Violence in games and Films
Many news articles like to suggest that violence in games is harming to the audience playing and will turn them violent. It is often suggested that people seek out games such as Grand Theft Auto and Call of Duty because of the violence. However, most audiences like these games for other aspects such as the story and adventure involved. Kieth Stuart, writing a review on GTA 5 for The Gaurdian said, ‘I’m not sure every aspect is an unqualified success, and its violent bitterness can be a little wearying, but this is a bold and scintillating full-stop to an explosive generation of video games’. This shows that the violence isn’t the key aspect that the audience looks for in an 18 rated game.
The effects debate focuses on whether the media has the power to change beliefs or promote ideologies in the audience. There are arguments for and against this debate. The copycat theory is the belief that the crimes are inspired or modelled on a piece of sensationalised media or fiction. This would mean that games such as GTA could easily inspire crimes as the violence has been highlighted through the media multiple times. This theory was created in 1916 due to Jack the Ripper and copycat crimes. It has been shown that the people who commit horrific crimes that are blamed on video games and films; already have a history of violence and or mental health. This theory suggests that the media doesn’t directly but instead indirectly influences the audience. It suggests that the individuals already have the idea to commit the crimes but the violent media gives them an idea of how to commit the crime. According to this theory, the Sandy Hook shooter for example, would have already had the idea but by playing Call of Duty almost constantly, gave him the information to commit the crimes. Research also suggest that people who are less emotionally developed are more likely to be negatively influenced by these games; hence why they have age ratings. There are debates about censorship in films and games involving violence. Some claim that the violence in games and films should be censored because it isn’t nessacery. Others argue that the violence doesn’t need to be censored as we see violence on the news from a young age. By censoring the violence it just sensationalising the violence they do see in the media.
Violence in the Media
The creator of the media will create it with a preferred reading in mind. The oppositional reading is where the audience rejects the preferred reading in favour of a different interpretation. The negotiated reading is where the audience understands and accepts the producers reading but interprets some parts differently to suit them better.
Films and video games have been blamed for violence for years. Blaming media for the crimes of individuals supports the hypodermic needle theory as it suggests that the audience has been shown violence being accepted in the media and have therefore seen violence as acceptable in the real world. Video games such as Call of Duty and Grand Theft Auto have been blamed repeatedly for violent crimes as the games revolve around killing people.
Call of Duty is a first person shooter game that played a big part in the media coverage of the Sandy Hook shooting. Adam Lanza- the shooter- shot 20 children, six teachers at Sandy Hook Elementary School and his mother on the 14th December 2012. This was the deadliest school shooting in American history. It reignited debates on gun control and video game violence. Despite Lanza having access to military grade weapons and known mental disorders, many media outlets suggested that video games were the primary cause for the shooting. When reporting on the shooting the Daily Mail blamed video games in the title of the article to sensationalise the story: Lanza's descent to madness and murder: Sandy Hook shooter notched up 83,000 online kills including 22,000 'head shots' using violent games to train himself for his massacre. Articles such as this one support the hypodermic needle theory and the passive audience theory. This headline suggests that because Lanza had been exposed to violence from the media this is why he killed 27 people. The article states that he became desensitised to violence by playing first person shooters regularly and used these games to “train” for the shooting.