Video Games.
Video games are becoming as popular as movies and TV shows these days, if not more so, and more than ever, the content of said games is under scrutiny. The violence level in computer games is under almost non-stop attack by 'powers that be' as if it is the cause for most of the world's violent behaviour. The rare occasions video games aren't the cause of all world problems is when the same thing is transferred to music.
The reason these two mediums, more than any others in this day and age, are under attack is because of the content. The problem lies with the fact that the content is not controlled by the big businesses themselves, the musical artists and video game creators are the ones who create, the businesses just sell it on and make most of the profit. They, however, are not the ones who write and create the things and this is the worry.
We have these art forms that are as popular as ever, that are sending out messages that often do not paint the big businesses and governments in good light. You also have games, such as the infamous Grand Theft Auto series, that portray a criminal lifestyle as the main aim and avoidance of the law authorities as a large part to play, even though the games are fictional and the makers themselves have had to repeat over and over that it is no different to movies and TV series that do the same thing and they do not condone the real life behaviour.
The one game series I want to draw some attention to is one that is hugely popular but ironically enough isn't one that has a campaign against it. It is the series of games called "Metal Gear". This is a series that started 20 years ago and has spanned to this year, over 4 different games systems.
The storyline is a huge story of vast scope, time and characters, similar to the TV shows such as Lost and Prison Break of today, where multiple characters have multiple stories intermixing and matching together, except it covers from the 1960's to 2014. The main character is called Solid Snake, who is a soldier who is constantly called out of retirement to take part in solo steath missions to defeat a new-age machine called Metal Gear. This is essentially the premise for each game and the repetition actually makes part of the story arc so compelling as it matches the moral story on the underbelly of the games.
Without spoiling it for people who may be playing them or may in the future, the overall but brutually in your face story and feeling that comes from the game is governments, politicians and big businesses lying, breaking laws and manipulating people to create their own gains. Not to mention the explicit anti-nuclear message and the several messages of government controlled child soldier camps in 'third world' countries.
This may not seem an uncommon story for any entertainment media but the depth, detail and way this series goes about telling the story is in a way I personally have never seen done before. At times, you actually wonder how the games were ever released due to the scathing attacks they hold. Also, the emotional connection you feel for these characters due to how their stories are told are something I have never experienced, in any multimedia forum, ever before, which only makes you sympathise with the story and its message more, a virtual "walk in their shoes" adventure.
Also, the fact that the main basis for the game, genetic cloning of the 'perfect soldier' known as Big Boss and the fact the main heroes and villians of the series were actually brothers and others were followers of the 'Big Boss' is not that far out of bounds of today's scientific possibilities.
One aspect of the game that is not as common is the fact that as you begin to understand the characters and their histories, you soon realise that the common goal of both villian and enemy tends to be the exact same goal - individual life for every human being, free from government control and manipulation. This creates the shade of grey where, at times, you actually feel the villian is the person in the right and the hero you are controlling in the game is doing the wrong thing.
It is this 'grey area' you find in almost all aspects of entertainment that are called 'dangers to society'. Music that is a danger to everyone tends to be the music that is critical of politics and encourages individual behaviour and as mentioned above, the games that usually attract similar criticism are games with similar ideology. Apply the same formula to movies and TV and you often get a match.
If someone is going to go out and shoot up a school because they hear a heavy metal album or because they played a computer game where someone uses a gun, then they likely have problems that have nothing to do with the games such as mental problems or self esteem problems caused by other ways society makes people feel useless. If anything, these games and music help people deal with their problems, not enhance them.
Now, not all video games are considered evil and bad. Some are considered great - such as the new line of Nintendo for example. We have the 'Wii Fit' that has been released, that is essentially a home gym on a games consule, for example. This is applauded for its innovation and fun level, even though some skeptical people may feel it is no more than an attempt at a home centered, high tech Hitler Youth policy to get all kids in better shape before a military draft is proposed.
As can be seen, any games or media that eliminates the use of thought on an individual level and basically puts people into a state where they don't think and just 'act' almost robotically, is encouraged but anything that makes someone think about themselves and how things affect them, is evil and one step away from satanic.
The same thing happened to comic books back when they first came out and children latched onto them in the same way people do to video games this generation. They often had stories about the 'bad way of life' and often were critical of the people in power and again, were called bad and were often called to be banned. Only when the 'super heroes' became famous and took away from the negative light that was previously passed onto governments, businesses and law enforcement were comics really accepted.
Just ask yourself, are videos games really the scurge of society. Is a child playing Grand Theft Auto really more likely to commit a crime than someone else? Is the person who uses a consule controller really more of a threat than someone who puts on a bullet proof vest and carries a gun and tazer around as his daily job? I'd hazard that more assaults are commmited by lunatic police with their 'non lethal' weapons than by self admitted computer nerds who happen to play an 18 rated game.
Think about it.
