Violent and overly sexual video games do for male adolescents what reality television does for the females: badly influence them. Of course, some video games have had a positive influence on young adults. Games that employ gamers’ intelligence, creativity, organizational skills, memory, and dedication are very popular and have some tremendous benefits for young men. But the overwhelming number of games that inspire rage, intolerance, rash decision making, illegal activities, objectification of women, and uncalled-for violence sort of outweighs video games’ benefits.
Let’s take this list of video games that Oddee has comprised: 12 Most Controversial Video Games. Oddee is a website that rates superlatives in almost every field of life imaginable, from top 10 Facebook Fails to the most horrifying Valentine’s Day gifts. The video games that I talk about below are not all of the video games included on Oddee’s list.
1. Bully
The Main Character and Antogonist
This particular video game challenges the player to take charge of their school environment by avoiding the school “bully.” Based on too many perpetuated stereotypes about the segregation of certain “types” of teenagers–jocks, nerds, hot girls, band geeks, etc– the controversy surrounding this game is about the violence in a school setting. Even more terrifying about this particular video game is that it is set at a preparatory school where apparently teachers turn a blind eye, and intolerance is the preferred weapon of choice.
2. Tomb Raider
Angelina Jolie is a bit... naked?
The controversy surrounding Tomb Raider is the creator’s commitment to making the female lead very sexual. The above picture says more than enough.
3. Ethnic Cleansing
The creators’ of this game started out with the wrong idea. The name pretty much sums up the controversy, as this game is about white supremacist KKK members massacring African Americans, Jewish and Latina people. Besides the obvious racism implicit in the murders, the depictions of these groups of people is extremely offensive. Watch the above video for a saturated taste of intolerance.
4. Muslim Massacre
Screenshot of the beginning
This is again, another video game whose name explains most of it. This game is a shoot-’em-up game: when a Muslim man or woman appears, the gamer must murder him or her. The most kills results in the most points. The logo sports an American Flag– an eerie confluence of symbols.
5. Resident Evil 5
This video game actually falls in the “John Wayne/Cowboy/Fighting the Savages” script so heavily embedded in American mythology. There is a white protagonist who takes out the evil black enemies in a small African village. The 2007 trailer for this video game says it all:
10. Grand Theft Auto
This game is actually the most famous of the video games mentioned in Oddee‘s list of most controversial video games. Not only does this game feature stealing cars, but it also has more than a few cameos of prostitution, killing prostitutes, running over people, and shooting at police officers. Nothing says “good influence” like Grand Theft Auto does.
Now imagine 97% of teens playing video games. Taking into account that not all video games are as graphic and downright immoral as these ones, imagine how many teens play similar video games that have explicitly hostile messages. My guess is that a good majority do. Now imagine how long these teens are exposed to those types of messages, and how much enjoyment they get from playing these games. Now, (heads up that the next picture in your mind will not be so pleasant) imagine these teens participating in society, coming up with solutions to our issues that rise out of intolerance and hostility.
Teens, especially the young men who are attracted to playing these types of masculine-defining video games, are heavily influenced by these messages– kill the infidels, expel anger with violence, and define masculinity with the objectification of women– many, many women. And the evidence is no longer abstract or a mystery.
The Columbine High School Massacre which occurred on April 20, 1999, was said to be influenced heavily by violent video games. The two boys who carried out the massacre had played hours and hours of expelling rage with a violent video game called Doom. Doom is a more simplistic version of any of the above “shoot ‘em up” games. There is no saying what type of impact these video games, which were created recently, will have on teens in the near future, especially since the games are becoming more and more graphic.
Solving the problem would involve interfering with censorship, which is also an area of controversy. How would we protect America’s youth from becoming over-violent and intolerant? Do the corporations that create these games not feel part of the guilt of creating America’s most violent generation? The video game industry is a lucrative one, and the most popular games tend to be the most violent. Should it be parents’ responsibility to protect their own children from these types of influences? If games like Ethnic Cleansing weren’t banned, how do you get any of these games expelled from our culture? The questions surrounding the (good) riddance of these games are clouded with money and morality.
