...------------------------------------------------- The video game industry is powerful and incredibly profitable. Its $18 billion in annual sales, large workforce, and even larger consumer base makes it a lobby one would not want to attempt to regulate unduly. Yet, violence in America, especially among young people, is a known problem. Some research indicates that video games are a part of that problem. Indeed, playing video games may be linked to antisocial behavior and permissiveness about violent behavior. For this paper I highlight the importance of that issue - that violence and video gaming may be linked, and censoring gaming to reduce that link is politically problematic - but turn to a lesser know issue. Educational gaming, a form of gaming assumed to be without controversial content, can also be the subject of public censorship. ------------------------------------------------- Video Game Industry ------------------------------------------------- With over $18 billion in total sales and a workforce of more than 213,000 the video game industry has grown from a somewhat small portion of American entertainment to an industry that influences the leisure and livelihood of many people (O’Holleran, 2010). There is power in having that standing, an any attempt to curtail that power would likely encounter a great deal of resistance. That means censorship of the video game industry would pit the real and perceived First Amendment rights of commercial interests and their consumers against the rights of government and...
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...United States proposed what is now known as the U.S. Constitution. The first Amendment that was declared stated: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion; or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceable to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” However, the origin of law was around even before the First Amendment came to be a law. Areopagitica was published November 23, 1644 at the height of the English Civil War. This story essentially advocated for removal of censorship, claiming that censorship did not exist in the Greek or Roman society therefore it should not exist at all. According to John Milton’s Areopagitica , “And though all the winds of doctrine were let loose to play upon the earth so truth be in the field, we do injuriously by licensing and prohibiting to misdoubt her strength. Let her and falsehood grapple; who ever knew truth put to the worse in a free and open encounter.” This is of extreme significance to the origin of law because it advocates for removal of censorship in addition to the implementation of freedom of speech. Furthermore, the story of Areopagitica advocated the idea that common law should exist and that each party should have the right to speak their mind. Individuals should have the right to argue and defend their speech; they should be able to use logos based appeals in order support their speech...
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...Censorship in America Welcome to America. The land of the free and the home of those all too willing to use that right to its fullest extent. The first nation truly founded on the right to speak one’s mind without consequence, America is now the most prosperous nation in the world, largely due to that very fact. We as Americans are blessed to live in a nation that is thriving both politically and socially, both as innovator and steady power, both as a community and as a collection of individuals. The marks of American society have spread far beyond the nation’s borders, with everything from the Big Mac to Steven Spielberg movies to democracy itself making it’s impact felt on this modern world. The name America has become synonymous with freedom, and through this freedom, great wealth, power, and success. And yet history has shown, through the example of democracies like Athens and Rome, that even the greatest of civilizations eventually swerve off course. After reading Patrick Garry’s “An American Paradox: Censorship in a Nation of Free Speech”, Marjorie Heins’ “Not In Front Of The Children”, and various statements from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), I have come to believe that the unstoppable juggernaut that is America may too be in danger of losing its way. The principles of freedom and human rights that this country was founded and subsequently prospered on are often quickly abandoned in the effort to protect the general public from anything deemed even slightly...
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...Chinese Censorship is a Contradicting Problem In the contemporary society, with internet expansion the world is extending to be an Information Age. Due to the expansion, a large amount of sensitive information that governments disagree with is widely and rapidly spread. In order to control the dramatic increase of this sensitive information censorship occurs. According to a report, censorship is defined as “…one of the tools used by governments to filter out unwanted information and to prevent the spread through the World Wide Web”. (Antonio Lupetti) In many countries around the world, government censors restrict access to certain kinds of material for their citizens such as movies with sexual content, news with political ideas, and violent video games. Based on the latest data, censorship is a phenomenon of staggering proportions that affects over 25% of the global population. China, with a population of over 1.3 billion people and 360 million active users of the Internet is by far the nation in which the censors’ activity affects the highest number of citizens (China). It is well known among the Chinese that Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are all blocked in China because there is too much sensitive information on them. It is clear that since censorship has begun in China, it has hindered China from developing, updating information and limited the freedom of speech. Censorship has been used in China for centuries. According to the Baidu Encyclopedia which is a very popular...
