Wednesday, 09 February 2011
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Increase in Rape Attributed to Video Games - According to Fox & Experts
Just like a recent rise in broken pots and gruesome turtle deaths can be written off on kids playing the various psychologically damaging Super Mario and Legend of Zelda iterations, depictions of sex in video games have been driving up the number of rapes nationwide. According to Carole Lieberman (no relation to Joe Lieberman, which is amusing since both share a similar stance on sex and violence in games) who is a so-called "media psychiatrist," a large portion of the increase in sexual assaults should be blamed on sex scenes in video games. The following is a direct quote from her to be read in a serious tone of voice:“The increase in rapes can be attributed in large part to the playing out of [sexual] scenes in video games."
Now, I'm pretty knowledgeable when it comes to video game history, but this is the first I've heard of people being able to magically play the God of War series during the Crusades. Surely they were getting laid by Greek goddesses and slaughtering mythological creatures on their HD sets with the amount of murder and genital pillaging going on back then. Right?
Carole's statement is more loaded than Rupert Murdoch's pockets after successfully pitching his propaganda to the brainwashed simpletons who bought into his devilish media empire. Dr. Lieberman as well as others claim that the ESRB ratings on games which serve as a note to parents on the content of games including foul language, nudity and drug use, aren't effective and isn't being enforced by retail clerks.
How they're coming to these conclusions, I don't know. I myself have been carded every time I've picked up a "Mature" rated game, so what's the difference between my anecdotal evidence and theirs? I want hard proof not sensationalized bullshit. They need to leave the sensationalized bullshit to me, the angry, cynical, overly sarcastic blogger. It's infuriating to know that there are millions of people who hang on to every word they hear from their favorite news station.
This scenario seems to happen every time a new, popular video game begins to garner mainstream attention. Mass Effect, the sci-fi shooter/RPG hybrid was attacked for having sex scenes which were less explicit than late-night HBO programming, for example. With Bulletstorm's release date approaching, the vultures sitting on their nests made of flawed moral fibers began to flap their wings in excitement. It was time yet again for the dog and pony show to roll through your television sets and conservative talk-radio AM stations.
According to the article, you can shoot people in "...private parts such as the buttocks..." to gain rewards. I'll let the experts take over now for a minute:"The in-game awards system, called Skill Shots, ties the ugly, graphic violence into explicit sex acts: "topless" means cutting a player in half, while a "gang bang" means killing multiple enemies. And with kids as young as 9 playing such games, the experts FoxNews.com spoke with were nearly universally worried that video game violence may be reaching a fever pitch."
While I can't say video games are never responsible for acts of violence, it's an exercise in sheer stupidity to place so much blame on them. Why? Because movies, ads, commercials, magazines and music are all far and away ahead of video games in regards to sexual innuendo or sexuality in general. We're also comparing virtual characters with real people. Let that sink in for a second. Perhaps I'm mistaken and kids aren't allowed to watch music videos or read magazines anymore. But then who's the target audience for the Fox-owned IGN.com and Gamespy, both of which constantly advertise violent and sexually charged video games? As Tom Gray and later Cyndi Lauper once said, "Money changes everything."
This question always seems to creep up: Where are the fucking parents? An ample amount of regulations are in place which prohibit minors from becoming raging homosexual rapists after playing out scenes in Mass Effect. The ESRB ratings have become harsher over the years and employees at game stores have carded me more than Hussein at the corner deli when I'm feeling like it's Miller Time (I don't actually like Miller beer if you're wondering). But if they want to follow the logic that games are evil therefore our youth is corrupted, they should also be fair and balanced and attribute stupidity to their news reports. No kick below the "Bible Belt" will ever incapacitate the pure idiocy of their largest group of followers, however.
Aside from being a poorly written article for us to poke fun at, it serves as free advertisement for Bulletstorm by EA/Epic Games, which you should research because it looks like pure fun and anything that you hear on Fox News should be processed through an "opposite day" filter. Don't worry though, I'm sure we'll be hearing from these folks again around the time that Duke Nukem Forever is slated to release. In the immortal words of Duke himself, "It's time to kick ass, and chew bubblegum... and I'm all outta gum."
