Violence & Pop Culture

The question of any correlation between violent video games and children has been on the forefront for atleast a decade, especially after the shocking acts of Columbine High School. In this week's discussions two different aspects of the debate were approached. In The Uses and Abuses of Popular Culture: Raising Children in the Digital Age, Henry Jenkins approaches the subject in a clear and level headed manner, peeling away the assumptions about violence in popular culture. In the violence section of the Fair Play? article, tangible connections are made between the statistically proven violence in video games and the affects they have upon players. While reading both articles I had different impressions, and would probably draw out the best from Fair Play? and Uses and Abuses of Popular Culture.

Henry Jenkins brings several ideas about video games that interest me intensely, especially his attack on the "simplistic claims so often made by media effects researchers" (28). I agree with his theory that "our relations to media content are complex, contradictory, and often unpredictable" (28). Most important, he states that each one of us will intrepret the media in a different manner, in a personal meaning that draws from our distinct backgrounds. One aspect especially revealing in Jenkin's article was his comparison of the Internet to the telephone. It was a surprise the large number of Americans who believed the Internet was partly responsible for the Columbine shootings. Written almost a decade ago, we can't help but laugh at the absurdity of such a comment, but it showcases brilliantly the manner in which adults fear new technology. Video games are growing exponentially and it is no surprise that adults may fear it in the same manner. What I especially liked about Jenkin's article were his steps towards "creating opportunities for serious conversations about the nature of children's relationships with popular culture" (32). Of those mentioned, especially relevant to me were the creation of a more accepting and accomadating climate in schools, more information be provided to parents about the content of media products and the challenging of the entertainment industry to investigate more fully why violent entertainment appeals to young consumers (32-33).

With these great ideas in mind, I then moved on to the Fair Play? article, but did not interpret the same message. Granted, the statistics in the sample are startling, and definietly warrant a second look. The article focused on the predominance of violence (89% contained some kind of violence), consequences of violence (91% of killings were justified and no consequences) and the use of weapons. One distinct connection between the previous article is the investigation of the ratings system utilized for video games. According to the research conducted, "E" games are not always appropriate for everyone, stating that "more than three fourths of games . . . contained violence, nearly half . . . included characters who used weapons, more than one third . . . included characters with some body exposure [and games] lacked gender and racial diversity" (9).

As shown, both articles have distinct ideas of how violence is interpreted by its video game audience. Although the Fair Play? article is enlightning, I believe that their main objective was to throw out statistics that would scare away anyone questioning the role of violence. The same statistics that they "prove" for video games can be said of our society in general. Simply watch the 5 o'clock news and one can witness violence in all its glory, yet that is not investigated. This is where Jenkins, I believe, is important because he would utilize the statistics found by the research and put them into use. The information discovered should be analyzed, probed and then analyzed again. Only by truly investigating the ties between video games and its players will any real knowledge be attained. As Dr. Campbell elucidated:

The right questions are not being asked . . . at the same time there is also no singular answer!