Violent video games. It has long been a controversy to whether they make the people who play it violent or not. As we talked about in class, it does not make people violent, but what it does is change our views on violence. By being exposed more and more to violence we start to become desensitized to the blood and gore and it becomes acceptable, if not expectable.
Video games today are much more violent than ever before. Back when I first started playing video games at the age of 3, I used to play Mortal Kombat all the time. Now for those of you who don’t know what this is, it is a 2D fighting game that lets you kill the other player in horrendous ways after you have beaten them. The iconic “Finish Him/Her” comes up after beating the other player and after inputting a number of combination of buttons you may: shove a bomb into the other player’s mouth and watch them explode, rip out their skeletal frame - skull down to toes, cut them up into hundreds of pieces, and the list goes on and on.
This video shows all of the Fatalities in the new Mortal Kombat 9:
Now I haven’t played this game since Mortal Kombat 3 many many years ago, but this game has gotten so much more violent than it used to be. Unfortunately it seems like a LOT of games nowadays has a lot of violence like this.
Let’s not forget about Grand Theft Auto and the classic “have sex with the hooker and kill her to get your money back:
This is actually only a small portion of violent video games out on today’s market. And regardless of their “R” rating, even children can still get their hands on these video games.
So, I completely disagree in the statement that “violent video games make people violent” but it is undeniable that it has some sort of negative impact on us. I feel like a lot of people and especially children are slowly becoming more and more desensitized to violence (blood and gore and all). Not only are they becoming desensitized, but because they are getting used to the violence, the video game companies have to somehow make it more stimulating so people will buy their product.
Thursday, March 28, 2013
The Glory of Mized Martial Arts
Today's definition of masculinity can easily be described as the hyper-violent and bulky muscular man. How has this changed over the decades when being big and muscular was a sign of low status or class, while being of a small stature was highly regarded? These changes have been ever so gradual over the years and yet where did it start? And how will this show of masculinity affect all the children who are being brought into this world.
It is presupposed that it is in man's nature to be aggressive and violent and it does not help that everywhere we go, this is the stereotype of man and how the media wishes us to behave. Today I want to talk about Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fights that are aired on television. MMA is a hyper-violent "sport" that involves many forms of fighting techniques from boxing to silat, attacking the competitor with punches, kicks, elbows, knees, submissions, etc... until they are either knocked out or tap out of the match. These MMA matches are aired for entertainment much like WWE wrestling is, except this is real (excluding the trash talking and superfluous "moves" they use on each other).
So now I must ask.... why do we enjoy these violent sports where people are bleeding all over the mats and being beaten up so much? I mean, I love watching MMA and I get excited to see the matches that come up every now and again. There are many others who enjoy watching it seeing as how it is still being aired. But why are we so entertained to watch sweaty and bloody men all over each other on the ground, or punching and kicking others all over so much? What does it say about us as a society that we are entertained by violence?
For example:
This is an extremely short match, but I believe it shows exactly what I am talking about. This sort of violence is all too common in MMA.
This kind of trauma can have very permanent effects on the body, from broken limbs to brain damage.This article describes how dangerous MMA can be and what kind of effects it can have on someone’s mental state. This kind of violence is all too readily available for our children to watch and become desensitized to blood and violence. There are children out there who are fans of MMA and watch it religiously much like some children do with WWE.
Although children imitate WWE regardless of the fact that it is fake and done by professionals, children also imitate MMA as well. This kind of violence is shows children that as long as it is in the ring, it is okay to beat others up, but not only that but with the world of mixed martial arts expanding, it shows them better and more efficient ways to harm others. Although I love watching MMA, I can’t help but wonder what kind of effect it will have on the young impressionable minds that watch this. The influences that will shape their view on violence.
It is presupposed that it is in man's nature to be aggressive and violent and it does not help that everywhere we go, this is the stereotype of man and how the media wishes us to behave. Today I want to talk about Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fights that are aired on television. MMA is a hyper-violent "sport" that involves many forms of fighting techniques from boxing to silat, attacking the competitor with punches, kicks, elbows, knees, submissions, etc... until they are either knocked out or tap out of the match. These MMA matches are aired for entertainment much like WWE wrestling is, except this is real (excluding the trash talking and superfluous "moves" they use on each other).
So now I must ask.... why do we enjoy these violent sports where people are bleeding all over the mats and being beaten up so much? I mean, I love watching MMA and I get excited to see the matches that come up every now and again. There are many others who enjoy watching it seeing as how it is still being aired. But why are we so entertained to watch sweaty and bloody men all over each other on the ground, or punching and kicking others all over so much? What does it say about us as a society that we are entertained by violence?
For example:
This is an extremely short match, but I believe it shows exactly what I am talking about. This sort of violence is all too common in MMA.
This kind of trauma can have very permanent effects on the body, from broken limbs to brain damage.This article describes how dangerous MMA can be and what kind of effects it can have on someone’s mental state. This kind of violence is all too readily available for our children to watch and become desensitized to blood and violence. There are children out there who are fans of MMA and watch it religiously much like some children do with WWE.
Although children imitate WWE regardless of the fact that it is fake and done by professionals, children also imitate MMA as well. This kind of violence is shows children that as long as it is in the ring, it is okay to beat others up, but not only that but with the world of mixed martial arts expanding, it shows them better and more efficient ways to harm others. Although I love watching MMA, I can’t help but wonder what kind of effect it will have on the young impressionable minds that watch this. The influences that will shape their view on violence.
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