What are your experiences when buying M-rated games? Where do you stand on the "issue" of sexuality and violence in video games?
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- From: AsylumBlue@datingish
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Comments (26)
I don't think video games play a huge part in violence at all. They're just a small addition to the movies, music, etc that have violence or sex.
I always get carded unless I am visiting my local Gamestop, whereI am known well...
I like sex in video games. Either parents take initiative or shut the fuck up.
all vidya gaem raperists are prlly playeing HEX BOX b/c all us PSTRIPLE PATRIOTS can actually go out and aquire a wommens for sexuel congress!
I've always been carded for everything. This is just another example of lazy irresponsible parents looking to blame everyone but themselves because they were too stupid and/or where never around to realize that their young son and/or daughter maybe needed therapy because they were either killing puppies and putting them in plastic bags or letting grown adults touch them inappropriately, and news media trying to get ratings by making over-sensationalized fiction.
A person will not go out and doing something crazy because of a video game, movie or music. You have to be fucked up in the first place. Something has to be wrong beforehand and it's been seen time and time again that it's usually the people that should have had a closer eye on them. Nothing magically turns you into a killer or rapist. The only thing you can do to "prevent" these things is to start at home, with the parents or whoever is apart of their life on a daily basis.
Video games are not a common denominator in violent and sexual crime. The way the conservative media try to paint them that way - and continually fail because research says otherwise - its both hilarious and disturbing at the same time. What causes crime like this is stuff like a poor upbringing and social environment. Even without video games and explicit music (etc), these crimes would still happen at the same, if not greater rate. Media is an outlet, not a trigger for such behaviour.
This is coming from Fox News. There's little to nothing about what they report that makes much sense. The fact of the matter is that copy-cat behaviors do exist and have been reported due to media influence. (This goes back to, if not before, cases including the so-called "Werther suicides.") All the same, the likelihood that these copy-cats are mentally stable is slim to nil. If we begin to censor art to prevent the mentally ill from taking dangerous or illegal action, we're going to find ourselves no longer making art that actually speaks to any sort of meaningful audience.
This is once again an example of an asshole talking about something they don't know a damn thing about. But, then again, that's Fox News.
I dont play M rated games...I stay away from those.
The problem also lies with today's adults. I used to work at GameStop and it's a requirement to not only card everyone on the purchase of Mature-rated games, but also inform them as to why the M-rating is there ie the content. Some parents would consider this information and think twice about it. Some would ask their children if it was okay. What the fuck are you asking them for?! You're the fucking parent or did you forget that?! Oh and my favorite, parents that cut me off by saying, 'Yeah it's fine' without first hearing what's in the game or why the ESRB is there. Foreign parents are the worst, though. They go to buy their kid, who for all we know is 10-14 years old, a Mature-rated game, we do our job and tell them what's in it and they pretty much ask the child what we just said. This is when the child, using their foreign language, tell their parent the exact opposite or a watered down variation of what was previously stated just so they can have said game.
The media seems to have this idea that video games, explicit songs/music videos, etc encourage bad behavior, when we all know that's not true (unless you have a really screwed up mind set). Such material is created for entertainment only, not encourage or endorse a life of crime.
Dear Fox News and all major media,
Get your fucking facts straight before you even think about distributing one of your 'Video Games are Bad, experts say' reports. Thank you
I don't get carried away playing violent games. I don't feel the urge to take a gun and kill someone.
Games are games. They are made for us to indulge with our stress and fantasies. People who can't tell between games and real life are either crazy or stupid.
You no like Miller High Life? It's the champagne of beer!
People just want a scapegoat and an easy solution. That's also why they don't really do anything about it. If they did, then the public would see their claims about this are just as dubious as their claims about, well, everything (at least, in the case of Fox News).
