Unit 6 assignment 3 - Critical Approaches to Media Products

FEEDBACK FORM - https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BzjVcOxZw3pIdjNQeXpMbWVlT00/edit


 

Gratuitous: The violence is for entertainment purposes.

Informative: The violence is there to teach us something , we need to see the violence to learn from it.

Desensitisation: You see something that much you just don't care about it anymore, violence doesn't shock you. 


In this assignment I am going to be writing about the effects that video games have on people and whether or not they change our behaviour into violence. Firstly I am going to give examples of a range of video games which have been linked to negative behaviour and what complaints these games have received. Also some quotes and opinions from people to show their oppositional reading of these video games so we can tell that this audience is in complete disagreement with this product. 

Grand Theft Auto 
GTA is the most commonly known video game that is linked to violence. This is because when a person plays this game they are then able to use weapons, steel cars and shoot guns and have a behaviour which is unacceptable in reality. They also are able to complete missions, some of the missions  involve the player finding a character in the game and killing them for money, plus there is also a graphic scene where the player is asked to torture a victim. The game is targeted to an audience of 18 and above which means that this age range would already know the difference between right and wrong and how this type of violence can effect people. But if a younger child played on this game because they haven't experienced the real world they would believe that what they're watching or playing on is reality and that's how your really meant to treat people and thats how you should behave. For example while a child is growing up and they're surrounded by unloving parents their brain will develop differently to a child who has loving caring parents, they'll see their parents act towards them in a more aggressive and uncaring way, which would lead them to believe that's how they should act towards everyone else in their life. I believe thats the same as a child playing on a violent video game because that would be all that they knew at a tender age. It may also lead to them copying parts of the game, plus this game shows women as weaker humans compared to the male species as there is a lot of prostitution and nudity.

There has been numerous complaints regarding GTA 5 and violence and inappropriate behaviour surrounding the game. Because Grand Theft Auto 5 is a new game there isn't a lot to research about this game, but Grand Theft Auto 4 has a lot of complaints and it's basically the same game but the newer version has better graphics. 

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Controversies_surrounding_Grand_Theft_Auto_IV) 

Mothers Against Drunk Driving - the company slated the game for its option to able to drive drunk whilst playing the game, they said - "Drunk driving is not a game and it is not a joke" and also "Drunk driving is a choice, a violent crime, and it is also 100 percent preventable." and are trying to get the game up to a higher rating for AO - Adults Only, this means that the game would then be banned in the United States. Their compliant is that they want the game makers to take into consideration real life people who have been hurt/killed or effected by drink driving and to be able to show some respect to those people. 

New Hyde Park Crime Spree - In 2008 six teenagers got arrested for going on a crime spree in New York. The group of teenagers mugged a man, knocked his teeth out and also attempted to car-jack a woman driving a BMW and smashed a passing van with a bat. These crimes according to the teens said that they were inspired by Niko Bellic a violent character who committed crimes in Grand Theft Auto 4.  Obviously these crimes published in the media with the fact that police officers quoted the teens to have said that they "Were inspired by Niko Bellics violent crimes" which made the general public view the game as showing very explicit violence enough to inspire young minds. 

The list of complaints and oppositional readings people have on this game goes on and on, a lot of people are disgusted at what this game can make people participate in just by playing this game due to the content. 

Mortal Kombat 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mortal_Kombat_controversies

In this game the main aim is to destroy the character who is your enemy, which includes being able to dismember your component and there is a lot of graphic and bloody violence used in this game.  Mortal Kombat was actually the first game to receive a mature rating. The creator of the game Ed Boon reacted to the criticism that the game was receiving and sympathised by saying "I wouldn't want my ten year old kid playing a game like that" and in 2011 this game was ranked as the second biggest video game related controversy. "The gore also helped it to become one of the most popular video games of all time" 

There was also a court case opened because of Mortal Kombat. A 13 year old named Noah Wilson was killed when one of his friends stabbed him in the chest with a kitchen knife, he severed his aorta which led Noah to die an after one hour of huge blood loss. Noah's mother said that her son was killed due to his friend strong obsession with Mortal Kombat, stating that he actually thought he was the character Cyrax who stars in the game. Cyrax uses a fatality in which he grabs the opponent in a headlock and stabs his opponent in the chest. The court case said that the character doesn't perform such a move at all and said that "the complaint fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted." 

