That "Video Game Violence In The Media" thing

[kane_magus]

Here is something I found to be interesting.

Ok, I always found this issue to be irksome even before the "other side" started deliberately staging crap like this to be as incendiary as possible, but now... *rolls eyes*

Comments

[owsf2000.livejournal.com]

Agreed. I've never seen the show, and after hearing about it, I never will. Apparently the ratings for the show suck large hairy goat eggs anyway so hopefully it -will- be cancelled by next fall. Now if we can just get all the talk shows removed as easily.

[kane-magus.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I had never seen or even heard of the show before now, either. This was just a blatant ploy to get attention and boost ratings, that's all. Too bad that video games, and not something more worthwhile, had to be the target of the aggression.

To be fair, there were some decent talk shows back in the olden days of the pre-Jerry Springer era, but now it just seems they all want to be like his show, if not worse. Maybe there still are decent talk shows out there somewhere, but I wouldn't know since I haven't used my television for anything other than playing video games for several months now, honestly. The show mentioned in that blog obviously isn't one of them, though.

[kane-magus.livejournal.com]

To quote one of the comments found underneath that blog:

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"What business is a TV show in? What product does it sell?

Answer: An audience, sold to advertisers.

I have news for you all: most media people, especially techno-ignorati like these kind, couldn't care less about whether video games are violent. What they DO care about is that there is controversy surrounding the subject. They don't want to present a sober, thoughtful case from one side or the other, nor do they want to weigh the evidence fairly and let the audience make up their own minds. They want FIGHTING!! And SHOUTING!! And people getting up and leaving the show in a huff! And other people making outrageous statements about rape and murder and cannibalism and the Devil and Armageddon and THE END OF THE WORLD AAAYYIIEE!

All electronic media (including this one right here you're reading) is, to one degree or another, operating under the same business model as professional wrestling. Never forget that, and you'll maintain the proper perspective."

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I agree with this 98%. The only problem I have with this is the comparison to professional wrestling, in that even though pro wrestling is definitely staged, bones (whether those of yourself or your opponent) can still be broken when you leap off the top of that 20-foot steel cage, staged or not. Meaning that even though it was staged, someone's going to get hurt (in this case, the video game industry).

(Unless of course you're playing a wrestling video game, in which there's little fear of injury. :P)

It's the people who are saying in their comments that they would've stayed around and cussed the host out or otherwise made a Big Scene who bother me, though. I mean, really, wouldn't that have just gone toward proving the host's point? That video games really do make you a violent psycho, or something?

[rabbitucker.livejournal.com]

This is crap, man! Pisses me off!

Angry icon! Grrr!