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...In the world today the media has a major impact on individuals who are involved in it. Rather it be through the radio, television, or the internet the majority of individuals have access to this and are susceptible to the impact that it has. There are many theories that define the relations between individuals and the impact that media has. One theory out there is based off of a learning theory. This theory is the Social Cognitive Theory, and it revolves around the “functions and processes of observational learning. By observing others’ behaviors, including those of media figures, one may develop rules to guide one’s own subsequent actions prompted to engage in previously learned behavior” (Nabi & Oliver 2010). Media directly influences individuals simply by the viewers watching or listening to the media and picking up the behavior of that media. According to Bandura (1986, 2002), “observational learning is guided by four processes. Attention to certain models and their behavior is affected by source and contextual features such as attractiveness, relevance, functional need, and affective valence. Second, retention processes focus on the ability to symbolically represent the behavior observed and its consequences, along with any rehearsal of that sequence. The third is production, which focuses on translating the symbolic representations into action, reproducing the behavior in seemingly appropriate contexts, and correcting for any errors based on the feedback received....
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...Violence in Video Games Pedro Cachay English (Tuesdays Thursdays) David Cowper 10/15/2013 97% of 12-17 year olds in the US played video games in 2008, this fueling an $11.7 billion domestic video game industry. In 2008, 10 of the top 20 best-selling video games in the US contained violence. Violent video games have been blamed for school shootings, increases in bullying, and violence towards women. Critics argue that these games desensitize players to violence, reward players for simulating violence, and teach children that violence is an acceptable way to resolve conflicts. Video game advocates contend that a majority of the research on the topic is deeply flawed and that no causal relationship has been found between video games and social violence. They argue that violent video games may reduce violence by serving as a substitute for rough and tumble play and by providing a safe outlet for aggressive and angry feelings. As the level of violence in video games has increased, so has concern for the effects on those who play - especially those who play a lot. Many are quick to point out that most school shootings in recent years have been carried out by avid gamers, and their games of choice were always dark and violent. But it begs the question: Which comes first? Can aggressive and violent behavior be attributed to violence in video games? Or do those who play already have violent tendencies which draw them to violent games? It's a type of "chicken or the egg" debate...
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...Internet Censorship: Is it American People can access many different sites on the internet. Some are nice and cheery, and some are rude and crude. If anyone wants to see the stats on their favorite football team, no problem, go to their team’s site. Want to look up how to care for your sick dog, no problem, go to the veterinary site. Want to know how to overthrow the government, no problem, go to the anarchist site. Ever wondered what it looks like when a terrorist saws off someone’s head with a pocket knife? Is this a problem? “Censorship is the moral or legislative process by which society ‘agrees’ to limit what an individual can do, say, think, or see.” (Depken, Craig) There may be subjects on the internet that may offend or may be downright immoral to most people, and this is possibly a reason for the government to jump in and censor what people can see on the internet. This is because not everything on the internet is good or whether the majority of people think that the all the material is moral. This means that there should be some guideline for people on the internet. Politics are hot topics for many countries but it seems their need to censor the political sites may be due to their insecurity. Pornography has been a popular target for censors with some justification but there should be no blanket rule for it. Racism is another topic that has been blocked in many countries and this is something that should be studied closely to ensure that when...
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...------------------------------------------------- Video Games and Children Video games was introduce goes far back in the early 1940s-1950s when researchers, scholars and entrepreneur began producing and designing simple games, simulation and artificial intelligence (AI) as part of computer research programs and had become child hood leisure activities and even for adults. (Totilo, 2010) Video gaming didn’t reach mainstream popularity until the 1970s and 1980s. Adults and parents become concern on the possible ill effects on children but early research found out the results unclear. Back then in the 1980s video games sales boost up when the Nintendo system was first release and with its better and more colorful graphics. When Sega, Nintendo, Sony and other videogame console release bigger and better consoles in the early 2000 followed by Microsoft Xbox in 2001, video game skyrocket even more and there start what gamers called “console wars”. (Rice, 2013) As of today there are two consoles leading up the video game market; Sony Playstaion 4 and Microsoft’s Xbox One. Many of the fan boys(loyal to their console ownership) had a lot of arguments and debate which one is better with each consoles unique and fancy features it is still undecided which one is the best and it is all about the matter of taste of the people. (Rice, 2013) A lot of American children...
