Salon On The Anti-Gaming CSI Episode

On Monday we mentioned an upcoming CSI episode using GTA as a prop in a tale of violent gamers on a murder-spree. Well, via Gamepolitics, Salon has a feature on the episode in all its game-hating glory. From the Salon piece: "In conjunction with the venom and disgust that infuses the word 'gamer' when it's spoken by star David Caruso, aka 'Horatio Crane,' it is made clear... that people who play games are but one step removed from pedophiles or suicide bombers in the social hierarchy of evil."

Comments

Why should we care?

[readin]

Getting infuriated by bad TV is a spectacularly useless kind of rage, an exercise in futility akin to bemoaning the badness of "Star Wars'" romance scenes or the stupidity of intelligent design advocates. It's always better to just change the channel.

But getting mad about bad TV depictions of video game culture takes such pointlessness to truly stratospheric heights of inanity.

He's right you know. So why are we here? If seeing stuff on a TV screen influences your behavior, then they're right that video-games are a bad influence. If seeing stuff on a TV screen doesn't influence your behavior then why do gamers care if gamers are depicted negatively on TV?

So why am I posting? I noticed only one person posted before me and I'm hoping an early post will get modded up and help my karma :)

Re:Why should we care?

[Krater76]

...then why do gamers care if gamers are depicted negatively on TV?

The reason that gamers should care is because the TV show is saying that playing video games does influence behavior.

You seem to be mistaking behavior (someone actually doing something) for image (the perception of someone doing something). This episode can influence the audience's image of gamers and strengthen the falsehood that games alter behavior. And although I don't personally think it could happen, the result could be lawsuits against game makers or sanctions against certain 'undesireable' game content. Lucky for us, CSI: Miami isn't the ratings hog that the original is.

Ask Twisted Sister what they think of a negative image. Their 'We're Not Gonna Take It' doesn't have a single violent, sexual, or vulgar lyric in it yet was used in a Congressional hearing to promote explicit lyrics stickers on music. Dee Snider got chewed out by Al Gore just to be saved later by John Denver who trashed the sticker when he said that people mistake his 'Rocky Mountain High' song as a pot-smoking song.

Image is all you have and once it's gone it's almost impossible to get back. Gamers should protect it whenever they get the chance.

Re:Why should we care?

[Catnapster]

It's all about context. Games can influence behavior; so can TV. Someone who, for some reason, doesn't understand that it's bad to mow down people with an automatic rifle may well be influenced by a video game to do so. Someone who has been normally socialized and understands that murder is bad will not be swayed by said video game.

Similarly, someone who doesn't understand that gamers are generally civilized human beings like everyone else will be swayed by a TV show that (by my understanding) effectively uses "gamer" as a euphemism for "murderer." The difference here is that many people actually don't know much about gamers or gamer culture, and are likely to believe that gamers are murderers - and treat them as such.

The key here is that influences on one's behavior or viewpoint are filtered through pre-existing knowledge first. If a source that is perceived as credible gives misinformation, and there is no pre-existing knowledge that contradicts it, the misinformation will take root because nothing suggests that it would be untrue. It's the same reason why Internet hoaxes last as long as they do.

While I'm on the subject, I should point out that I do not consider it possible for games to turn the average kid into a murderer because (one) most kids don't treat games as a credible source of information, and (two) most kids have been properly socialized to know that the acts in the game are unacceptable in reality. In the absence of factor (one), the kid knows not to commit the acts anyway; in the absence of factor (two), the kid is as likely to be influenced by a violent movie, violent song, violent book, or violent scene in nature as the video game.

Re:Why should we care?

[Patrik_AKA_RedX]

I've played quite a lot 3D shooters and some time ago, I got the opportunity to try out a simulator the police uses to train on using a handgun. This simulator has a screen on which a situation is played (in real video) and you use a gun fitted with an IR light. Now compared to a standard FPS the "levels" are quite easy. (only 5 bad guys and a hostage) But it's a whole different matter to use a "real" gun instead of a mouse pointer. And this simulator doesn't even have the recoil or the painfull noise that comes with firing a real gun.
Not to mention that it's a real eye opener when the instructor points out you fired 8 rounds while the (real) gun holds only 6...

Games don't train people to be better killers, if it was the army wouldn't waste so much money using real ammo for traing soldiers.

Bruckheimer's School of Entertainment

[xenomouse]

When trying to figure out why some form of entertainment is made in a certain way or made to promote a certain message, the obvious and usually most simple reaction is to follow the money. Who writes the checks to get CSI: Miami made? Jerry Bruckheimer, the number one purveyor of non-cerebral entertainment in the U.S. He's been responsible for such gems as: The Rock, Con Air, Armageddon, Enemy of the State, Coyote Ugly, Kangaroo Jack, and more. Not all his projects are bad; in fact, I really enjoyed Black Hawk Down and Pirates of the Caribbean. However, all his movies are highly dependent on manipulating his viewers' emotions into what he thinks they should feel and rarely do they engage the viewers' intellect. He does this voluntarily and overtly, and his quotes listed on imdb even allude to that philosophy.

All that being said, when someone makes entertainment this way, his product is going to be emotionally engaging (either positively or negatively). Obviously, the write of the article was affected very negatively. On the other hand, i'm sure there were many people who were affected in a way that they did take the viewpoint of the show: that gamers are sheep and game companies will promote murder in order to sell games.

Hmm.. dont you think they are over reacting?

[AzraelKans]

I just saw the cbs blob and it doesnt quite sound as an "anti gamer" episode to me, it clearly mentions "psychopats acting out a game" the bad guys are the "psychopaths" not the game, the game is just something they are imitating, if it had said "teens" or "innocent children" or "my innocent, innocent clients" then we will had a Jack Thompson like statement in all its glory. CSI is looking for some idiot serial killers acting out a game.

I would like to reserve judgement until I see the episode (which is difficult because I dont watch that show, not because is bad, I just find it too morbid for my taste.)

feel free to correct me Im im wrong. I ussually am

Silly plot. Don't take it seriously.

[techstar25]

Wow. It looks like somebody is taking the show too seriously. A crime show always makes "somebody" look like satan. One time is was a housewife, once a judge, a few times a lawyer was the criminal, sometimes it's a child, a delivery man, postal worker, convenience store clerk, whatever. I watched that episode (as a game fan), and I thought, "they sure made COLLEGE KIDS look like low self esteem morons". The opinion on Salon is flat out wrong. Gamers in general were never presented in a negative light. To call the episode anti-gaming is quite naive, and is like calling every other CSI:Miami episode anti-boating (because it seems people always seem to get killed on or around boats) or anti-beach (for the same reason), or anti-college student (for the same reason). I think it's irresponsible to call it anti-gaming. The producers of CSI know who their audience is, and guess what...it's gamers...guys who like action and enjoy movies like The Rock and Armageddon.