000. American Psychological
Association. 18 May 2006 <http://www.apa.org/releases/videogames.html>=
;. ON "Entertainment Software Rating Board."
Entertainment Software Rating Board - FAQ. 2006. Entertainment Software Rat=
ing
Board. 30 May 2006 <http://www.esrb.org/ratings/faq.jsp#4>. ON "Jack Thompson (attorney)." Wikipedia. 20=
06.
Wikipedia. 30 May 2006
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Thompson_%28attorney%29#Video_games_a=
nd_juveniles>. ON Simpson, Kevin. "A parent's guide to video and
computer games ." 19 Mar 2006. ParentCenter. 14 Jun 2006
<http://parentcenter.babycenter.com/refcap/bigkid/ggames/66800.html#2>=
;. OFF Mike, R. Telephone interview. 21 June 2006. (R) OFF Matt, R.
Telephone interview. 21 June
2006. (R)
= =