Quotes and opinions from people showing their oppositional readings of these videos games

-GTA

"To me, everything about this scene just seems deeply inappropriate as an interactive piece of gameplay. As soon as I'd saved Mr K from the IIA offices I wanted to let the poor man go, but the game had other ideas. The small cutscene of him being bundled into the back of an FIB van bothered me a little bit, but it was still far less bothersome than many of the other acts of violence that the game had already prompted me to commit." 

"Witnessing a man beg for his life passively in a film like Reservoir Dogs as he has his ear forcibly removed and gets doused in gasoline is disturbing enough. But having to slowly and deliberately select which weapons to use before entering the button prompts to rip a man's teeth out, break his kneecaps or almost drown him to death as he screams and begs for mercy is something else entirely. The guise that this is all a video game and the connotations that this invites disturbs me more than anything else." 

These quotes are telling us that the person who wrote this blog post has an oppositional reading, they disagree with the game because it made them feel uncomfortable and it disturbed them. It was a fun feeling they got from playing the game, although they tried to like and enjoy it and have a negotiated reading towards the game the disturbing graphics put them off the game completely, he felt guilty for committing these crimes as if they were real. This shows how graphic and gripping playing this game can be for some people and how it can easily effect peoples minds if they aren't all that together in the first place, I personally think something like this could trigger someone into turning into a horrific murderer. 

Although other people disagree...

Can you get the vibes of 'Kitekirax' anger just by reading this comment on a blogpost? Why would anyone get some angry about someone's opinion of a violent game to call them a "faggot bitch" that should go back to "sucking your man's dick" obviously this game makes people violent, the majority of people that play this game go crazy if someone slates the game. 

- Mortal Kombat

This child wrote an oppositional reading on a blog post on how scary they found playing this game, the graphics of the blood just by playing it for 10 seconds put the 9 year old child completely off the game. The opinions from such small child on this game really makes your mind put into perceptive on how scary and graphic this game can be and how it can provoke a mentally ill child into doing something like killing someone like the court case which was opened due to this game. 

This blogpost reveals that a MK fan who has been playing this game for quite a while and that they are disturbed by this game and the blood and detail of the inside of the body parts, they even make him feel like he wants to puke. 

Is a game like this acceptable to be released and played by young children? Theses are the reasons that GTA and MK don't get positive reviews from people because they don't give the player a good feeling at times, sometimes they're just over the top and maybe doing this to gain more attention/get more publicity so that the game is more known around the world which would make people want to play it to see if they're actually as bad as people say. In my opinion I find it quite strange that some children would get pleasure from killing characters in games, I wouldn't let my child play on any of these games and would choose another type of game for them to play on. 

For example here is a list of video games which have received a positive response from people and have impacted an audience in a good way so they're rewarded with a good reputation.  

Wii fit 

In my opinion I think that Wii Fit has had a huge positive impact on people around the world. People are now able to get a full body effective workout which impacts their health from the comfort of their home, also it's a fun way to exercise. It's not just designed for adults, children can easily respond to this game in a positive way and gain something from playing on this game. If you are overweight it tells you and gives you a plan and routine and date and time to achieve your goal of loosing weight and becoming more healthy overall. 

This is a review from a customer of the game who wrote a review stating that old and young people can play on this game and it reaches to a large audience, unlike GTA and MK who reach out to a young male audience. Also this game has a purpose it is created to help you loose weight, improve skills, strengthen your weakness, serious workouts, active games and you can do these activities with your family and friends! This is a positive review and I think it reflects on what type of games have oppositional readings. 

Doctor Kawashima's Brain Training 

I think this game is a excellent game which has positive responses from audiences. The reason this game is so good is because it challenges your brain and gives your mind an effective workout. It's aimed for both genders and all ages, it's a game that helps children out who are studying and gives them an extra confidence boost in subjects that they aren't very confident in. They can practise as much as they want to and specialise in certain areas like maths, english and science. 

This review shows that a lot of people can enjoy this game and have fun playing it whilst learning, the game can be addictive which is a good thing because it's only making audiences more clever and you can play with a family whilst learning, which parents would find amazing to participate with their children playing a game like this which challenges the brain.  

