Video Games - Media Regulation

Video Games - Media Regulation

Douglas Gentile - Media Effects Researcher

"offers a range of scientific proof that antisocial and dangerous behavior increased due to playing violent Video Games"

Mark Kermode - Critic

"The public has a responsibility to look after itself and they are giving this up to regulators"

"Accuses the BBFC of being more liberal in the classification of 'Arthouse' cinema; taking into account assumptions about the white, middle-class, middle-aged audience"

O Davey - Critic

"Violence plays a critical part in all our lives; it is often the catalyst for other emotions that lead to films being made that express these."

"Violence Cannot be distinguished from film as we cannot distinguish violence from life."

Martin Barker - Media Effects Researcher

"We need to see violence as it is part of real life and helps us to understand the world we live in."

"we are able to make a distinction between real and onscreen violence it is the content, not the amount of violence that matters"

PEGI

Byron Review

• Pre-PEGI
• Government Concerned over children playing online games

Concerns with online gaming

• Predators / Pedophiles
• People Pretending to be other people - Fake Identities
•  Making them violent
• Influenced by older people they haven't met.
• exposed to uncensored third party content
• Cyber Bullying and emotional distress

Media

Learning objectives:

• To understand the arguments surrounding violence in the media
• To consider the various theories about the effects of media violence
• To analysis whether there are any links between violence on film and violence in reality

Cathartic Effects

• Media violence can be positive
• people release violent inclinations by seeing them portrayed

Socially Positive Action

• Media portrayals of violence can increase awareness of social problems

Aggressive Stimulation Theory - Albert Bandura

• Media-depicted violence has potential to cue real life violence
• Criticezed for overstating cause-and-effect connections
• Causality is overstated
• Conclusions are simplistic
• much of evidence is anecdotal
• other factors could be involved
• aggressive people may gravitate to violence

 Catalytic Theory

• media trigger violence only when certain non-media factors are alsopresent
• violence rewarded
• media exposure is heavy
• violent person meets a certain profile
• violence in realistic and exciting
• violence rights a wrong
• violence includes characters and situations similar to viewers own experience

Bottom Line.

• violence is factor complex to be explained by a single factor
• effects of media violence vary from person to person

Desensitizing theory

• people beomcing hardened by media violence
• society's tolerance for antisocial behavior is increasing

BBFC

1.When was the BBFC Formed? - 1912, to protect people from films
2. what media forms do they regulate? - film and video games
3. how are they funded? - By the industry
4. what legislation do they abide by? -
5. what is the process of classification? - All Media is Watched/Played then awarded a classification
6.give historical examples over 20 years - Clockwork Orange and Terminator 2
7.give two examples of films or computer games over last 2 years - Watchdog - Man of Steel
8.what is American equivelent? - MPAA

To what extent are contemporary media regulated adequately (IS Media Regulated effectively)

Audience Effects

Key Words

• Media Effects

Why do audiences consume certain texts: social standing, reputable source,lifestyle

Media Effects Can be Split into 4 Areas

• Hyperdermic Needle Theory
• Diffusion Theories
• Indirect Effect Theories
• The Pluralistic Approach

Media Effects Model
the consumption of media texts has an effect or influence upon the audience
often considered this effect is negative
audience are passsive and powerless.

these theory centre on media texts having a direct influence behaviors, beliefs or attitudes of the audience

Hypodermic needle
here the messages in media texts are injected into the audience by the powerful, syringe -;like media.
the audience is powerless to resist
 therefore the media works like a drug and the audience is drugged, addicted, doped or duped.

•  linear communication theory
• direct and powerful influence
• passive audience

 

•  rooted in 1930s behaviourism
• suggests the audience is directly affected by the media text
• suggests that the media is wholly accepted and not question by the audience.
• audience is passive.
• thi9s theory assumes people wont question the media
• Child's Play 3 - 1993 - James Bulger
• Manuhunt- 2004 - Stefan Pakeerah
• Clockwork Orange -  1971 - Rapes and Attacks
• Severance - 2006 - Simon Everitt

in each case there was a media and political outcry for the texts to be banned
in some cases laws were changed, films banned, and newspapers demmaned the byurning of filoms
subsequently in each case it was found that no case could be proven to demonstrate a link between the text and violent acts

Cultivation Theory

suggests hat repeated exposure to the same message cultivates the belief in the audience
suggests more the audience sees the same message , the more they believe it
attitudes and values can become normalized
the audience may become desensitized to violence

Moral Panic

Key Words

• Moral Panic
• Stanley Cohen 1972
• Sensationalism

1) How effective are regulatory practices?

• PCC code of conduct broken regularly
• Not legally binding - cant be enforced
• Retrospective action can really only be taken by those who can afford to pay
• Makes easy for public to complain

2) What are the wider social issues relating to media regulation?

1)Moral panics are when the mass media exaggerate a story to create it into a "Epidemic" or a story in which they can cause panic, threatens moral standards

2) When they make a mountain out of a mole hill, misrepresentation

3) Yes but it is impossible because no newspaper is gonna have there newspaper regulated before being published

4) I don't think so

5)