Violence, politics, and parenting.
Jan 05 '01
Nobody can deny that there's been a sharp increase in the amounts of graphic violence you can see in video game today. And not just in video games, but in all forms of media.
Now some people might lay claim to the fact that violence has -always- existed in our media's history. Now that's absolutely true. What -is- different are the standards that define acceptable graphic content. When the movie 'Robocop' was originally finished, it was given an 'X' rating by the FCC, not for nudity or sexual content, but for graphic violence. It was edited, and later given an 'R' rating. Chances are, if the movie in it's original format were released today, it wouldn't have as much trouble squeezing into an 'R' rating.
Thus, we see how standards have changed.
The ends does not always certify the means, however.
Take for example the tragic tale of Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold. Two names that will forever live in infamy as two somewhat ordinary high school geeks in the sense that they were picked on a lot by their peers, and had poor self esteem.
Not so ordinary in the sense that they killed several of their fellow students and teachers in the shooting at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado. When it was made known that the children had regularly played the game "DOOM" (By iD Software), politicians leapt all over the opportunity to talk about the so-called 'evils' of video games in order to promote their own names in the concerned community. The whole scene was vaguely reminiscent of the Senate controversey over the game 'Mortal Kombat' (by Midway) and it's sequels in the early 90s.
Senator Joseph Lieberman, candidate for the vice presidency of the 2000 elections, was one of the key figures who spearheaded all of the debates and talks. He thinks that playing 'DOOM' will make you a killer. On the other hand, he took a "pro" stance on partial-birth abortions during his campaign.
In short--he agrees that killing 3rd trimester babies is acceptable, but playing Mortal Kombat is not. Riiiight. Who's the bigger monster now?
As we can see from Mr. Lieberman's example, it isn't the video games or the media that sways our influences. It may desensitize us to it, but it does not change what really matters, our own beliefs. Harris and Klebold didn't kill their classmates because DOOM inspired them to do it--they did it because they were two seriously disturbed children who wanted 'revenge' against everything.
Now on the flip-side, our beliefs are in part shaped by the things that help us develop -as we are growing up-. Young adults, by and large, will have enough common sense in their head to separate fantasy from reality, but that all depends on how much common sense they learned while growing up. And as such, it seems perfectly reasonable to protect the youngsters from the graphic violence--the senseless killing, and so forth, doesn't it?
Good luck. Graphic violence is everywhere today. If you won't let a child play violent video games, the only thing he or she needs to do is read the newspaper. Or watch the evening news.
Personally, I think the best thing a parent could do is not try to -hide- all the graphic violence, because it would be an exercise in futility. The best a parent could do is attempt to do it, but also not be afraid to sit with your child and teach him about fantasy and reality for yourself. A child cannot be 'parented' by proxy. They need an adult to connect with directly.
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ashleyfox
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Location: Northern UT
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