Why videogames and not movies?

[Birrii]

Hi!

Here's a question that I would like to hear your opinion about:

 

Why does everyone think that violence mostly comes from videogames? Why do all people blame videogames? How about movies? Isn't it the same thing?

You'll often hear this in these situations:

 

Child: Dad! May I play a computergame?

Dad: No, computergames are bad for you!

 

-----------Another situation--------------------

 

Child: Dad! May I watch a movie?

 

(The father knows about the movie, it's an action movie)

Dad: Yes you may!

 

----------------------------------------------------

 

Why does everyone think that supernatural powers in a videogame will affect the person? Why not an action movie or a superman-comic?

There are CG-rendered action movies aswell, so won't a movie have the same effect as a game?

[AncientSpaceAeon]

$ Reason 1 : In video games, we do all the stuff, like killing, murder, stealing. And our parents can watch us most of the time. Most videogames are made for adults.

 

$ Reason 2 : Video games are expensive, movies not.

 

$ Reason 3 : I doubt every house had more than one console (not including a pc), if the kid plays too much, when the adults will play ? (or waiting the X360 repaired because the kid plays too much)

 

$ Reason 4 : Video games are addictive, and can be played everyday. While new movies don't appear at the theater everyday.

 

$ Reason 5 : Something influenced your parents.

 

$ Reason 6 : Video games can hurt your mental.

[Balagor]

Good thread.

I agree that if ever games have a violent inflouence on fragile minds,

we must face the same issue with DVD-movies and films as well.

 

Why i think there maybe is a slight difference, making games more inflouent,

is the fact that in the games you control the acts and the moves by your self.

 

Having both the visiual aspect and a motoric aspect to make a psycological input,

makes the experience even more powerfull.

 

But also violent films can creat violence, i think, especially the ones with gangs and

street fighting. My opinion is that many young boys find it "cool" to run around

with a baseball bat, and even identify themselves into the gang/street life.

[Vagrant0]

$ Reason 1 : In video games, we do all the stuff, like killing, murder, stealing. And our parents can watch us most of the time. Most videogames are made for adults.

While some of this is true, interestingly enough, in the days before videogames, when researchers were trying to relate violent activity with media, they used violent television. As times change, so does the reasoning behind it. If children see something, they will try to imitate it simply because this is one of the first ways they obtain new knowledge. Participating in a fictional violent act is no more harming than watching violent acts. Adults play these games too, if they were really a proven hazard, they would be completely banned, much like some more graphic depictions of sex and violence in movies are banned.

 

$ Reason 2 : Video games are expensive, movies not.

On the contrary. Your average videogame costs $60, and usually has about 18-20 hours of play, or a cost ratio of $3.50 per hour. Your average movie ticket costs $14, and runs 2 hours, or $7 per hour of entertainment. Your average new DVD sale costs $35, still runs the same 2 hours, but can be seen 3-4 times before it gets extremely boring, so has a ratio of about $4 per hour. Given that a movie usually can't be watched in repeated succession, the value is also much lower.

 

$ Reason 3 : I doubt every house had more than one console (not including a pc), if the kid plays too much, when the adults will play ? (or waiting the X360 repaired because the kid plays too much)

Adults play when the kids are in school or are sleeping. More over, if the adults are gamers, they might be more willing to let their child get a violent game simply because they were wanting to play it themselves.

 

$ Reason 4 : Video games are addictive, and can be played everyday. While new movies don't appear at the theater everyday.

Addictive only because they have as much content as they do. Movies can be addictive as well, or were you living in a cave when Titanic, Starwars Ep1, Harry Potter, Twillight, ect were at their peak. There were people who did nothing but watch back to back to back screenings. Then there's 24... A series that almost screams "marathon". It's not videogames which are addictive, it's the fact that movies and TV shows eventually end, forcing you to go and find something else after 30/60/90/120 minutes. If the game finished an episode after 30 minutes of playing, and required the player to wait a few days before being able to play the next, no amount of content in that game would make it addicting simply because it is being moderated.

 

$ Reason 5 : Something influenced your parents.

It was the 70's, everyone was doing it.

 

$ Reason 6 : Video games can hurt your mental.

No more so than anything else people are exposed to for any length of time. Videogames are essentially just the whipping boy of the time. Before that it was music, comics, television, and communism. Before that, nobody really seemed to care, delinquents were violent, and would eventually be drafted for a war, beaten, or killed. Western and European society is far less violent now than they were before even the 1950s. The only thing which has changed is that people started reporting it more. In the age of 24/7 news, where every channel is fighting for ratings, the more horrible the act, the better, and they will do everything they can to provide coverage.

 

My opinion is that many young boys find it "cool" to run around

with a baseball bat, and even identify themselves into the gang/street life.

It was cool to do long before videogames were invented.

Edited December 27, 2009 by Vagrant0

[jaosals42]

Movies were out before video games were. They probably (don't take my word for it) received their share of blame in the time long before video games. Eventually, people needed something to blame problems on and had movies. Well, when video games came out, there was something new that many people didn't know much about yet and redirected their blame on the video games and now what we mostly hear is the video games bringing the bad. The violence idea started long before however, with the introduction of movies, and then was passed on to video games. Whatever may be next is bound to receive the most blame then.

 

Though I personally hear movies still getting their share of the rant.

[Illiad86]

Kudos to you Vagrant, you stripped the words out of my mouth.

 

People will blame anything on what causes violence. Beavis and Butthead started a whole craze with the "fire! fire!" incident. To be honest, I don't blame games or movies for creating violence, I blame parents for not teaching their children that this is a movie and this is a video game and you don't do this in real life. Parents these days are using the TV and the video games as babysitters and teachers.

[Herculine]

Each of us has heard this all before...

 

"Listening to Ozzy Osbourne makes kids suicidal."

 

-or-

 

"Playing Doom makes kids go to their school and shoot other kids and then themselves."

 

-or-

 

"Playing D&D is worshiping Satan."

 

-or-

 

"Listening to Led Zeppelin makes kids do drugs."

 

You get the idea...

 

In my opinion, and speaking from my own personal experiences, people who carry out such behaviors generally had plenty of other deeply-rooted psychological triggers set in place before they ever encountered any such media. It's just far easier for a parent to blame a video game than for them to admit that they may have made some mistakes in raising their children.

[antonkr]

I myself am 12. I have been playing video games since I was 5 and my parents wouldn't care about the game being violent as long as there is no nude stuff in it. I was lucky because my dad was a gamer. It is okay for me to play Fallout 3 with some blood and gore mods attached to it. I know that it would be pretty dump idea to hijack a car and drive it around crazy. I think EVERY kid knows what is appropriate what is not but it mostly depends on parents.

[AncientSpaceAeon]

Okay, this maybe get off-topic. But how many active members here that's below 14 ?

 

- Ancient Aeon

- rbrophy2

- Nadin

- antonkr

 

On topic : Maybe not movies, but how about television ?

[evilneko]

my parents wouldn't care about the game being violent as long as there is no nude stuff in it.

 

Here's some irony for ya: Show all the blood and gore ya want, but if little Johnny sees a nipple, all hell will be raised!

 

And then, a bit later: Oh noes! Someone was murdered! It must have been the violent video game(s) the murderer was playing! Nevermind that the kid was already troubled, had abusive parents, was bullied in school, was drinking at an early age, and that it was the victim who played the violent game* anyway.

 

*- There was this case, for one, where the media blamed Manhunt. Later, it was found that the murderer did not own the game at all. The victim did. There are other examples too. The media just rushes to pin the blame on whatever the scapegoat of the week is.