Lamar Davis – “Your auntie, Denise. With all that ass, nigga, she got ass.
Franklin – “She grown, yeah. She grown into a fuckin idiot.”
Are games such as GTA 5 racist and harmful?
In this critical investigation, the focus will be on how racist, stereotypical and harmful GTA V is a video game. GTA V is a game that has been produced by Rockstar games; the institution has been producing ever since they released GTA. From that point onwards they have created a chain of GTA games, such as Vice City, Sin city, San Andreas, and many more. It was when they released GTA V when they most the most profit they have compared to the other GTA games, however it also had the largest budget compared to any other game that has previously been produced. “GTA 5 is this most expensive video game ever produced, sitting at a development and marketing budget of £170 million, or $265 million.”[1] The producers of GTA spent millions when producing and advertising GTA, this is what led to such success of the game.
Although GTA has been a very successful game it has been frowned upon by many different groups of people, as they believe that the content that has been involved is not appropriate and the representations that have been shown within the game are negative. The main concern with the game is that it is misogynistic and very violent, and a vast amount of people would agree to this, mainly feminists and parents. However there are also some feminists that enjoy the game just as it is, “So why are so many people I meet so shocked that, as a woman and, whisper it, a feminist, I enjoy playing Grand Theft Auto?”[2], people argue that the females that are represented in GTA are simply used as being sex objects and that they are glorified for the way the look, Laura Mulvey used the term ‘Male Gaze’[3] this theory suggested that females are put into media so that men can look at them. In some cases this will be true as the females that are used in GTA are used for their sexual appeal, and they are exploited for their bodies in the game. On the other hand it can be argued that as it is a game, the producers are free to do what they like, and the predominant amount of producers that have contributed to producing GTA are male, thus they are more likely to increase the abilities of the males compared to the females. Furthermore GTA is a game that is played to escape from the real world, it can almost be seen as a fantasy world where anything can happen and you can do whatever you want. Thus having females being shown as sex object can be seen as being acceptable, to some extent.
There are other games that can be seen as being worse than GTA when it comes to the portrayal of females, such as “Saints Row The Third” Within this game the acts of violence and the outrages sub games that are included, make the portrayal of females in GTA look like child’s play. There is a sub game within the game that is called, ‘Whored mode’. This is game which includes “killing armed prostitutes with "a deadly, wobbling purple dong", fighting "barely-dressed angels in a sniper-on-sniper battle"[4] this is just one of the many outrageous aspects of Saints Row.
Another example of a video game that is very violent and uses female’s characters to exploit their bodies is Mortal Kombat. MK is a game that was released during the 1990’s; it was one of the first games that contained vast amounts of gore and violence. MK was a very successful game and went on to making many more sequel games, over the years as the game developed and technology increased, the game also changed. “Her strut with heels, I might add, just in case she wasn’t fetishized enough. Not to mention how perfectly fitting that underwear is. Is it just painted on or something?[5] The females in the game were made more revealed, their costumes became more revealing and the way they moved was made much more seductive. Mortal Kombat is a very similar game to GTA in the way that women are shown, “show off in touch with her sexuality”[6] the women in this game and in GTA are shown to be very sexual and exploited for their looks. However in MK the females are also shown as being as powerful as the males, “the women seem just as capable in Mortal Kombat as the men”[7] thus there isn’t as much discrimination of females made in this game.
However the violence and gore that is contained in this game could overrule most games, “These are gruesome ways to meet your fate, and some are even nostalgic for good measure.” [8] the fatalities are what MK is known for, it’s what sets apart from other games. Going back to GTA a vast amount of people say that it may cause “Moral panic has a tendency to exaggerate statistics and to create a bogey-man, known as a folk-devil”[9] due to the violence that is shown within the game and the actions it causes young people to commit. For example, in America a young boy murdered his brother and farther and said that he was reconstructing a scene from GTA that he had seen. However games like MK contain a much higher level of violence, “The entire game is around overdone violence”[10] However there has never been any killing that have been connected back to MK. From this it is evident that although games like GTA, Saints Row and MK contain high levels of violent and explicit content, it cannot be said that games are the cause of violence. It is due to the folk devils that have been created that cause people to feel this way.
