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Some video
games depict
and glorify
violence and
sexual offences.
And our children
are not insulated
from them
TheBengal Post
PostScript
Monday November 29, 2010
How many did
you kill today?
Agnibho Gangopadhyay
Recently, there was a furore
in both UK and USA over a
new video game called ‘Medal Of
Honor’. In this game, players can
become Taliban warriors and kill
the British troops in the rugged terrains
of Afghanistan. The US military
banned the game, and the UK
government criticised the enterprise.
Now this is strange, for the
basic premise of ‘killing’ and ‘violence’
was not once questioned;
only the fact that it was soldiers
who were being killed upset both
the players and the government and
not the idea of killing per se. War
and murder in video games has
become an established and uncontested
fact. And in an intensely connected
world, India is no stranger to
such video games.
Reevoo Chakraborty, 21, a student,
says, “I am addicted to Mob
Enforcer and Max Payne. While
Mob Enforcer is the story of a con-
tract killer, who has to save this big
crime boss, AL Capone, Max Payne
is more fascinating because I get to
seek redemption in revenge for
someone severely wronged.” He is
dismissive about its ill effects, but
admits, “Earlier we used to play a
lot outdoors. Now, we all play video
games inside. I am not as fit as I
used to be.”
Subhajit Maity, 16, however has
no ‘grown-up’ theory to explain his
fascination with video games. His
mother, Reba Maity, says, “From a
very young age, he has been hooked
on to the computer. He says he likes
eliminating his opponents and
destroying cities in the games he
plays. But in school, he is overtly
shy and cannot concentrate on his
studies, which alternates
with violent streaks. He
failed twice before he
reached eighth standard. We
had to take him to a counsellor.”
Shirsha Das, a post-graduate student,
says, “I was addicted to violent
games like Mortal Kombat, Blitz,
NARC and Grand Theft Auto (GTA)
among others. There was everything
excitingly sinful—murders,
drug abuse, explicit sexual encounters
or dialogues. Gradually, I
realised I was getting sucked into
this morbid world. It was very difficult
to withdraw. Even rape does in
fact take place, or is made possible,
by the game makers in GTA. If one
has sex with a prostitute in the
game, one can then beat the prostitute
up, one can murder the prostitute
and take one's money back,
and this, in my view, constitutes
rape. This is preposterous.”
Sayantan Banerjee, a political science
graduate, says there are games
that glorify the Nazi murdermachineries
and the US army
wrecking havoc in Africa. “While
violence in itself is to be rejected,
the political overtones and ethical
questions are also looming,” he
opines.
Video games first emerged in the
1970s, but it was during the 1990s
that violent games truly came of
age. Starting in the late 1980s video
game producers experimented with
what the public would accept
in video games. Gradually it
became clear that games
sell better if they contain
more violence. One-on-one
fighting games such as
Double Dragon and Mortal
Kombat pushed the boundaries of
violence and became all-time best
sellers. From then on, sex, drugs,
fascism everything found a vent in
video games, on a much larger
scale.
Prasenjit Dhar, who owns a film
and games CD-DVD shop in
Chandni Chowk narrates how the
games scene in Kolkata is now a big
one. “All kinds of games are being
smuggled into Kolkata. Among
them, the violent ones like 50 Cent:
Bulletproof, Manhunt, Darkness are
slowly becoming very popular.
After the metro rail
expanded, our business
got a boost. We find
more suburban buyers
than urban,” he informs.
Ganesh Santra, another shopowner
in the area says, “There
are games with explicit sexual
content, where tasks
include arousing a woman.
Games such as 7 Sins and
Voyeur are very popular. These
games are bought by both young
boys and older men.” However,
Tapan Haldar, a salesman with a
CD-DVD showroom in a shopping
mall says, “We have some in-house
discretions and rules which doesn’t
allow us to keep games with pornographic
overtones. But violent
games are common and popular.”
So, what are the problems that
such video games bring in? “The
biggest problem is that children
and adolescents become immune
to reacting against physical violence,
sexual offences, substance
abuse and crime. While some video
games do enhance reflexes and
inject requisite competitive spirit,
and most cross the line of propriety
and social harmony. Video games
are more dangerous than violent
films, for here there is no exteriority.
You become the murderer,” says
Dr J Ram, a psychiatrist. “Moreover,
games cater to extreme anomie and
dissociatedness. The healing potential
of community, unions, congregations,
human associations is forgotten.
This in turn leads to depression.
Suicides in UK, South Korea
have taken place due to exposure to
violent games,” he adds.
“Certain massacres in America,
like the ones in Virginia Tech and
Columbine, opine investigators,
may have been patterned by a keen
awareness of video games which
demands planning and murdering
in a ritualistic fashion. In India, this
has come late, but the way it is
growing, we may face similar consequences
in future. Remember
how TV-triggered mishaps and
serial killing seeped into the Indian
scene? I already get many young
patients who suffer due to playing
disturbing video games,” he cautions.
“These games are misogynist
to the core. It’s not healthy for boys
to learn that women are expendable
objects, weak and to be
oppressed. Very few women would
be interested in such games,” he
adds.
Subhas Ranjan Chakr aborty, a
retired professor of history
says, “These are a manifestation
of patriarchal
ethos not being able to
come to terms with
women’s empowerment.”
So, what about censorship?
While in USA the
extremely well-developed liberal
democratic ethos has allowed the
government to avoid legal bans,
civil society organisations run
awareness programs. In UK and
Australia, many such games are
banned. Venezuela recently banned
all games that entail ‘killing’ to stop
the rising gun culture in the country.
In India, however, there is no
such censorship in place. Microsoft
blocked a game called Fallout 3 in
India for it had double-headed
cows, which may have hurt religious
sentiments. But that’s pretty
much it. Given the rising tide of
violent and sexually explicit games
in India, the concerned authorities
need to sit up, take notice and curb
the same.