submitter: "There's a lot more to America's culture of violence than Resident Evil 4"

¿Qué carajo estás haciendo aquí? ¡Lárgate, cabrón!

I thought Danse nashBridges: I normally hate his essays because he applies his English teacher past to justify his logic, but he is is on the money with this one.

I thought Danse Macabre was a pretty interesting read but yeah, he hit it.

nashBridges: He is extremely liberal, but in that quote alone he's found common ground across political parties.

Parental responsibility, yes. Laws against entertainment, no.

No labels, no hangups. Parents should know what their kids are doing. No micromanagement, just understanding.

The_Man_On_The_Phone: Parents should know what their kids are doing. No micromanagement, just understanding.

And your parents knew what you were doing all that time? Are you mormon?

/not a troll I swear.

He's obviously never played Katamari Damacy.

Was the Hero tag sleep

drjekel_mrhyde: Was the Hero tag sleep

It is pass out

RabidDog: And your parents knew what you were doing all that time? Are you mormon?

They were involved enough. I turned out all right. If I'd holed myself away and started shooting monsters/zombies/evil muthas, not talking to anyone, developing weird attitudes or behaviors, my mom would have at least had a concerned talk. At least one good talk.

And whether parents talk one good talk or ten, my point is I'm against the government censoring entertainment. Parents have an obligation to influence their kids lives.

The_Man_On_The_Phone: Parents have an obligation to influence their kids lives.

While true, it rarely happens. Being in the biz, the Byron thing pisses me off, her being all smiley and shiat, but kids do what they want. Tried slapping one recently?

FTFA: HB 1423 would restrict or outright ban the sale of violent videogames to anyone under the age of 18.

I think the biggest question here is, what qualifies as a violent videogame?

I mean, Super Mario is violent. You jump the plumber character onto monster's heads. Yet it's one of the most kid-friendly series around, and parents typically have no problem with their kid playing it. The Sims is violent, because you can have little Sims smacking and fighting with each other. Yet at it's heart, it's a computerized game of doll-house.

DRTFA, that site doesn't like smartphones, page won't display.
Is it Resident Evil 4, or 5 that will be out next? I saw a trailer for one of those and it scared the shiat out of me. The game looked like Blackhawk Down, but with zombies. Hordes and hordes of zombies.

We can talk about taking away my FPSes when I can finally see naked women on TV during the day on broadcast networks, like in most of Europe.

/most violent acts probably have some root in repression
//more sex = less of a need to ban violent games?

Aqui Esta!

tohetherbilly, RE 5 is the one that will be out next. I'm pretty hyped myself. Haitian zombies...HOOOYEAH

I don't know, Milla Jovovich makes me want to slaughter hundreds of millions of unsuspecting homunculei.

Sofa King Awesome: I don't know, Milla Jovovich makes me want to slaughter hundreds of millions of unsuspecting homunculei.

Milla Jovovich makes me want to slaughter kittens.

Resident Evil is freakin awesome. Just thought I would state the obvious.

bmongar: Sofa King Awesome: I don't know, Milla Jovovich makes me want to slaughter hundreds of millions of unsuspecting homunculei.

Milla Jovovich makes me want to slaughter kittens.

If you kill one kitten it is a tragedy, if you kill a million it is a lot of fun.

As a honest to god gun loving person. I have to say I have no problem with a basic background check. Including psychiatric records. If a person has been treated for homicidal thoughts they should not be able to own a firearm for at least 2 years. That is to say two years after treatment. I am pro concealed carry. I am anti ban of any firearms, criminals have better guns than cops. Plus I really don't like the idea of having to rely on someone else for defense. But, keeping criminals and people who want to commit mass murder from the very items that make it easy falls within the realms of reasonable regulation.

As far as I'm concerned his best book was "On Writing" his only non-fiction piece I'm aware of.

He's a smart cookie and I wish he'd weigh in on cultural issues more often.

The whole argument is a red herring. The real problem is that violent media fail to present non-violent solutions to problems. American preoccupation with violence distracts them from seeing that most problems can only be solved with non-violence.

Great example: Jack Bauer. The TV shows creates the illusion that simply being violent will prevent of solve "terrism". Sorry, fail.

