Violent Video Games Society’s New Scapegoat Essays

Do modern video games contribute to the increasing level of violence that we see around us? Can we really attribute the shootings and bombings we see on the news to the increased violence and realism of video games? Every day, people are exposed to violence through the TV shows and movies they watch, the video games they play, and national media networks who bombard us with graphic information portraying violent and hard-hitting global events. To top it all off, the media frequently loves to make outrageous claims that video games either â€Å"inspired† or â€Å"trained† the culprits of many of these violent acts. In the article â€Å"Are Violent Video Games Harmful?,† Guy Porter and Vladan Starcevic claim that â€Å"while playing video games outwardly†¦show more content†¦When it comes to murder, it seems even more doubtful that video games could actually be a noteworthy cause of concern. In many murder cases, the victims knew the killer, and the murder was a product of some action or event related to the relationship between them. I must concede that to an unstable mind, a video game could easily present the false image that killing is okay. That said, it is difficult to portray video games as anything more than a catalyst which brought out a person’s more deeply-rooted problems. In their article, Porter and Starcevic note that â€Å"some investigators have theorized that ‘interactive’ media violence in video games may exert a greater effect on an individual than ‘passive’ media violence (such as TV and film)† (3). Even if the video games can be named responsible for pushing someone over the edge to kill, other forms of violent media should be held equally responsible for portraying the same false image of killing. It’s not as if a video game can train a person to use a gun or perform hand-to-hand combat; even if such a game existed, it would likely be shot down by publish ers before ever being released for fear of the negative attention it would draw. Having noted that video games can have a poor effect on an unstable mind, another issue to consider is the effect of violent games on theShow MoreRelatedEssay about Video Games and Violence: Cause, or Scapegoat?1116 Words   |  5 Pagesout about video games is bad. A student tried to kill his fellow classmates, and he was an avid Call of Duty player. A study has been released that proves that playing video games will turn you into a criminal. The many benefits of games and gaming, such as their possible applications to education and their ability to tell more complex stories than other forms of media, are almost universally ignored. I know better, though. Between the lifetime I’ve spent playing and loving video games, and the articlesRead MoreThe Media is not to Blame for the Violence in Society Essay698 Words   |  3 PagesPeople are quick to blame violence in our society on television, mov ies or video games because they are simple believable targets. We have to look beyond this disinformation and attack the real causes for the violence in our society. Violence in television programs, movies, or video games will not make a person kill someone else. People watch violent images all the time, and only a very small percent of them actually commit violent crimes. Research on the subject does not necessarily support the argumentRead MoreGame over: the Effects of Violent Video Games on Children Essay1416 Words   |  6 PagesGame Over: The effects of Violent Video Games on Children Seven hours. 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Game makers have ratings on the games to warn players (or parents buying the game) whatRead MoreMisconceptions of Media Violence Essay1201 Words   |  5 PagesAdvertising a product such as a George Forman grill is one thing... I myself have fallen for countless ads and sales pitches, but to use the media as a scapegoat for drug addiction, rape, and even murder is unfair and quite ridiculous. One might be influenced to buy a cologne, or a grill, but to be influenced to kill someone because of a violent show or song is non-sense. Violence is in our genealogy right along with our other primitive instincts we are now trying overcome with our logicRead MoreVideo Games: A Contemporary Scapegoat2374 Words   |  10 Pagesthe, most popular fighting game franchises ever created. At its conception in 1992, it was hit with a hard wall of controversy for its heavy use of gore and the general fear it would influence children to reenact these so-called â€Å"fatalities† in real life. Ever since the 1970s, man was finally able to interact with the screen, creating a universe written in ones and zeros. However, does the screen speak back to us, and cause effects outside of the console? Though video games have widely been blamed byRead MoreCensorship of Music: Limiting One’s Rights Essay1072 Words   |  5 Pagesbecause people are able to effortlessly find an unrestricted version of a song. With the New Age of media there is the availability of the internet and websites like iTunes; it’s simple for people to discover uncensored songs with no dilemma. So what’s the point of editing songs that people, especially minors, are going to eventually find the original song anyhow? According to journalist and musician of New York, Steven Wishnia, in times of sensitivity (post 9/11), songs were banned from theRead MoreThe Effects of Violence in Media on Society Today Essay2286 Words   |  10 PagesStringer is pointing to a different scapegoat for societys violence. I come from a country Â… that puts a lot of American movies on and has more graphic violence within its live drama on the BBC than anywhere else, and there is a lot less violence in the United Kingdom than there is here. There are 200 million guns in America, and that has a lot to do with violence. He feels it has to do with gun control, which others have suggested. But there are so many violent acts, that one cant focus on theRead More The Effects Of Violence In Media On Society Today Essay2224 Words   |  9 PagesStringer is pointing to a different scapegoat for society’s violence. â€Å"I come from a country †¦ that puts a lot of American movies on and has more graphic violence within it’s live drama on the BBC than anywhere else, and t here is a lot less violence in the United Kingdom than there is here. There are 200 million guns in America, and that has a lot to do with violence.† He feels it has to do with gun control, which others have suggested. But there are so many violent acts, that one can’t focus on theRead MoreBowling for Columbine2360 Words   |  10 Pagesethical questions raised. Moore travels across America and Canada to get a broad pool of opinion and not only takes the trip to find a reason for the gun violence in the first place, but he takes the long road by not blaming the usual suspects (video games, angry music, and a bloody history as a nation) and investigating other investigations. Moore reveals disturbing and frightening truths about the US’s gun possession statistics and gun related death figures. Moore shows his skill as a filmmaker