This week's Soapbox is a doozy. Adam recently saw the movie Kick-Ass, which is a pretty great flick if you haven't checked it out yet. He enjoyed it, but was surprised by the level of shock and awe it caused amongst many film critics. With that in mind, The Sess decided to return to a familiar subject in our industry; violence in video games. Take a trip back in time with Adam as he details the history of entertainment and how blood and gore has always been a part of our culture. At least when people want to be entertained.
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Crobuzon
I applaud you Mr. Sessler.
SlingerT8
A Game is only as violent as the player is.
ASS-ASS-IN
Violence in video games is good but not to a major exess
advent-seph@hotmail.com
It's quite true that violence has existed in human history since the dawn of man but I don't think that should be used as an excuse to allow brutal violence in mainstream media. Think about it, the humans that began the concept of Sex and Violence in popular media were at the point in history that most scholars refer t...o as the height of intellectual immaturity. We were a barbaric race in the beginning and it's our job in the modern era to enter a civilized age. It's hard but when is controlling our instincts ever easy? Violence should be considered just the same as any other non-acceptable norm of society.
Also I understand that video games that incorporate violence are considered acceptable by most gamers because it's a sense of escapism and i'm okay with it too. Hell, I didn't even rush through the No Russian mission in MW2. I just don't approve of violent games when I see people re-enacting those gaming moments in reality. Either the game is far too violent to the point some humans find it enjoyable enough to try experimenting it in reality or their parents didn't raise them right. What i'm trying to say is that violence is perfectly alright and makes sense as escapism but should not be overdone as that could lead to game violence leaking into reality.
advent-seph@hotmail.com
It's quite true that violence has existed in human history since the dawn of man but I don't think that should be used as an excuse to allow brutal violence in mainstream media. Think about it, the humans that began the concept of Sex and Violence in popular media were at the point in history that most scholars refer to as the height of intellectual immaturity. We were a barbaric race in the beginning and it's our job in the modern era to enter a civilized age. It's hard but when is controlling our instincts ever easy? Violence should be considered just the same as any other non-acceptable norm of society.
Also I understand that video games that incorporate violence are considered acceptable by most gamers because it's a sense of escapism and i'm okay with it too. Hell, I didn't even rush through the No Russian mission in MW2. I just don't approve of violent games when I see people re-enacting those gaming moments in reality. Either the game is far too violent to the point some humans find it enjoyable enough to try experimenting it in reality or their parents didn't raise them right. What i'm trying to say is that violence is perfectly alright and makes sense as escapism but should not be overdone as that could lead to game violence leaking into reality.
tybinn007
yea when i went to see watchmen there waz a crying baby great parents ha they cant get a babysitter for 1 night? i waz pissed!
Tsuiyo
Wow. I can't say anything. The Sess summed it all up. Couldn't have said it better myself.
slimmer
Great docu called "The War On Kids"
Darth Artanis
Adam, once again you have found away to say flawlessly what I believe ty.
gill066
Very good soapbox - fascinating stuff.
Also, don't listen to the haters out there - I like the shirt.
Dream~Machine
violence is for adaults and people that can take it... it's a mob mentality...if they want blood they get blood, it was useed in greece to keep people happy,then people got soft and stupid( no offence)and get mad when they willingly went to a violent movie with there kid and wonder why there's controversy
Dream~Machine
I think violence is a silly thing to touch on because, you could make a movie or a game that has violence in it and some people are just going to be up in arms about it, or other people are going to like it but those people have a mest up sence of humor. what I'm getting at is that people how are up in arms about violece need to realize that it's in the world and movies and games are not harmming anyone, and they need to look at violence in real life. I don't know if this makes sence, but anyway... i liek violence...pulp fiction...a clock work orange..ya..great movies
Vendetagainst
Good soapbox.
slayingsumfools
As some one over 30 I can remember the dust up over Mortal Kombat and it was going to have kids in the streets killing each other with highly implausible marshal-arts moves. Between violent video games and so called gangsta rap people were predicting the fall of society at the hands of violent media aimed a children. That was the 1990's when I was still in high school (damn I'm old) yet here we are in 2010 still a functioning society (minus the recession) and the questions are rising up again. There has s bee no effective study to makes a tangible link to violent media and children. I have nephews who grew up in South East Washington DC. They played violent video games, listened to violent rap lyrics and they live in one of the more dangerous parts of D.C. yet they both productive members of society. One's a college graduate and the other is a music producer and they both doing just fine. We have to examine each case individually and the things happening in our lives and not just rely on the mantras and battle cries that too often have become crutches and shields that keep us from looking in the mirror. As you said Adam some of the greatest works of Literature that we encourage teenagers to read are sprinkled and some cases packed with acts of violence that if kids were scrambling to the Library (harrumph) to read and obsess over we would be just as alarmed but ironically enough elated at the fact that they were reading books.
liason
The one thing that a person has to remember is that the "violence" in video games is not real. You are not really shooting a gun or blowing things up or stabbing anything on the screen. It's all digital pixalated imagery designed to look real. That's it. Just like Kick Ass the movie, it's all FANTASY! None of any of the content really exists anywhere but only in the creators mind fashioned through artistic means coupled with effects to entertain you. So therefore in reality there is no such thing as "video game violence" because what is being depicted does not exist! It's a phrase invented by conservatives going too far in seeking there own "soapbox" to get political attention. Video games no matter what it's content is just that: A GAME.
luketheflug
I think anyone interested in this debate also needs to see : http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/ eng/steven_pinker_on_the_myth_ of_violence.html
In this talk Pinker describes how violence has decreased overall. For instance entertainment of yore used to be the burning of cats and the torturing of prisoners. It doesn't mean that violence is always expectable, but we need to take a step back sometimes and think about the big picture.
Vander
Sess, Glad to see the ugly shirts are making a come back.
speedballfury
Thank you so much Adam! I truly feel that video games get the bad rap for violence when the movies have given us a history of violence. Hell even books go way beyond what our video games have ever brought us. Look at the Bible or Dracula. There is a constant supply of violence in every form of entertainment since the beginning of time. I truly feel as a gamer I play video games to get away from the violence we live in. When I have a bad day I come home and pop in my game of choice and truly can escape for a little while. I think a lot of people just don't understand that this a real escape for us. That's my 2 cents lol!!!
slimmer
Not to mention SPORTS ..yum .....dog fighting and caring guns shooting up steroids , riots , team gang fights . .... ha ha ha get me some underage ho's.
slimmer
Video game violence ? all I do is press buttons , not sure what everyone else is doing with their comps,consoles... etc ... Wanna talk REAL violence just look at the TV ... ours is fake.
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