Gaming by GlossGreen

Jack Thompson

Jack Thompson's in the news again. We all knew it was a matter of time. It seems every couple of months he ends up rearing his ugly, misinformed head, spouting falsehoods and half-truths to the unsuspecting mainstream media outlets. And why does the media listen to this guy? Because they may be even more clueless than he is, if that could even be possible. There is recent evidence to prove the validity of this, though. Just look back to earlier this month and the whole Mass Effect "Sexbox" controversy. I especially liked the Fox interview with Cooper Lawrence. To her credit, she did research the topic (after the fact) and recanted her previous statements. Better to say your sorry for being wrong instead of proving it time and again. Which leads me back to Thompson.

The more I read about this guy, the more worried I become. His actions, like the people he tries to defend, are becoming more and more erratic. He has recently attempted to defend or assist in defending accused murderers using the "videogames made me do it" defense. Thankfully, to date no judge has sided with his nonsense. Equal unsuccessful in censoring music and retailers in his past, you think this guy would give up, but no, he has the dedication of a religious zealot. He has sued just about everyone in the music, movie, retail, and video game industries. Why does he do it? What does he get out of it? Here's the editorial description for his book, Out Of Harms Way, on Amazon.com:



Jack's career has spanned over 30 years and has had many interesting highlights. From his beginnings as a humble lawyer (which must have lasted all of 5 minutes after passing the bar) to bashing Janet Reno (calling her a closet lesbian no less) to his battles with 2 Live Crew (and losing) and to his current obsession with violent video games (losing yet again). In a kind of ironic twist, he also has had repeated clashes with the Florida Bar Association, the association that granted him his license to practice law. He is currently involved in a disbarment case, to be ruled upon in a month or two. If he is ruled against, he will no longer be able to practice law in Florida. What will that mean? He will have to hire a lawyer for any complaints that he wishes to file.

If Jack Thompson thinks he's in a war against videogames, he is definitely losing. He has repeatedly said how he has never played the games he is issuing judgment against. How can you judge a thing if you've never played a thing? I don't know the answer to that. If I don't know something I either research it (ie...play the game), or keep my mouth shut. Maybe Jack needs to pull out a book, other than the bible.

For more information on Jack Thompson, check out the following links:
JackThompson.org
Wikipedia
GamePolitics.com
Game Trailers

Just search for Jack Thompson on the Game Politics and Game Trailers sites for lots of good, and sometimes humorous, information.

As Today's Entertainment.

OK, so it's been in the news again. Violence and video games. I know, I shouldn't be surprised by what the typical news outlet thinks is newsworthy these days. With people like Jack Thompson trumpeting the evils of electronic entertainment, expect to see more of this in the future. The problem I have with this fixation on video game violence is the fact that video games are not, nor was it the first, form of violent media available to us. All we have to do is turn on the news itself to see violence and death. I'm not talking about some Hollywood concocted nonsense, I'm talking about murder, violence and war. It is kind of ironic that the outlet that video games are most often decried from is the same outlet that has had embedded reporters with the Army and Marines during the latest conflict in the Middle-East. Turn on the news today to see the latest death scene from a car bombing in Iraq.

Movies today have become more and more violent also. Just look at the releases that happen around the Halloween time frame. You'll see your movies like Saw 12, Touristas 7, and all the others in the "torture porn" genre. The old Friday the Thirteenth and Nightmare on Elm Street movies are tame by comparison. Are video games really more dangerous then these displays of graphic violence? I know people will point to the fact that you actively control a character in games, but really, how do you honestly compare the cartoony, unrealistic violence of a game versus real people on screen committing incredibly realistic acts? Even the worst of Hollywood special effects can make a mutilation scene look like it is really happening.

I posted this topic on a forum recently and got some interesting responses to it. It seems that most people accept the violence displayed on the news as just a sign of the times we live in. It was reasoned that the news airs stuff like this because, of course, it makes money for the station. Viewership drives the price of advertising up, and advertising as we all know, is how we are able to watch all these shows for free. The more sensational the story is, the more viewers it most likely will pull in. A story about a teen killing a small child may not be that interesting, but throw Mortal Kombat into the mix and you have sensationalism at its finest.

On the good side, as games become more and more of a mainstream form of entertainment, we will see less and less attacks on the violence in games. Will there ever be a day that games are as accepted as movies are? I think we are seeing that happen today. With the current generation of consoles, and not to a small part the Wii itself, we are seeing video games being played by a more diverse demographic then ever before in its history. With game developers and console designers getting more creative, we will most definitely see a change in acceptance, and I think, sooner rather then later. Eventually, Jack Thompson will have nothing to complain about. Watch out, professional sports may be next.