Explain if you have a preferred or oppositional reading to video games (remember you can have a preferred reading of some games but have an oppositional reading to others)

I have a preferred reading towards all games, but I just think certain people should be limited with playing such graphic violent games and should spread their time out between different kind of games, especially ones that will benefit their health, brain etc. I don't have an oppositional reading towards games like GTA even though i'm a girl and I understand why people get angry over this. But in my opinion I think people should stop taking everything too heart and so seriously all the time. At the end of the day these games are made to entertain people, they're just made as artwork really. And I don't choose to discriminate against gore horror films because they've used blood, I just find them entertaining, people like to be scared and excited and I think that's what these violent video games are trying to provoke. Also I think that the way that women are portrayed in the GTA games are slightly humorous because it's like cartoon graphics and isn't actually shown as real life women. In my opinion I don't think the creators of this game really think that low of women I think it just fits into the game and the violence of it, that these men have no respect for women. I think it shows how sad these characters lifestyles are that they have to kill people for money etc. And personally I think that anyone who takes this game seriously, seriously enough to carry out acts of violence themselves have a terribly sad life. I think that people shouldn't take everything they play and see so seriously. But I do have a more preferred reading towards games that help people in anyway and that they should be all played in moderation. 


Effects model - Does this have any relevance to video games? I am going to discuss if I believe that audiences can be passive and have a see it/do it mentality. 

In my opinion I think people who play on violent video games can have a see it/do it mentality. If a person that is easily provoked by things that they see on video games which they have a passive opinion on can have a see it/do it mentality towards violence they see onscreen. I think that these people must have a sheltered life and these are the people who go onto being violent and committing crimes. The reason that this is my opinion is because there has actually been reports of people who get inspired by Grand Theft Auto and suddenly start shooting people and stealing cars. These people probably haven't had a very good education or family life and something is going on in there lives and they use playing video games as a escape root and get so inspired by these characters and the story of the game. And because of there bad real life they wish the excitement that is in the games was their real lives so they act it out in reality. These people are obviously very mentally disturbed and this isn't the case for everyone, I don't believe that everyone who plays Grand Theft Auto has a see it/do it mentality some people just play it for entertainment purposes and don't take the game very seriously. Just because they pressed a button on a games console controller and shot a cartoon character in a television screen doesn't mean they will go out and purchase an expensive gun and start shooting real life people with actual lives, families and friends for no reason at all. It's kind of like a fantasy world like World of War Craft you are killing monsters and not human characters, but because they don't exist in real life it isn't looked at as violent as something like Mortal Kombat. I think the thought of death scares people and the thought that you can easily kill someone in a video game is disturbing, which I agree it is and some of the graphics are slightly over the top. But then again if you play different types of video games in moderation you will not develop a see it/do it mentality. 


 Gratifications Model

I agree with the gratification model aswell as the effects model, because I believe that people have their own mind and choose what they do and what they don't do. Whats right and what is wrong, but like I have perviously discussed in my effects model is that some people who are mentally disturbed can be easily inspired into doing things like killing people due to seeing such things in video games. But on the other hand, I think that is a small sum of people and the majority relate to the gratifications model and can think for themselves and have their heads screwed on. Whatever they see on television or video games or what is sung in song lyrics, they don't copy what the artist is saying and become a psycho and they can realise that these things are just made for entertainment and are the creators artwork. 

Effects model is more than a theory, might actually be a fact? 

The articles I have read about the video games linked to violence defiantly tells us that the effects model is a fact rather than a theory. Because otherwise how could all these violent attacks appear in the media? 

 Of course the media could just be putting these games into the headlines to gain attention about these murders and put the games into a bad light and to get younger audiences to stop playing these games because in their own personal opinion they find them disgusting and want children to stop playing violent games. But I think that people actually can be obsessed with these games enough to commit crimes, it's not hard to believe, but maybe that's why the media choose to aim the children's messed up heads by blaming the video games.  But in my personal opinion I do agree that the effects model is a fact and not just a theory, but thats only for a small sum of people and not everyone who plays violent video games. 

For the violent games you have picked, why do you think these people have responded in a violent way and do you blame the game or something else?

The games that I have choose are GTA - "In February 2003, 16-year-old American Dustin Lynch was charged with aggravated murder and made an insanity defence that he was "obsessed" with Grand Theft Auto III."
In this case I think that instead of going to prison Dustin lied that he was obsessed with GTA and appear mentally ill, to be able to get out of going to prison and being treated as badly, instead he would of received treatment in a mental hospital. When people are in that situation they will do anything to get out of it. I think this person responded in a violent way because he was insane but it doesn't appear to me that it was because he was insane, because of the defence he made in court. 

