Violence & Misogyny in games tackled again
While it’s easy to dismiss such panels and advisory boards as conservative wackos, I do admit that a very good point is being made. Obviously, I’m not saying `Play Vice City and you’ll be down at a brothel punching a prostitute’, but to depict such an act as entertainment is pretty disturbing … especially if you’re a female player.America’s National Institute on Media and the Family has given the gaming industry an `F’, for its depictions of violence and mysogny.
`Video game violence is now an epidemic, and violence against women has become a black mark on the entire industry,” David Walsh, head of the National Institute on Media and the Family, said in a statement announcing the report card. “Rewarding players for having sex with, and killing, a prostitute is a frightening example to set.”
“Almost all video games are designed and produced by men,” the institute said in an analysis accompanying the report card. “Many games appear to reflect young male fantasies. It is very disturbing that the most popular games reflect a violent and misogynist attitude toward girls and women or treat girls and women as sexual playthings.”
Video game makers, for their part, cite federal statistics that show a drop in youth violence over the last decade, just when video games took off.
The game industry does, however, agree that children should be kept from games meant for adults. In a report last year, the Interactive Digital Software Association vowed to “continue to help parents and other consumers ensure that games that are not appropriate for children are not played by them.”
MSNBC
posted by Tripitaka · at 10:15 pm · filed under News
Yeah, I think the report probably has a point, and my only
response to it would be: If you let children be brought up on
a diet of video games, television, and video/dvd hire without
some kind of supervision then basically your’e a crap parent.
Children need parents not various types of media as Role models.
And I’m sure in time when more Females get into creative
positions, then the scope of games might start to veer
away from the “Guns n Ammo” pit in the
ground most games storylines seem to be stuck in.
But Im not sure reports like this are helping. They probably make
concerned parents not let their children take part.
and probably annoy games company Honchos so much they
want to make games with even more dastardly shit just for
kicks.
Thats my opinion…i think.