Like all forms of entertainment, video games haven’t been immune to criticism over violent content and shallow portrayals of men and women. It does bear repeating that an indictment of the sins of video games is also an indictment of movies, music, books, television and so forth. Video games have always been a lightning rod for controversy, in large part because of the perception that is a ‘child-oriented’ form of entertainment (Wikipedia has a summary regarding controversy in video games). It is assumptions like this as well as other kinds of misinformation that have contributed to a lot of overblown hype which attempts to diminish the value and relevance of video games in our culture. It is accurate to say that there are violent video games and poor portrayals of gender in video games. But this is a big difference from blanket statements such as “video games are violent” and “video games are sexist”.
There have been many studies on the effect of violent video games on children; the American Psychological Association published one such study in 2004. The study concluded that, “Children spend a great deal of time with violent video games at exactly the ages that they should be learning healthy ways to relate to other people and to resolve conflicts peacefully” (APA, 2004). Advocacy groups who cite studies like this fail to take into account two important facts: first, studies like this also cite research performed on other media like movies and television ultimately concluding that exposure to violence can be harmful to adolescents. Secondly, these groups are quick to reference eight-year-old research (such as the aforementioned study) on an industry that, like its supposed adolescent audience, is still growing and maturing year after year.
There was a time where the video game industry was a little more innocent: no ratings board to censor the spectacle of the arcade, computer games were mainly role playing games and flight simulators, and home consoles were dominated by mascot-driven titles like Mario and Sonic. I remember how everything changed when the local arcade was attracting a crowd of people around a new fighting game called Mortal Kombat. Although it has evolved into a far bloodier and gorier franchise over the years, gamers remember the original for the novelty of performing “Fatalities” on digitized characters; at the time this was a revolutionary game for depicting violence in a “realistic” way that had never before been seen. Largely due to the uproar caused by the game, the industry began rating games based on their content.
Though it hasn’t been a perfect performance over the years, the industry has become more on par with other media in informing the public as to the content of its products. Customers are informed by observing the rating label on the physical packaging of the game. Also worth noting, the Federal Trade Commission reported that 80% of mystery shoppers under the age of 17 were turned away when trying to purchase or rent mature rated games (ESRB, 2012). (More on the violence issue in a bit).
What about gender in video games? There isn’t a label for that but there is a face for the controversy. Lara Croft, the female protagonist of the Tomb Raider franchise is considered by many to be the poster child for the “rampant sexism” found in video games. Mikula’s study in 2003 described the character: “her body is excessively feminine-her breasts are massive and very pert, her waist is tiny, her hips are rounded and she wears extremely tight clothing” (p.79). Many critics see her and similarly designed characters as nothing more than “sex objects” for an obviously male-dominated market. However, many people would argue that Lara Croft is actually a role model for women: she is depicted as intelligent, articulate, strong, and defeats enemies who are mostly male in number. Mikula’s study concluded that Lara shocks and excites feminist writers and because there are so many different ways to analyze her, she is indeed a sex object, positive image, role model and many things in between (2003, p. 85).
The gray area only gets deeper from here. As previously mentioned, critics assume that characters like Lara Croft are an attempt to use sex in order to sell to a male audience. The facts tell a different story. First, according to statistics, 40% of all gamers are female (ESRB, 2012); let this serve as a wake-up call to those who think that only guys play video games. Secondly, in 2009 games rated appropriate for “Everyone” or “Everyone over 10 years of age” accounted for 60% of games sold (ESRB, 2012). This means that more gamers want to play with Mario and Sonic than games featuring Lara Croft and other controversial characters.
At the end of the day it is the facts that matter over feelings. These aforementioned statistics not only down play the concerns of sexism but also of violence in video games. The Entertainment Software Ratings Board reported that 25% of gamers are under the age of 18 and the average age of gamers is 34. Furthermore, the Board reports that parents always or sometimes monitor the games their children play 97% of the time (2012).
What does all of this mean? It means that critics are missing the big and clear picture: parents are more aware than ever before about what their kids are playing and the ones that are most likely playing the mature rated games are old enough to actually purchase a ticket to a “R-rated” movie. Because the fact is: just like “R-rated” movies, there are “R-rated” games. It is an anachronistic mentality to see video games as a medium solely for children; that is about as inane as declaring that only children watch television. These are interactive stories that are protected under free speech laws, like any other form of entertainment. Sometimes these stories are intended for children and sometimes they are intended for adults. A mature-rated game like Grand Theft Auto 4 is a game that would be appropriate for me to play based on age; likewise, because of the rating, I would not let my children play the game.
For violent video games, parents have information available and a responsibility to their children to make sure that they watch age appropriate television shows, as they would play age appropriate video games. Teachers must also employ similar judgment in choosing games to use in the classroom.
For sexist video games, as Bob Dylan once said, “the times they are a-changin’”: games like Mass Effect and Star Wars: The Old Republic employ powerful and strong portrayals of women, maintaining their femininity but not at the expense of their dignity. Teachers might be surprised at the learning opportunities that female video game characters can provide. But just as a teacher would watch a movie first before showing it to the class in order to verify its appropriateness in the classroom, so too should a teacher play a game.
Ultimately, if a video game is too violent or too sexist, then you don’t need to play it and you don’t need to let your children play it. It’s a 10 billion dollar a year industry so there’s quite a selection to choose from nowadays.
References
American Psychological Association. (June, 8, 2004). Violent Video Games – Psychologists Help Protect Children from Harmful Effects. Retrieved May 4th, 2012 from http://www.apa.org/research/action/games.aspx
Entertainment Software Rating Board (2012). Video Game Industry Statistics [Data file]. Retrieved April 25th, 2012 from http://www.esrb.org/about/images/vidGames04.png
Mikula, M. (2003). Gender and Videogames: the political valency of Lara Croft. Continuum: Journal of Media & Cultural Studies, Vol. 17, No. 1, 2003.