"In June 2008, four teens allegedly obsessed with Grand Theft Auto IV went on a crime spree. They first robbed a man, knocking his teeth out and then they stopped a woman driving a black BMW and stole her car and her cigarettes"

But in this case I actually think the person was inspired by GTA because it sounds like something similar that you would do in the game, people can just want the excitement in their real lives that they get from playing the game. You'll never know the truth of these crimes, but in my personal opinion I believe it differs on person to person. And in this case it seems to me that they have been inspired by the game and they responded in a violent way to bring excitement to their lives, because maybe they are poor and don't see the point in following the laws because they aren't getting anywhere with their own lives. 

and Mortal Kombat - "On November 22, 1997, thirteen-year-old Noah Wilson died when his friend  stabbed him in the chest with a kitchen knife. The mother of Noah,  alleged that her son was stabbed to death because of an obsession with the  game Mortal Kombat."

In this case I think the friend of Noah could have been obsessed with the game Mortal Kombat and wanted to play the game in real life and stab his friend in the back, this boy could have had a number of problems in his life and playing this game inspired him more and more. I think this game is extremely graphic and at such a young age this can really effect your brain development, but the mother of Noah noted in this case that he was obsessed with a character who didn't perform a move like the one the boy committed so the court failed to act against the game, so I think this mother just wanted comfort on why her child was killed by his friend. But then again I think the game wouldn't of helped this child's mental issues and would have inspired him. 


How do you think audiences respond to the games you listed as being positive?

I think lots of audiences loved those games when they first came out, I remember when Wii Fit came out and I was really excited about it and everyone was buying it because it was brand new. And I loved playing it for weeks and weeks but then you begin to loose interest, because something new comes out, but I think that it is like that with every new game that comes out, if there was an updated version of these games they would be more popular today. But I think that families and children would react great to the positive games that I have posted, because they are friendly, fun and help people in different ways. I think it's fine if you spread out the different types of games you play. 

Do they use them for information,entertainment or education? 

The positive games that I have listed are used for education and entertainment, they are helping people's knowledge expand in ways that Grand Theft Auto can't. Doctor Kawashima's Brain Training is very educational and helps children and adults train their brains by asking them maths, science and english questions. This came help children who struggle with a certain subject to help them revise they can play on this game, which makes it a more fun and easily way for a child to revise. No child wants to sit down with a pen and paper and write sums out and correct them, they are used to using technology so this game would really help them to understand and connect with the subject. Also Wii Fit is entertainment and education, its teaching you how to stay fit and what the correct body weight for yourself is, also they have fun colourful games that won't bore you like the gym might do for some people. Grand Theft Auto and Mortal Kombat are purely made for entertainment purposes and don't educate us on crimes and murder. 

Do you think there is a chance that violent video games make people violent?

In my opinion I think it depends on the certain person, I don't think video games can make everyone violent. But if they've already had problems in their life and video games are a way to escape it and suddenly this rush of excitement comes into their lives, I think that they may take this into reality. Obviously people who are mentally ill or someone who hasn't had an education and thinks that the characters in the video games are good role models, because when a childs brain is developing they don't really understand the difference between right and wrong. The only way they develop is by listening and copying what is around them and if they are constantly playing on violent video games I think it doesn't help the theory of video games can turn people violent. 


Is it that simple? 

It isn't that simple to say that video games make people violent. In a lot of cases I think that this is used to get out of trouble, saying that your mentally ill and a video game inspired you is an easy way out. Only naive individuals would be inspired by watching what happens in video games and copied it in real life. It's defiantly not that simple to say that this is what happens, we release a video game, people play it and then people end up getting killed. That would be ridiculous because kids play with toy guns and pretend to shoot each other for entertainment, but the majority don't end up shooting people when they're older in the street because it was a game they played when they we're young. But in my opinion I think it does has it exceptions of inspiring criminals and psychos.


What do you think should be done to protect people from violent video games?

In my opinion I think that people should stick to the rules of the age on the front of the video game, children need to develop before they can have the majority levels to understand what is happening in these games to find them entertaining. Obviously older people 18+ are free to do whatever they choose to do, it's up to them, they have their own minds and aren't developing as people, they have been taught what's right and what isn't. Just make sure that this type of game isn't the only thing they're doing with their time and maybe play on some different games to spread it out. 
 Should we ban them all? 


I don't think we should ban all violent video games, I have played on them myself and I think holding a gun and killing zombies in a video game is really fun and entertaining, it grasps you into the missions and makes you want to complete the game and become the hero. It makes you feel a sense of victory when you win one of these games. And I don't think they should be banned, maybe a little more tame without all the sexism and blood and gore. But defiantly not banned, they are a great source of entertainment and without these games, I don't think technology would be advanced as it is today. And people should be mature enough to know that you shouldn't let young children play on these types of video games.