When it comes to games such as GTA there are also many problems with the racial stereotypes in the game and other stereotypes that are shown and portrayed throughout the game, “Stereotypes are cognitive structures that contain the perceiver's knowledge, beliefs, and expectations about human groups”[11]. “Franklin is treated differently from the other two, white, playable characters, by the Los Santos Police Department” [12] looking at the game there is a vast amount of racial stereotypes that are shown throughout the game, for example Franklin the black male character in the game, is shown in the ‘hood’ with a single mother and he is involved in the wrong business, “the linkage between Blacks and crime was galvanized.”[13]. Michael, the white male in the game, is shown having a whole family that is broken within itself and he is very rich. Finally, Trevor the redneck character is shown as being reckless and a free soul. Based on the stereotypes that are given to African American Black males, American white males and American rednecks, it’s clearly evident that the characters in GTA have been stereotyped. However by having the characters stereotyped in such a way almost gives them an identity and makes them more lifelike. This gives the audience more pleasure when playing, as they may feel as if it is themselves within the game, “people may choose to consume media texts as a source of personal identity. The consumer could choose to watch or read something that helps to reinforce self-values and behaviour”[14] It allows the audience to connect with the game and the characters themselves.
When people look at GTA as a game and games like GTA, such as Call OF Duty, they seem to focus more on the negatives of the game rather than looking at it from a positive point of view. “When your child plays video games, it gives his brain a real workout. In many video games, the skills required to win involve abstract and high level thinking. These skills are not even taught at school.”[15] When a child or even an adult plays games that require them to do more than one task at a time, it requires the brain to work more and thus they are able to multitask. “Games have internal logic in them, and the player figures it out by recognizing patterns.”[16] When games such as COD are played they have a lot more to them than just going and killing other players online. It requires a set skills to be used in order you the player to achieve something, within each game set there is an objective or a task that has been to achieve, thus the player must think of all the possible ways for them to achieve that goal without letting the opposition interfering. However It cab said that it is games like COD that are also blamed for high levels of violence, “, stimulations like Call Of Duty have been used by the American police force, “American police force and army train their recruits to use deadly force by having them practice using videogame like point-and-shoot devices, known as Fire Arm Training Stimulators.” [17]
The same can be said for GTA, as a game there are specific tasks that are set to be achieved, and as a gamer, the player will do whatever it takes for them to achieve that goal.
GTA can also teach you the life lessons, such as the consequences of doing wrong and doing good, “if you do bad things, bad things generally happen to you in the game.”[18] When a crime is committed in GTA, the police are after you as soon as possible. This shows young kids that committing crimes has its consequences and you cannot get away with doing bad things.
In conclusion, after looking at GTA as game and games that are similar to it, it is evident that the game does involve vast amounts of violence, stereotypes and it looks at women in a negative way. However, when people are able to see past all the negativity of the game, it opens a whole new world of gaming. “GTA allows for more innocent and even banal pleasures tool: cruising through the city listening to the radio, people watching on a busy street corner, bowling with friends, surfing the web.”[19] As the story doesn’t follow a narrative the player is able to create their own narrative, allowing them to have a game that individual to them and how they play
“The staggeringly detailed city changing weather and traffic patterns, pedestrians dashing out of the rain with newspapers over their heads, cabbies flicking cigarette butts out of their windows – provide a vast “sandbox” for unstructured, nonlinear gameplay.”[20] I agree that there is violence, sexist and violent, however I also believe that the game also has a good moral side to it, for example, when following the story of Michael, it starts off with him having a broken family and everything starting to fall apart. However he gets his family back together and they have a complete family in the end. It is the factors like this that make the game morally correct, and teach the younger generation what is right and what is wrong. Looking at everything that has been said it is evident that GTA V does have some aspects of violence and sexism however due to the content that is shown and the moral views and values that are portrayed in the game, it could have a harmful effect on the development of the younger generation.