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...have generated billions of dollars in revenue. However, there are also many ethical issues pertaining to the videogame industry. Some companies in the industry have recognized that certain monetization methods of their videogames can create large amounts of profit at the expense of the consumer. Videogames have often been labeled as overly violent and blamed to be the cause of murders or other violent actions. Videogame addiction is also becoming a real problem in many households and societies. Governments around the world have taken different approaches to the problems in the videogame industry and there have also been many studies on these problems. Videogames have often been criticized for having high amounts of violence. In 1992 when the videogame series known as Mortal Kombat was released, it had a system known as “Fatalities”. Fatalities were a finishing move performed on the opponent that would brutally dismemberment and execute them. The level of gore and violence in the game resulted in the creation of the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) which was established to make the videogame industry assign age and content ratings for videogames (Kohler, 2009). Even after the creation of the ESRB there were other violent videogames produced that would later be blamed for massacres. The perpetrators of the infamous Columbine High School massacre played many hour of a shooter videogame called Doom. In the aftermath of the tragedy the families of the victims attempted...
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...legislated just the same (McCormick). This case is the most recent of many that censorship has become a major battleground. Since first the shootings of April 1999 in Columbine Colorado, and most recently, the 2004 Super Bowl Halftime show in which singer Justin Timberlake exposed the breast of fellow singer Janet Jackson, the government has made it its priority to influence the entertainment industry to put into place new rules, such as the one in NASCAR, to regulate “inappropriate” material, therefore increasing censorship. On top of this, the industry itself has begun to attempt a type of self-censorship. Although censorship has been around for ages, what is it and why does it exist? Censorship in today’s era is a higher power attempting to prevent disturbing or painful sights, sounds, or any other information form from reaching the public in order to keep a feeling of well moral being. However, the main question in today’s times is whether or not censorship is necessary in today’s world, and if the government should be able to force censorship on the entertainment industry. Though the case involving the NASCAR driver is the most recent ridiculous form of censorship, it has taken place throughout the history of entertainment itself. However, in the past ten years, after censorship laws had begun to loosen, the media and the government has once again begun to pull tighter on the censorship blindfold, covering...
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...Censorship of the Internet – a detriment or a necessity? Kelly Chan A research paper for Matthew Mansour in response to: Throughout the world there has been an increase in discussions regarding “Censorship of the Internet, explain how Censorship can work in some instances but in others it can be a detriment to society. TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.0 INTRODUCTION 2.0 What is Censorship? 3.1 Self Censorship 3.2 Censorship as Protection 1.0 Introduction The Internet has undoubtedly developed into the biggest source of global information and media since its modest inception in the late 1960’s. With the increasing ease of worldwide access due to cheaper methods of producing technology and education, bridging the digital divide. However, Government censorship and regulation of access to certain content available on the internet in various countries has raised issues about whether it is effective, regarding each country’s purpose in imposing censorship and whether it is detrimental to the growth in knowledge and progress of society. In this research paper, the role of Censorship in society and the inherent need for appropriate regulation of different levels of access to available information, based on morals and the responsibility we have to the younger generation to protect them from unsuitable content is discussed along with the technology we have to ensure this. The varying degrees of censorship between China and Australia will also...
