The mediums that our society is exposed to have a great influence on their day to day lifestyles and interactions. Although some may have their favorite mediums in which they feel attached or obligated to be with them, media is all around us through several different and hidden ways. These artifacts, and how addicted we are to them, demonstrate the power that the dominant media has upon us. Supported though James W. Carey's thoughts on the power of developing media, we learn that our culture moves fast and is always looking for the next big thing. Through mediums, the developers of technology and enforces of media create a message to express to viewers, often subliminally. My favorite Xbox game, Halo 3, is a good example of how the creators of such mediums have a large influence on consumers, such as by supporting violence. Through their video game, the creators of Halo 3 impose thoughts of violence and crime on their consumers.
Halo 3 is an Xbox game where the characters attempt to kill each other by using weapons, vehicles, and combat. To gamers and consumers, this game often becomes an addiction, which allows the creators to easily impose their media message into our brains. People blindly follow the message of this game and stay up all night virtually killing people and imposing violence into their soul. The message this medium is invoking into my brain is a thought of violence and crime that becomes almost natural to me. "The effect of the [media] on ordinary ideas: the coordinates of thought, the natural attitude, practical consciousness, or, less grandly, common sense" becomes a permanent message in our brains (Carey 210). Our culture has become addicted to media and it is a huge part of our everyday life and basic thought process. Shown in the pictures and video provided, Halo 3 is an extremely violent game which shows realistic deaths and lots of gore through combat. The goal of the game is to harm others; therefore this medium imposes an instinctual reaction to impose violence upon others during a confrontation. Myself included, our culture is moving towards a need for violence through media and entertainment, and Halo 3 is a perfect example.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TW6SW8XzLQI
This video is from youtube, it is about five minutes long and it shows many of the killing and violence included in this Xbox medium. All of the pictures and the video I found are from Google Images, and YouTube. The quote from James W. Carey is from the class assignment we read for homework called "Communication as Culture".
Lisa I think this is a great example. Many people enjoy Halo, not only in America, but all around the world. I grew up with a younger brother who would throw Halo parties, and stay up all night talking to people from all around the globe, the TV speakers would errupt with sounds of gunfire, lasers, and explosions while teenage boys huddled around the screen laughing and yelling. Although they would deny it, they have been affected by this violence. Like the family guy clip showed in class, many people find violence hillarious. We watch America's Funniest Home Videos of people getting hit in the crotch by baseball bats, etc. and I have a friend who cannot control herself from histerically laughing when anyone trips or falls in public, instead of offering to help them. Many young adults today find violence humorous, and I think that this can directly be attributed to your experience with Halo and its enculturation in American society.
ReplyDeleteLisa,
ReplyDeleteThis was very interesting to read. I agree with you. Violence is becoming more prevalent in our society especially through video games. I have noted that children are becoming more attached to these violent games earlier in their childhoods. The war game Call Of Duty is another example of the violent games that seem to be dominating the free time of young kids.
Lisa,
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with your view point. Just last week, the Halo 3 Reach was launched and a bunch of my friends had to go get it at midnight. I must agree that games like Halo and BioShock are totally addictive. I have had Halo parties at my house where we killed thousands of creatures and monsters. What is even worse is that in games such as Call of Duty that are supposed based on history, we are actually killing human and enjoy it. When i was playing COD4 and the mission was to conquer an island in Japan, i for some reason was immediately against the Japanese.
My point is that, it is just kids, but also adolescents and teenagers are are being effected by the violence in video games. We too are gullible to the affect of violence on this artifact of media. Another example of a "awesoome game" is Gears of War 2... the hero has CHAINSAW on his gun. As he kills people, blood splatters on the screen, the view becomes distorted.
Lisa,
ReplyDeleteI agree with your posting that video games promote violence and infuse negative energy into society. I believe that Halo not only contradicts the message of peace and justice, but supports a violent mindset which children subconsciously adopt. It is intriguing that positive forms of media (television, radio, or magazines) support this negative force in our communities. We preach peace, but subtlety support outlets of violence. Usually, these entities glamorize and praise video games for providing a healthy outlet for children.
However, do these entities yield societal advancement? Do they propel our world into realms of progress? I think not. Rather, they advocate for violence and hinder society as a whole.
Halo Profile in NY Times:
http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/reference/timestopics/subjects/c/computer_and_video_games/halo/index.html
Lisa,
ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting article relating video games and violence in society. I agree with your points on games such as Halo creating horrible addictions in today's youth (and even adults) but rather than invoking thoughts of violence don't you think that these games are merely killing creativeness. In the past kids would still have violence but would outlet it through GI Joe actions figures and squirt guns, Halo is the same thing just in a lazier form... Personally I feel that we have been submerged in so much violence through media that it has little effect on our reality anymore and these video games are actually more detrimental to our creative thought process than making us more violent people.
Lisa,
ReplyDeleteI never really put to much thought into what messages video games like Halo out into our minds just because I personally feel that video games are brainless games that we play with friends to kill time and have fun. However, when people become addicted to games I agree with you in saying that media messages slip into our brain. Playing video games where the point is to kill all your enemies does make you, in a way, neutral to violence.
What a popular post! I'm glad that your post is making many of your classmates reflect on their own consumption of video games.
ReplyDeleteWhether video games lead to actual violence in reality is a perennial topic in media studies. You did a good job using Carey to support your argument, but it might also be better if you also show awareness about the counterargument that sometimes violence in media doesn't lead to the same violence in reality--sometimes the former performs a cathartic function and let out the aggression of the player so he/she wouldn't commit violence in reality. An acknowledge of both sides of the argument might make this article stronger.
But good job overall.