Donahue vs Gamers / Rational Thinking
MIT media studies professor Henry Jenkins has posted a fascinating account about a recent appearance on the (new) Donahue show to represent the games industry in a discussion of violence in games. Unfortunately the show was decidedly stacked against Jenkins, and in this article he manages to articulate the arguments that he was unable to express on air.
It’s an interesting look at the ways in which mainstream media can sensationalise violence in games, to the point of completely disregarding the real causes of violent behaviour. GTA3 is the classic example used, but as Jenkins points out, it’s almost impossible for non-gamers to look past some of the violence in GTA3 and see that it’s open ended structure puts the burden on you to make choices and explore their consequences. What kind of stupid parent looks at the cover of GTA3 with its mature rating and thinks that it’s a harmless child’s game?
Salon
posted by bruce · at 2:41 pm · filed under News