Shock Surprise: Someone Thinks Halo Makes Kids Violent.
I'm not at all shocked by the supposed "news" that there are people out there that are convinced that Halo 3 is going to be downfall of society and it turns people into violent spree killers. Of course all these arguments are shaky, nearly baseless accusations. The main reason that people ride this bandwagon is it is an easy sell and it is a scapegoat for culpability to the actions of their children. I'm not going to deny that setting a child in front of a bloody video game is a bad idea, but I don't think it is going to turn the world into mass murderers.
The latest contender in the arena of violent video game debates is Dr. Susan Bartell. She is a psychologist who for the most part seems to have run under the radar. Equipped with some brain scans and a lot of conviction she proceeded to go on a tirade about how Halo 3 is essentially eroticism of violent behavior.
When kids play violent video games, we can see that their brains are different than when they play non-violent games. That they actually change and their levels of emotional arousal increase dramatically. It’s remarkable. It’s really remarkable to see… We can see a very big difference in their brains which tells us how dangerous these games can be.
Notice how she says it is different, not worse. She actually seems rather cautious about defining what regions of the brain are even being used or reinforced. She also did not mention what this non-violent video game is. Obviously, games like Brain Age are going to use different parts of the brain than Halo. When asked why this area is more dangerous, she replied:
No, it’s negative activity that the child really has to get into the CHARACTER of the person that they’re playing that’s killing all these people. So when they walk out of the ROOM and they go out into the streets and someone might bump into them, what are they going to do?
We've all heard this argument a million times. Here's my take on the situation. Halo 3 has nothing to do with murder. In is what is known as justifiable homicide, or you know, war. The game is all about "defending your people", all the stuff military recruiters preach to you. Now, if this behavior is so readily emulated, why is military recruitment numbers at one of the largest lows in years? Of course violent children are going to play violent games, much like people who enjoy football are likely to play NFL titles.
As a pacifist that grew up playing games like Doom, Quake, and Mortal Kombat I find it mildly insulting, the insinuation that I am emotionally trained for violent reactions and behavior. I'm not going to say you should ignore the warnings and go out and buy your children a copy of Manhunt and a handgun. I think it is slightly morally questionable to let children play Halo in church (which preaches Thou Shall Not Kill). Please, use common sense and moderate what your children watch and do. Absence is what destroys children, not the media.
Who is this Person & Why is She Saying These Awful Things About Halo 3 ??? [GamePolitics.com]
Video clip of the show after the jump.
Asterick
Posted to Video Games on 16 October 2007
· Comments (4)
Other stuff like this: more experts, parenting still optional, reactionism, video games, violence
Aren't those kinds of debates supposed to have both sides of the argument represented? They had the child psychologist saying games are bad, and then their counter-argument was going to be Jack Thompson? Nice even discussion of the issues Morning Show.
Yikes! It's the she-male Jack Thompson! Run for the hills!
Ugh. "Different parts light up!"
I'm with Asterick. Different areas of the brain are going to be used when playing different kinds of games.
Is that even an image from the brain of someone playing Halo 3? I find it hard to believe that they already have results using it. (My IRB takes like a month to approve something.)
Baaad Science! Shame!
Well, I totally agree that this is some parents trying to get rid of the responsability of acctually raising their kids. That's why I'm not gonna have any(well, not exactly because of that, but anyway).
Though I think that Halo has something that really bugs me, which is the script. the problem is that these people are so disconnected with technology they have *no idea* there are stories being told in games.
Society always needs a scapegoat to cover up it's incompetence.