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Question for Narcogen
Posted By: Cody Miller	Date: 1/15/09 3:14 p.m.
In Response To: Sentencing from Halo 3 murder trial (RotaJota) Can you say with certainty that our perceptions are not at least somewhat shaped by the media we watch/play? It's very clear that they can, since advertising is very big business. I think your argument about permanent death isn't really on the mark. Nobody sees a movie or plays a game (except for maybe the very young) and think that the actors or the characters are actually dying. That doesn't make the world 'delusional'. Death by murder isn't something most people experience firsthand, unless you have gone off to war. So, I think a lot of people's understanding of murder at least comes somewhat from the media in which murder is featured. A friend of mine, by no means delusional, joined the army. By his own admission, he joined because he not only wanted to serve his country, but was good at FPS games, and felt he would also be good at the real thing. He understood the difference between fantasy and reality, but I have no doubt in my mind that video games influenced his perceptions of violence, combined with the media's coverage of the war. In fact, the army is using video games as recruiting tools, not because people are so crazy they can't tell the difference between what's real and not, but because people ARE subtly influenced by how subjects are treated in the media they experience. Some movies explore the meaning of violence in a meaningful way. Some other movies do not and use it to entertain. If you primarily watched movies, or played games that were in the former category, don't you think your perception of it would be more sophisticated than someone who watched primarily media from the latter? That's just for normal people. ESPECIALLY if you really are mentally ill, then the media that shapes your perceptions of violence will have a much bigger impact on your attitude towards it. I am NOT blaming Halo one bit, but I will criticize it and many many other games for not even trying to explore or contextualize the violence that's at the core of its gameplay.

Message Index

Sentencing from Halo 3 murder trial	RotaJota	1/15/09 10:13 a.m.
Re: Sentencing from Halo 3 murder trial *OT*	Mercury	1/15/09 11:36 a.m.
Question for Narcogen	Cody Miller	1/15/09 3:14 p.m.
Re: Question for Narcogen	Narcogen	1/16/09 2:21 a.m.
Re: Question for Narcogen	Mercury	1/16/09 11:44 a.m.
Re: Sentencing from Halo 3 murder trial	DrDoctor	1/15/09 9:35 p.m.