WHAT CAME FIRST, THE FANTASY OR THE REALITY?

Our blog assignment this week was to interview someone who plays the violent, war based video games.  I talked to a friend who has a 60” screen in his ‘man cave’ where he plays video games.  He doesn’t want his name on my blog, so I will refer to him as ‘D’ moving forward. 

Just to give you a little background on ‘D’ – He is married, 42 years old and the father of 3, with 1 grandson.  He is a professional who has worked at his job for a little over 8 years.  He owns his home and is very comfortable in his life. 

The game that ‘D’ plays most often is called “Battlefield 3” aka BF3 ¹.  I asked what the game involved and he described it as a warfare game in which you feel like you are a part of the action.  He said that the graphics were outstanding. You also get to play with other people rather than against the computer.  I got a chance to see the game for myself when I went on line.  The graphics are very realistic.   See for yourself…

                                                            “Battlefield 3”

I had a few questions for ‘D’…

Kim -- “Why do you play this game? What do you like about it?

‘D’ -- “I can’t give you a reason.  I just know that I like it.”

Kim – “Do you think that the game is violent?”

‘D’ – “Yes, I actually had a conversation with a coworker about the game a few days ago.  I reminded her that we are not the first generation of people who have played war games.  When my dad was a kid he played with toy soldiers.  He had toy guns and tanks.  Kids used to play ‘cowboys and Indian’s -- that was a war game.  They pretended to kill each other.  I have video games.  The only difference between us and them is that they had to use their imagination to pretend to be in battle.   I get to pretend using a 60 inch screen!” 

Kim -- “Do you think that “BF3” simulates real battle situations?”

‘D’ – “I have never been a soldier, but I guess that the game simulates real battles.  I have seen some documentaries about Vietnam, the Iraq War, Afghanistan – the game seems pretty realistic.  I used to watch “M.A.S.H” on TV all the time.  This game seems much more realistic than that.

Kim –“Do you think that the violent video games encourage violence in kids?”

‘D’ – “Think about it, my pops and his friends played with guns and toy soldiers.  They didn’t have video games.  They learned from what they heard their fathers and grandfathers saying.  No, I don’t think that the games make people violent, I think that people make the games violent.”

In my opinion, I don’t think that violent images cause us to react in violent way. However I do think that they desensitize us to an extent.  I believe that the mass media, specifically the local and national new and newspapers do more harm when it comes to desensitization than the video games. 
I think that this video of our soldiers fighting in Iraq has more impact and should cause violence and outrage moreso than a video game.

 ‘D’ made a good point. Our parents, grandparents etc., played war games long before any of us were born.  It is kinda like the chicken or the egg question.  So, what came first the real violence or the fantasy violence?

  References:

¹ Battlefield 3. Developed by EA Digital Illusions CE & Published by Electronic Arts

YouTube.com. (2011).  Retrieved on line from:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxqG-Km1p98

YouTube.com. (2011).  Retrieved on line from:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGlRr3MGafU

YouTube.com. (2011).  Retrieved on line from:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfrrAp1blaM

YouTube.com. (2011).  Retrieved on line from:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2xeZdIxdHE

¹ Battlefield 3. Developed by EA Digital Illusions CE & Published by Electronic Arts.

!!!CONTROL!!!

In our class we discussed Manufacturing Consent – 20% of the population makes all of the decisions; 80% of us do as we are told.  When I first heard of the concept in class, I didn’t believe it or I should say, that I didn’t want to believe it.  However, I realized that I am told what style of clothing and shoes to wear, what hairstyles look best by ads and style trends set by the 20%.  I am told which stores to shop in, what food to cook, which automobile to purchase based on the small percentage of people who own the franchises and determine what to put on sale this week. I am even told which major to take in college based on media projections of which jobs will be most successful in the next 5 years. 

After reflecting on it for a while I found a simple but accurate analogy to the idea of Manufacturing Consent.   When we are first born, we are fed mother’s milk or formula.  We are given this form of sustenance because that is all our immature bodies are able to handle.  Our parents determine when we can digest more. As we grow and mature our parents determine which foods can be added to our diet to ensure that we are given only the foods that we can safely digest.  We dont have control of our own destiny.  We often talk about having choices, but we only only have the choices that the 20% allows us to have. 

The demonstrators at the Occupy Oakland protests are members of the population who were attempting to make their voices heard. Unfortunately the attempt went of control when the peaceful solidarity demonstration became violent.    

Scott Olson a Veteran of the Iraq war was hit by a tear gas canister during the protest.

The following is a photograph taken on the night of 10/25/11 in Oakland CA.  There is no caption but there is an accompanying short article on a page from Ella Baker Center for Human Rights (2011). The article indicated that the protest was peaceful until the Mayor (Quan) allowed a raid of the camps.  If I was supporting the protestors I would be appalled at their treatment.  In reading the article, it would seem that the protestors were simply having a quiet, peaceful protest, invoking their “freedom of speech and right to assemble” (Ella Baker Center, 2011) when they were attacked in their sleep in the middle of the night.  Looking at the photograph, I would assume that an innocent man was attacked by the establishment for simply invoking his rights. 

                                                      Iraq Vet shot by police during peaceful protest in Oakland CA.

If I was not a supporter of the cause I might have a different view of the incident. Since the article was written by a biased source, I would assume that the opinion was one sided.  Looking at the photo I might see some trouble makers attempting to get away from a crime that they committed carrying an unfortunate friend who was hurt during the commission of a crime. 

                        Masked Protesters escape capture from police during protest in Oakland CA.

Now the question is which caption is true?

We were not there, so we don’t know the whole truth! 

Our discussion this week centered on how we are impacted by photographic media.  We discussed the concept of reality.  How much can we believe it if we didn't see it happen?  We see world news everyday on TV.  Do the tragedies we see a world away mean less than the tragedies that we see in our neighborhoods? firsthand? I fed you two photographs.  A very small amount of editing and a different caption changed the context of the photos.  If I was for the protestors you would have one view of the events of the night; If i was against the protestors, you would have an opposing view of the events of the night.  I could feed you as much or as little as I wanted about this event.   

Manufacturing Consent in essence keeps many of us in the infant stage unless we choose to take control of our own destiny. We cannot blame the 20% for our lack of control; the choice is ours.  

References:

EllaBakerCenter.com. (2011). "Stand Up For Occupy Oakland" Retrieved on line from: https://secure3.convio.net/ebc/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=219

YouTube.com (2011). "VETERAN SCOTT OLSEN SHOT IN THE HEAD BY POLICE AT OCCUPY OAKLAND (Full Video)". Retrieved on line from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ublU-VXsxRI&feature=related