Thompson Vs. Jenkins On VG Violence 103
1up.com has a feature up including side-by-side interviews with Anti-Gaming Muckraker Jack Thompson and Prof. Henry Jenkins. The site manages to ask both proponents some tough questions, and they get some realistic answers in response. From the article's Jenkins interview: "Education is the key, not legislation. If you heavily regulate the industry it will narrow what games are in the market, and retailers will only carry content that is suitable for the youngest of players. Retailers won't carry a Mature-rated game if you move to an enforceable system. We saw this with the comic industry in the '50s. The other way to approach this problem is to put the burden on the consumer. We have to educate."
Oh Bullshit. (Score:3, Interesting)
In fact, it's a counterproductive sales tool because millions of kids want the Mature-rated games.
Why do kids want M rated games? I can think back to being a kid. "This game looks fun, I think I'll play this." First off, it wasn't specifically that the game was rated M that I wanted to play the game. However, I got told by my mom "No, you can't play that - it's for older kids." When you're not allowed to have something that you want, then you want it even more - that's how the human mind works, especially in children. I don't think he gets this.
Re:more crap from this guy's mouth (Score:5, Interesting)
But what the hell is mental molestation? I think this guy's just going for an emotional kick.
Also, I don't know if this guy's noticed, but the Communist party - which preaches about the violent overthrow of the US government - is protected under the first amendment. So videogames should be as well. But, just because the speech is free does not mean you have to listen. Parents can still stop their kids from playing these games if they're really that worried. By this guy's standards, I should be shooting my mouth off while killing my teachers with a glock. It's all BS.
Re:My experience... (Score:3, Interesting)
About the most violent thing I can think of that I played was Doom. Which is comically cartoony compared to stuff like Manhunt or the newer GTAs. Or hell, any modern FPS. Mortal Kombat is also NOTHING compared to what we have now. Go back and play it. Not only are the situations found within ridiculous, but the graphics are downright tame. I've seen better gore effects in foreign low-budget horror flicks(which I also watched growing up, and apart from a sick sense of humor, I'm pretty well-adjusted). There's also looney tunes. None of this is in the same league as some modern games!
We just didn't have the tech to produce violent situations with as much realism as we can now. We don't have as much now as we will next year, and we won't have as much then as we will 5-6 years from now. Now, does this matter? Maybe, maybe not. We know that exposure to violence during certain stages of development effects people(and even later in life, PTSD and the like). The extent to which simulated or indirectly viewed violence(IE: via the news) does is still up in the air(with current data pointing to it not being statistically significant[but hey, neither is 2nd hand smoke!]) because psych is such a voodoo art soft science(and the professor quoted here isn't a developmental psychologist). Now, as the line blurs between reality and gameplay due to improved physics, graphics, AI and a miscellany of immersion techniques, this could very well change. That's tangenital however.
Now, believe it or not, that was just a big tangent on the "I played violent games growing up and I'm FINE" argument I keep seeing. No you didn't, at least not compared to what's out right now.
Anyway, I certainly can't think of a valid argument AGAINST enforcing game ratings when it comes to sales to minors. So you can't buy an M rated game if you aren't 18 by law rather than by inconsistent policy. Oh no. You can't buy cigarettes or alcohol either(I mean, after all, shouldn't parents, you know PARENT? Keep their kids off smokes and booze! Why should Uncle Sam be involved?).
It shuts up the social conservatives, shifting the blame onto the parents who buy their kids these violent forms of media. The big demographic for these games is the 18-30yo set anyway, so any fears about retailers discontinuing stocking them is just downright paranoid. I mean, you can buy adult adult content at any DVD store. What makes you think Gamestop is going to stop carrying GTA? Because both they and the clerk will get fined if they sell to your underaged ass?
Correlation is not causation (Score:3, Interesting)
EGM: So, what's next on the agenda for you?
JT: [A lawsuit regarding] a multiple loss of life by a teenager who played Vice City.
This is a typical argument against games. Suppose it could be proved that the same teenager ate hamburgers. Are they going to sue McDonald's and Burger King?
There's no evidence, either experimental or logical, to imply that the violent game caused a violent behavior. The causation could well go in the other direction. Probably people who have a tendency to violent behavior for any reason prefer playing violent games.
There's a very different situation in the cigarette smoking relation to cancer that's often cited. Even before there was conclusive evidence that cigarette smoke causes cancer, there already existed a logical reason to believe the cause went from smoking to cancer. Smoking causes chemical alterations in the body, cancer is a result from chemical alterations in the body. It would be very unlikely that cancer in some way caused people to take up smoking.
To assume that playing violent games causes violent behavior, if based on correlation alone without further proof, is like assuming that beach towel sales in Argentina cause people in Norway to buy blankets. If you look at monthly sales figures you'll notice a strong correlation there.
Please! No more anecdotal evidence (Score:2, Interesting)
We understand that you don't have violent tendencies, and that you played Mortal Kombat when you were a teenager. That has NOTHING TO DO WITH THE ARGUMENT.
People generally agree that young children should not be exposed to violent media. The question that is being put to you is not, are video games making people kill, but rather, do we really want young children to be exposed to this violent media. Whether we feel it desensitizes youths, causes disturbed childred who have trouble distinguishing fantasy from reality to kill, or simply because we don't want our kids swearing, how will we keep material meant for adults in the hands of adults.
So answer the question at hand:
Will we use legislation, education, or some other method to make sure children are not exposed to video games which are inappropriate for them?
Re:My experience... (Score:2, Interesting)
This shows just how much our society salivates for violence. There are plenty of non-violent games out there, but it seems like all the popular games always involve blowing the crap out of your enemy. Look at the biggest selling games in the U.S. (GTA:san andreas, Halo2, Half-life 2, Doom 3). Nintendo is big on making games that involve very little violence. You would think people might welcome this, but instead, Nintendo is slammed as the "Kiddie game" company.
If there is a problem with video game violence, it's not the video games. It's much deeper than that. "Bowling for Columbine" comes to mind. The U.S. has lower gun ownership per capita then Canada. Yet U.S. gun crime rate is much higher. In the local news, it seems like 90% of the time is devoted to who got shot and where. American movies and TV shows seem to be filled with violence too. Why doesn't that guy go after the film industry too?
What should be done about this? I don't know. But looking at video games as the lone problem won't do a damned thing.
Re:My experience... (Score:3, Interesting)
BTW, what makes you say Tetris is a peaceful game? It's a control-freakitude game. A peaceful game would be one where you score more experience points by protecting the characters you see in the game than you do by killing them - that is, where you have a choice, and the nonviolent choice is preferred. Oh, and it has to be fun, too. Not impossible, by any means, but not something I see a lot of.