At the end of the day it's parents responsiblity to watch what their children are playing. Game shops need to stay on top of what they're selling, I've never been carded for the Mature games I've bought, to be honest. It also has to do with someone's predisposition. They were probably unstable to begin with if video games give them rape urges
"While I can't say video games are never responsible for acts of
violence, it's an exercise in sheer stupidity to place so much blame on
them. Why? Because movies, ads, commercials, magazines and music
are all far and away ahead of video games in regards to sexual innuendo
or sexuality in general."
Exactly.
*Xanga's Batman Out*
I believe that stupid people who become parents and don't know how to raise their children correctly, contribute to creating rapists( and other vile, human scum) in our society/civilization.
Seriously, videogames? They're an increase in rape? Rape's been around a lot longer than videogames.
You need to spend some time reading some of LT.COL. Dave Grossman's material if you think TV/Movie/Video Games contributing to violence is a joke. Here's his website. I heard him speak about his book Stop Teaching Our Kids to Kill: A Call to Action Against TV, Movie and Video Game Violence and it was very interesting (and chilling). Almost every single school shooter (where the shooter was another student) was heavily into violent video games, the research has been done, its no coincidence. Of course the parents' involvement (or lack of) is very much to blame as well, but nobody should be brushing off the fact that violence in video games can very easily lead to real-life violence!
Hey, Aphrodite wanted it and had it coming to her. Literally. lolz Sorry Im a huge God of War fan.
Seriously though this is fucking ridiculous. People are responsible for their own actions and their own sex organs. They should know the difference between right an wrong and how to control their shit. And if they dont, lock em the fuck up, dont blame the video game companies.
Huh. I never knew IGN was fox-owned.
It's Fox News. What do you expect? It's entertaining to me how they take things out of proportion and context.
Omigosh! Screenshot from GoW3! Best game EVER.
But yeah, they need to leave my video games alone. They are not the cause of society's problems. Plus I love how Fox News never backs anything up with legitimate statistics.
@JadaFish@xanga - there are studies refuting these claims. I haven't seen one study yet that proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that there's a direct correlation between in-game violence and in-reality violence. In the end, it depends on the person who's playing. Some people just tend to be more influenced while others are not. Not every act of violence has its roots in a video game (or Movie or TV Show, or etc) so saying it does is quite a stretch. I would double check if that book was peer reviewed or not, which upon reading the summary, I have a good feeling it is not peer reviewed (means the claims made are not scientifically valid and not supported by experts). A study such as this one belongs to a psychologist or sociologist not a retired Lt. Col. from the army.
Geesh, I can't believe statements like these. It just shows how naive the people who are conducting these 'researches' are. While video game violence/sexual stuff can affect one or two people greatly, those people have to have problems in the first place. I played 007 for the N64 when I was like, 9.... O_o it didn't make me go out and shoot people. I think it might be hard for people who don't play video games to realize that the video gamer can distinguish reality from a video game.
Scenes from Mass Effect? Pfffttt, I turned on t.v. randomly the other night and saw more graphic images than Mass Effect has in it's whole game.
@SpAnKyLiCiOuS@xanga - Of course "not every act of violence has its roots in video games/movies/TV"! Did I say that somewhere? And no, while Dave Grossman is not a psychologist, he is a professor of psychology and does work with psychiatrists (co-authored another book, "Warrior Mindset" with a very reputable psychiatrist. Did you read his biography, check out the website and look and the list of books he wrote/co-wrote? This is not just "some guy" doing his own research on a whim. I heard him speak because I was an EMT on the scene of a school shooting (Nickel Mines Amish School), he has spoken to many of the emergency responders involved with quite a few school shootings (again, in his bio).
I think it's a matter of correlation vs. causation. A huge number of creepy people who do shootings and rape people are into videogame. However, this does not mean that all murderers and rapists are gamers (or even appear to be creepy).
I mean, there is a link between socially awkward/creepy people and videogames (because videogames are a safe-haven for a lot of people like this), but there is also a huge chance that some of these people would behave the way they do, even without videogames in their lives.