Video Games and violence

From this topic I have realized that video games are not just a source of entertainment, they are fantasy lives for some.  Video games have had a big change from years ago when they had first came out til now.  Not only has the game systems themselves changed but the images in the games as well.  I can remember when I first started playing with game systems I played Nintendo, then upgraded to a super Nintendo, and Sega.  Now there are all kinds of systems from play stations 1,2, and 3.  Dream Cast, Xbox, Xbox 360, and Wii.  The games images has improved as well and have now become more realistic. With these realistic games, it gives the player a sense of reality and that is why so many people are very connected to their game play.  I don;t think that there is anything wrong with people playing these games because it is good for people to be able to have imagination however, I do feel that there is something wrong with the violence that is taking place in these games and the portrayal of masculinity.

I have seen a lot of the action/ fighting games and they are not the way that they use to be.  Now there is so much more images that are shown that are very disgusting.  I think that because of these games a lot of young boys are putting these actions and moves that they see into reality and that is one of the reasons there is so much violence.  Also, the way that they portray men in these images are not realistic and isn't a natural way of life.

For my paper, I focused on the game Saints Row, and how it connects with the topics that we have been focusing on in class; Race, Class and Gender.  Through these this game uses class as a way to show seperation between higher class, and lower class which also ties with gender.  Within these the black characters are more low class and the whites are high class.  Through gender, the men are more forefront while women are portayed as prostitues or strippers, although you can choose a woman as a main character and she would steer away from those stereotypes.  I think that in this game they are taking what media does, which use these stereotypes of blacks and whites and put them in a game.  This is a very popular game and the reason that most people play this game is because of the since of reality that they are getting when they play it.  I talked with a young man who plays this game and his reasoning for playing it was because it allows him to do the things that he wants to do in real life without any repercussions.
Games are a great source of entertainment for anyone who enjoys them.  I just feel that parents should be aware  of what they are letting their children play because although it is a game, they are being exposed to a lot of things that lies in these video games and putting them to real life and I don't think that parents are aware of what really goes on in these games.

Dines, G. & Humez, J. (Eds.) (2003) Gender, Race, Class and Media (SecondEdition) Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage