Dru Seneviratne
Of course Grand Theft Auto is going to start some chins wagging; it takes the spotlight as ‘the’ worst game series because of its violent content, however millions of people around the world will be queuing up to buy it.
Photo by Fiona Beals
Things have come a long way since the Atari 2600 and games like Space Invaders. Nowadays, that 2D moving image with a background track of polyphonic music has evolved into a high definition, seamlessly animated, clear and crisp sound, gaming experience; and the video game industry has become a multi-billion dollar business.
While the industry grows so does the debate about the effects of playing video games. While some studies have shown it can have positive benefits, others show it can also lead to feelings of isolation, health issues and aggressive behavior. One study, Fair Play? Violence, gender and race in video games, produced by Children Now, looked at the top ten selling games in the US and highlighted the potential dangers of the use of ethnic stereotypes.
Putting people into boxes
Fair play found when we look at the portrayal of particular ethnicities in video games, some patterns emerge. More than half of all characters are white. Whites and Asians are over- represented, whereas everyone else is under-represented. Effectively, all the other ethnicities are shoved into the corner.
Photo by Fiona Beals
When they are not being marginalized, African American and Latino characters were usually seen as criminals or lowly citizens who cause trouble. Pacific Islanders also fall into the same category, as cheap, under handed thugs, while Asians are likely to be wrestlers or fighters and Italians part of organised crime.
The game world vs the real world
With the heavy stereotyping in games, there is a danger that we presume what we see on the screen is real. If we see a black man shooting a white man or an immigrant ripping off someone off, again and again, there is a chance we’ll believe that it happens in real life. A lot of traditional media use stereotypes, but this isn’t just a static picture in a newspaper; if you see something on a screen, talking, moving, acting like a real person, and you are interacting with it, then it’s likely that you’ll remember it.
Most of us want to see ourselves represented on the screen, being successful, happy and doing general all round ‘good things’, but the reality is, if you aren’t white or Asian, it’s likely that the you’ll see yourself as a victim, dying first and in loud, explosive ways. Better yet, you could be the antagonist, who is seemingly genetically programmed to murder, deal and rape. Image how it feels seeing someone who looks like you, getting their head blown off by a rocket launcher, because they robbed a bank? When, in the game, their character has been designed as a bank robber.
We are affected by these images and portrayals, like it or not, and it affects the way we think, and the way we see other people. It may not be such a hugely obvious issue, but especially for younger gamers it can affect the way they start to see the whole wide world.
Just a game?
To put it simply, video games are a medium of entertainment, but the way we depict each other in that medium has an impact on the way we, the players, perceive each other. Gamers used to be stereotyped as guys living in their family basement with pocket protectors. Today video games are being played by more and more, and younger and younger, people. Game developers have a responsibility to start reflecting a more truthful reality, because there are no extra lives in the real world.
Case Study: Grand Theft Auto IV
Grand Theft Auto is one of the most controversial games ever released and also one of the most profitable. GTA IV follows Niko Bellic, an Eastern European war veteran who arrives in the US in search of the American Dream. He quickly becomes entangled in a seedy underworld of gangs, crime, and corruption. Niko is Caucasian, 30 years old and a hot headed gangster. He has a thick accent and is very handy with a rifle. His CV boasts murder, grand theft auto, kidnapping, assault, smuggling and prostitution. The other minor characters offer a variety of racial stereotypes, from the African American gangster to the Latino drug dealer. Not to be left out, the women are all over-sexualised, violent and generally depicted as idiots, while the immigrants (Russian, Italian and Irish) are painted as money hungry, heartless criminals.
Photo by Fiona Beals
As a player you aren’t just passively watching, but actually interacting with this underworld, carrying out various crimes and missions. There is a danger that people start to believe some of what they see, as if GTA reflects the real world. This is not helped by the ever more realistic graphics and the fact that the game is based upon the real life New York City. The worst part is when these issues are raised game developers and some gamers usually denounce the complainers as overly sensitive; a common response to critics is that these are ‘only games’.
Mean World Syndrome
‘Mean world syndrome’ explains how the media can make the world seem a darker and crueler place than it actually is. The term was coined in the late 60s by George Gerbner, who was one of the first people to research the effects of television on society. He found that people who watched lots of television tended to think of the world as a scary and unforgiving place, and felt they needed more protection than is actually necessary.
Today ‘mean world syndrome’ relates to all media, which covers television, movies and video games. Especially video games! A number of games are set in dark, inhospitable places, for example, the Fallout series of games. They are set after a nuclear fallout, and thus, the world itself is mostly rubble, and is overrun by the savage remnants of the humanity. Then there is Grand Theft Auto, most likely one of the most controversial games to be ever released, GTA creates a world were the only way which you can survive is through murdering and stealing. You play these games too long and you start worrying about what could be hiding around every corner.
TAKE ACTION!
- The first thing you can do is be aware of the issues and talk to your mates!
- When you are next playing a video game, stop and think for a minute. What does this game tell you about the world? Do you believe it?
LEARN MORE
Check out these other articles…
http://tinyurl.com/videogamesandrace
http://tinyurl.com/videogamesnowin
http://tinyurl.com/videogamesarticle
While I sit at a desk and swivel on an office chair, a little known phenomena has begun on the other side of the world where night is falling and children should be getting ready for bed. Instead, tens of thousands of Ugandan children begin what has now become termed as a “night commute”. Every night, children who live in dangerous rural areas where a militant rebel group have stronghold, walk up to 20km just to be able to sleep in the safety of the city. Fear of being abducted by rebels in their sleep, and being kept as soldiers or sex slaves, easily justifies a nightly marathon. And as thousands of eyes close to go to sleep, dreaming is not likely in a world where nightmares are a reality in more ways than one.
