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Hey DD. I'm writing a communications paper for a university course and i'm looking for instances in the media where video games are blamed for violence. You know the kind i'm talking about, "Call of Duty made me do this....", "Grand Theft Auto blamed for that..."
I've gotten quite a bit of research done already I just thought i'd see if DD had any examples that stick out in their minds that I might be able to use and may have overlooked.
The official proposal for the paper is: This research paper will examine the effects of sensationalism, traditionally known as yellow journalism, in print media regarding the accusations linking video game violence and real world violence.
I don't want to start a heated debate about whether or not gaming actually encourages or produces violent people, we'll save that for another time. I'm only looking for some good examples you may have run across in the past. Thanks DD!
Look at the Columbine shooting (1999 school massacre) there were tons media reports that stated that violent video games (Doom) and Marilyn Manson's music for being some way responsible for influencing the shooters Micheal Moore even touched on this subject in his doc Bowling for Columbine. Actually look at all the school shootings and you will probably find something blaming violence in the media as an influence for these shootings .
When the first Mass Effect game came out Fox News went on a rant about the sex scene and how it will some how make boys think of girls as nothing more than objects for their amusement you can find it on you tube it is really far fetched. I know lately some games have received some flack that contain homosexual content from extreme right wingers that say will encourage homosexual behavior in teens
There have been some reports that have tried to link sexual assault to how women are portrayed in the media such as games and television especially in the Adult Entertainment Industry
I don't have specifics but when I was in school several of my courses touched on this subject matter.
When the first Mass Effect game came out Fox News went on a rant about the sex scene and how it will some how make boys think of girls as nothing more than objects for their amusement you can find it on you tube it is really far fetched.
That and the 'expert' stating such 'facts' was found to not only have never seen the sex scene but to be backing her claims with sources that had nothing to do with violence or video games.
The claims that such and such in media will definitely lead to X are as dubious as they come but that one was especially egregious.
There are so many factors out there that it is difficult to come to the conclusion that video games spark violence.
I'd place bullying, poor/lack of parenting, constant barrage of depressing media, poverty, etc before video games.
Then there are the "classic" books we make the kids read in school:
- lord of the flies = children turning into animals and killing each other
- brave new world = have an orgy on your break, who needs water cooler discussion
- 1984 = fear, torture, war
I read all those at or before the age of 17.... I'm sure some kids interpret those books the wrong way - just saying.
Thanks for the academic sources Alfndrate! All the feedback is appreciated everybody. I don't want anybody going out of their way to do research on the topic, I'm not trying to outsource my paper here at all lol. Just looking for some good examples of video games being blamed for real world violence in the media. Don't do any research on my behalf! I was just curious if anybody out there knew of any good examples off the tops of their collective melons! Thanks again DD!
Oh if you want a Canadian example look at the college shooting that took place in Montreal a few years back. They might of mentioned media influence but they were more concerned that he was a licensed firearms owner and all weapons he used were obtained legally.
There is quite a lot about that in the TV Tropes MurderSimulators article. Plenty of URLs may be gone but there is A LOT of things to find there.
Be sure to check "analysis" at the top.
Good things are good,.. so it's good
Keep our city clean.
Report your death to the Department of Expiration
People that say certain games inspire them to take up (positive) careers.
Spec Ops: The Line, as mentioned in the TVTropes article, is probably a very good thing to discuss / study. I find the concept of the way the game uses this really quite fascinating.
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. Didn't want anybody doing my work for me. Thanks again bud.