Bibliography
Works cited
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Thompson, C. (1980) Violence and the political life of video games: Report from Unknown http://nickttaylor.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/gameon_thompson.pdf
Chien, I. (2008 FALL – SPRING) Moving violations: report from film quarterly, volume. 62, No. 1 pps80 – 81
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Bernstein, J. (2013 SEPTEMBER 09) The Franklin Conspiracy: Why Gamers Decided The Police In “GTA V” Are Racist: Report from: BuzzFeednews http://www.buzzfeed.com/josephbernstein/the-franklin-conspiracy-why-gamers-decided-the-police-in-gt#.htL7EjNyYJ
Bryant, L. (2014) Moral Panic: Report from History Learning Site http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/moral_panic.htm
Green, L. (1998 – 99) Stereotypes:
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Iqbal Baig, H. (2013 APRIL 04) ‘Laura Mulvey – Male gaze Theory: Report from wordpress https://hamnaiqbalbaig.wordpress.com/2012/11/28/laura-mulvey-male-gaze-theory/
Lewis, L. (2013 SEPTEMBER 08)’ Yes, it's misogynistic and violent, but I still admire Grand Theft Auto: Report from The Guardian http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/sep/21/grand-theft-auto-5-women-misogynistic-violent
Murphy, H. (2012 APIL 04) Uses and Gratifications: Report from Blogger http://usesandgratification.blogspot.co.uk/
Unknown (2011 MAY 05) The Women of Mortal Kombat: Report from The border house http://borderhouseblog.com/?p=5366
Unknown (2011 MAY 05) The Women of Mortal Kombat: Report from The border house http://borderhouseblog.com/?p=5366
Unknown (Unknown) Report from Raise Smart Kid http://www.raisesmartkid.com/3-to-6-years-old/4-articles/34-the-good-and-bad-effects-of-video-games
Unknown (Unknown) Report from Raise Smart Kid http://www.raisesmartkid.com/3-to-6-years-old/4-articles/34-the-good-and-bad-effects-of-video-games
Villapaz, L. (2013 SEPTEMBER 08) 'GTA 5' Costs $265 Million to Develop And Market, Making It The Most Expensive Video Game Ever Produced: Report from international business times http://www.ibtimes.com/gta-5-costs-265-million-develop-market-making-it-most-expensive-video-game-ever-produced-report
Welch, K. (2007 AUGUST 08) Black Criminal Stereotypes and Racial Profiling: Report from http://ccj.sagepub.com/content/23/3/276.short?rss=1&ssource=mfr
Workman, R. (2014 MAY 05) The Top 50 Mortal Kombat Fatalities of All Time: 10-1: Report from http://www.primagames.com/games/mortal-kombat/feature/top-50-mortal-kombat-fatalities-all-time-10-1
Wright, M. (2013 SEPTEMBER) GTA 5: the violence debate: Report from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/video-games/10312420/GTA-5-the-violence-debate.html
(Unknown) http://saintsrow.wikia.com/Whored_Mode
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Moving image text
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCFwvngf0GM
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Elling, K. (2010) Women in games? ‘Continue’ says Kate Elling: Report from Imagine
Consalvo, M. Grimmes, S. Kennedy, H. (2007) Digital games and gender: Report from Feminist media studies.
Unknown (2000) Red pushes playstation down players throats: Report from Television
[1] Villapaz, L. (2013 SEPTEMBER 08) 'GTA 5' Costs $265 Million To Develop And Market, Making It The Most Expensive Video Game Ever Produced: Report from international business times http://www.ibtimes.com/gta-5-costs-265-million-develop-market-making-it-most-expensive-video-game-ever-produced-report
[2] Lewis, L. (2013 SEPTEMBER 08)’ Yes, it's misogynistic and violent, but I still admire Grand Theft Auto: Report from The Guardian http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/sep/21/grand-theft-auto-5-women-misogynistic-violent
[3] Iqbal Baig, H. (2013 APRIL 04) ‘Laura Mulvey – Male gaze Theory: Report from wordpress https://hamnaiqbalbaig.wordpress.com/2012/11/28/laura-mulvey-male-gaze-theory/
[4](Unknown) http://saintsrow.wikia.com/Whored_Mode
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[5] Unknown (2011 MAY 05) The Women of Mortal Kombat: Report from The border house http://borderhouseblog.com/?p=5366
[6] IBID
