‘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.
It has been said that '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 demonstrates 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.
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. It
can also be argued that since post 9/11, there has been an increase in violent
video games with games such as ‘Call of Duty’ portraying war on terror, and
depicting conflict between rival countries, thus showing how video games have
transformed from the 1990’s to the present day. 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[11]
moral panic can be applied to ‘Mortal
Kombat’ as it received widespread complaints of gore and violence, which
resulted in the forming of the US Entertainment Software Rating Board, a self-regulatory
body, whose job it is to apply age restrictions on video games deemed to
contain violent content in order to protect 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’[12].
This suggests 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’[13]. 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 George Gerbner's[14] cultivation theory ‘suggests that those who are
exposed to violence in the media are influenced to behave in a violent manner[15].
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’[16],
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.’[17]. This implies 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’[18].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’[19]. 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’[20]. This study
illustrates how Baudrillard’s[21]
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[22].
In
contrast, the oppositional reading of violent video games is that they may
benefit audiences by providing several
of Abraham Maslows[23] hierarchy of needs 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’[24]. In this sense, violent videogames may offer a
source of enlightenment as they offer many therapeutic desires.
Similarly violent video games
may offer audiences, Blumler and Katz’s[25]
uses and gratifications theory as violent video games provide escapism for
audiences as they are diverted away from any problems that they may have in the
real world. Furthermore ‘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’[26]. This
illustrates how players become immersed within the virtual world as they become someone else rather
than themselves. It can be argued that this can be seen as a positive outcome
from violent video games as it’s ‘a way to explore their violent tendencies
without hurting anyone’[27].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’[28],
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’[29].
This shows how the media use violent video games as a scapegoat 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 George Gerbner’s[30]
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 need to be
censored in order to protect the youth. According to new legislation which has
been 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)’.[31] Although
this may seem good news to some, critic Nick Robinson argues 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'[32]. This raises the question
that although the government have assigned responsibility of regulation
and censorship over to VSC, there's still
nothing stopping underage audiences 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,’[33]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’[34]. 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. However blaming video
games is all too easy as we do not know what kind of condition this man was in,
he may have been mentally unstable. This may be the case for many other
incidents, where the media have connected murders with video games purely because
they hold more news values, as Galtung and Ruge[35] would argue that the
unexpectedness of the event is what makes the story more news worthy.
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’[36]. 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’[37].
This connotes how women are seen as sexual
objects linking Laura Mulvey’s[38]
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 is 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'[39] 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,’[40]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. In one’s view video games can be seen as being used
as a scapegoat by the media, purely because they look for news values, which in
this case the unexpectedness of a video game being the instigator of a murder
allows the media to create this moral panic which is reflected in society as
audience cultivate this perception that video games are harmful, when in fact
they have been amplified by the media.
Word count: 1901
[1]Congressional Record, V. 144, Pt. 10, June 25, 1998 to July 14,
1998 – 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, from
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/video-games/9593188/Violent-video-games-make-teenagers-more-aggressive-study-finds.html
[4] ibid, Page 95
[5]MediaEdu - Media Studies Resources.(n.d.). MediaEdu - Media Studies Resources, from http://media.edusites.co.uk/article/understanding-video-games/
[6]ibid
[7]GTA IV Cultural Milestone MM25 Fans Sept 08. (n.d.). Scribd, 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, 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, from http://www.giantbomb.com/mortal-kombat/61-15743
[11]Osgerby, B.
(2004) page 77
[12]Government response to the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee
report on harmful content on the internet and in video games. (2008), Page 32
[13]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
[14] Harris, R. J. (1999) page 29
[15]MediaEdu - Media Studies Resources.(n.d.).MediaEdu - Media Studies Resources, from
http://media.edusites.co.uk/article/understanding-regulation-and-censorship/
[16] Connecticut school
massacre: Adam Lanza 'spent hours playing Call Of Duty’ - Telegraph. (n.d.). Telegraph.co.uk
- Telegraph online, Daily Telegraph, Sunday Telegraph - Telegraph. From http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/9752141/Connecticut-school-massacre-Adam-Lanza-spent-hours-playing-Call-Of-Duty.html
[17]Playing violent video games good or bad.(n.d.).Psychology today. From www.psychologytoday.com/blog/moral-landscapes/201011/playing-violent-video-games-good-or-bad
[18]Norcia, A. (n.d.). The Impact of Video Games on Children.Doctors, Patient Care, Health Education,
Medical Research | PAMF, from
http://www.pamf.org/preteen/parents/videogames.html
[19]Massey, R. (2009) , Page 2
[20]Gaming
addiction: myth, medical condition or moral panic? « Rebecca Craft's world….
(n.d.). Rebecca Craft's world…., from http://rebeccacraft.wordpress.com/2010/12/06/gaming-addiction-myth-medical-condition-or-moral-panic/
[21] Taylor, V.
E., & Winquist, C. E. (2002) Page 183
[22] Call of Duty Gamer as
Author MM33 Sept 10. (n.d.). Scribd, from http://www.scribd.com/doc/83377533/Call-of-Duty-Gamer-as-Author-MM33-Sept-10
[23] Zastrow, C., & Ashman, K. K. (1990) Page 448
[24]The Free Expression Policy Project.(n.d.). The
Free Expression Policy Project, from http://www.fepproject.org/factsheets/mediaviolence.html
[25] Gorton, K.
(2009), Page 17
[26]Signorielli, N. (2005), Page 36
[27] Is Media Violence a Problem? Essays and Articles at eNotes.(n.d.). Study
Guides, Lesson Plans, Homework Help, Answers& More - eNotes.com. From
http://www.enotes.com/media-violence-problem-article%20Is%20Media%20Violence%20a%
[28]Diploma – the
c-word: censoring the media?.(n.d.).www.englishandmedia.co.uk.
From www.englishandmedia.co.uk/mm/subscribers/downloads/archive_mm/_mmagpast/mm28_diploma_censor.html
[29]The Positive and Negative Effects of Video Games.(n.d.).Smart Kids Parenting | Raise Smart Kid,
from http://www.raisesmartkid.com/3-to-6-years-old/4-articles/34-the-good-and-bad-effects-of-video-games
[30] ibid page 29
[31](BBFC), t. B., & manufacturers, t. g.
(n.d.).New video games regulation a ‘smokescreen’ - University of Leeds. University of Leeds., from http://www.leeds.ac.uk/news/article/3273/new_video_games_regulation_a_smokescreen
[32]ibid
[33]Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
2 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (n.d.).Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. , from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Call_of_Duty:_Modern_Warfare_2
[34]Ibid
[35]
Jorgensen, K., & Hanitzsch, T. (2009).Page
164
[36]“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
[37]Nielsen, S., Smith, J. H.,
& Tosca, S. P. (2008), Page 136
[38] Carilli, T., & Campbell, J. (2005) Page 6
[39]Kutner, L., & Olson, C.
K. (2008). Page 8
[40]ibid - The Positive and Negative
Effects of Video Games.(n.d.).Smart
Kids Parenting | Raise Smart Kid., from
http://www.raisesmartkid.com/3-to-6-years-old/4-articles/34-the-good-and-bad-effects-of-video-games
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