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... Rushdie & Rauch v. Storck: Censorship! Salman Rushdie is one of the many opponents of censorship. Born to an Indian family in Britian, his books contain magical realism, historical fiction, and Eastern-Western connections. His works are often controversial, and in 1989 Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa calling for his death. Rushdie tells us that we are living in a censorious age where our voices are being censored in the name of “respect”. This need for “respect” extends beyond its traditional definition, and also means that one must not overtly disagree with what others say or think. Rushdie thinks this censorship will bring an end to the radical disagreements that shape a free society. ! ! Jonathan Rauch is an American journalist who is also an avid proponent of same-sex marriage. He agrees with Rushdie that censorship should be fought because it is being used to censor simple disagreements; not only people are losing face over voicing negative views about blacks, but also for speaking against advantaged groups such as Christians and men. Rauch argues that censorship’s goal of purifying the world is a futile effort. People typically see the world in terms of in-groups and out-groups, so there will always be prejudice. This prejudice is hard to pin down because it may be confused with misinformation. For example, a protestor saying “God Hates Fags” may be expressing a subjective statement of fact. Therefore, the end goal of censorship is unobtainable. Rauch calls this...
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...Video Games Annotated Bibliography American Military University SOCI 220 January 29, 2012 Video Games and the Effect on Children The popular culture subtopic I choose that interests me is video games and the effects on children. To start my research I need to find articles, both peer-reviewed and popular source, to gather information. I used both the internet and the online university library and searched terms such as video games and children, popular culture and video games, video game addiction, and video game violence. Listed below are some of the numerous sources I discovered. I choose a small sampling of the sources available, briefly explained their relevance, gave a short overview of the article, completed a quick pro and con review and lastly I completed a compare and contract of the source against two other sources. | Source 1 | 1) Source Title | The Effects of Video Games on Children | 2) APA-formatted citation for source | Gentile, D. A. (2004). The effects of video games on children: What parents need to know? Pediatrics for Parents, 21(6), 23-25. | 3) Source Evaluation | Peer-reviewed journal | 4) Relevance of source to Subtopic | This article shows the effects of gaming and that excessive time spent playing video games can have a negative effect on children. | 5) 3-5 sentence description of source | This article discusses the fact that video games can have both a positive and negative influence on children. It discusses the need for parents...
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...Violence in Media As young adults, we experience the exposure of violence in all mediums of communication, such as TV shows, movies, video games, and music lyrics. We may have stopped counting how many crime investigation shows are in primetime or how many ways of killing people are in the Saw series. We just keep consuming those materials and even look for more violence as excitement. As we become so obsessed with the genre, we may have forgotten the importance of awareness to the issue. Statistics give us a better idea about the big picture. According to Media Education Foundation, researches indicate that about 89 percent of the top-selling video games contained violent content, almost half of which was of a serious nature. Two-thirds of Hollywood films released in 2001 were rated “R.” (Media Violence Facts, 2005) In September 2000, Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reported that 80 percent of “R” rated movies, 70 percent of restricted video games, and 100 percent of music with “explicit content” warning labels were being marketed to children under 17. With this amount of exposure, researchers estimated that by the time the average child is eighteen years old, they will have witnessed 200,000 acts of violence and 16,000 murders. (TV-Turnoff Network, 2001) Those numbers reminds us to think about the issue. Is it too much? What effect does it have on our life, especially for children and adolescents? As we are still looking for the correct answers, multiple cases have showed...
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...currently based in Soho Square, London, Regulating the UK only and have a requirement to classify videos, and DVDs as well as some video games under the Video Recordings Act (1984), acknowledging and reflecting the UK's diverse cultural society. Originally set up in 1912 in order to put together rules and judgement on censorship, the British Board of Film Classification was known as the British Board of Film Censors until 1985. The BBFC then changed their name for the reason that they wanted to be known for the much larger role of actual classification that went into the boards work, rather than censorship, also applying the test of 'suitability for viewing in the home'. In the case of films shown in cinemas, local authorities have the final legal authorisation over who can view a particular film. The majority of the time, legal authorities accepts the Board's recommendation for a certificate for a film. Although there have been some exceptions, particularly in the 1970's when the board allowed films such as The Last Tango In Paris and The Exorcist to be released with an X certificate (18+), but many local authorities chose to ban the films regardless. The BBFC is a non-profit, non-governmental organisation, and its fees are adjusted only to cover its costs. In order to preserve its independence, the BBFC never receives subsidies from either the film industry or the government. In order to preserve its independence, its income is solely from the fees it charges for its services...
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