Also see any farking anti-UN thread to see why our foreign policy is such a failure. Because too many dumb asses think that bombing is the solution to all our problems. In fact strongly worded letter are usually morew effective.

When the zombie revolution comes, there will be two groups of people left standing. Survivalist militia nut jobs and kids who have played Resident Evil 24/7. The politicians will be the first to be devoured.

Oh and may I present Mila Jovovich.

Sofa King Awesome: I don't know, Milla Jovovich makes me want to slaughter hundreds of millions of unsuspecting homunculei.

You will go to hell for that. It says so in the Bible.

Nor will I argue for the artistic value of stuff like God of War, or 50 Cent: Bulletproof, where looting the victims of gang violence is part of the game (players use the money to buy new Fiddy tunes and music videos - classy).

I implore you, please re-write this paragraph. You come dangerously close to implying that 50 Cent: Bulletproof had artistic value.

/or any kind of value

ilambiquated: The real problem is that violent media fail to present non-violent solutions to problems. American preoccupation with violence distracts them from seeing that most problems can only be solved with non-violence.

Not true. You can play games like "Grand Theft Auto" as a complete angel (except for certain mission accomplishments) and even be rewarded for good behavior (less police activity, etc). In open-ended games like that, you can act however you want; usually, you get penalized for bad behavior.

But it's just not as much fun that way.

biatch! Zombies coming up the hell right now! Shoot 'em in the head! Shoot 'em! Grab the shotgun! You don't need to load it! We did that shiat for you!

ilambiquated: Sofa King Awesome: I don't know, Milla Jovovich makes me want to slaughter hundreds of millions of unsuspecting homunculei.

You will go to hell for that. It says so in the Bible.

The same Bible that claims ants have 4 legs & rabbits chew their cud?

;>

Oh_Enough_Already: his only non-fiction piece I'm aware of.

He has two more: Danse Macabre and Faithful.

While I agree with the article for the most part, it's also more than a bit hypocritical. King took his own Rage off the shelves after Columbine for the very same reason he's criticizing here. If he believes in what he's saying, he should have left it there, and spoken out about why he did.

And don't forget "Secret Windows", it's a collection of essays, articles, transcripts from speaking engagements and about 200 pages from "Danse Macabre" pertaining to horror novels he likes and doesn't likes.

While not a professional statistician my guess is that since the advent of video games, modern society has become less violent. While this trend may not be due to video games solely, it would be logical to attribute some of the effects to them.

Pillager: ilambiquated: Sofa King Awesome: I don't know, Milla Jovovich makes me want to slaughter hundreds of millions of unsuspecting homunculei.

You will go to hell for that. It says so in the Bible.

The same Bible that claims ants have 4 legs & rabbits chew their cud?

;>

Hah! Where is that?

Previous comment directed at:

Oh_Enough_Already and flaggboy42

Violent TV shows? Violent books? Violent movies? What about them?

Why do video games always get singled out to be picked on?
This double standard that gets applied to video games compared with other forms of media is what really pisses me off.

I think he undermines his message with the gun-control jibber jabber.

log_jammin: drjekel_mrhyde: Was the Hero tag sleep

It is pass out

/Literally eating cereal while I read this, and although I didn't spew milk on my keyboard, I definitely snuffed some up the nose.
//Thanks.
///Actually no thanks.

You know what causes violence, Jealousy and being poor, and more Jealousy than anything. I have noticed a huge spike in crime as the unemployment rate has gone up. I believe the more desparate someone is, they are going to mess with your stuff more. Most murders are of family members, or Significant others.

/understands there is gang violence
//lives in a medium city who lost a lot of jobs
///had my car broken into 3 times since the two main employers closed up shop.

Not only are politicians eager to use pop culture as a whipping boy, they are eager at the same time to cozy up to the icons of pop culture, celebrities. They want to have it both ways.

Oh_Enough_Already: As far as I'm concerned his best book was "On Writing" his only non-fiction piece I'm aware of.

He's a smart cookie and I wish he'd weigh in on cultural issues more often.

Other Nonfiction:
Danse Macabre
That book he wrote about the Red Sox.

Just another example of people needing to monitor their elected officials who do not seem able to use good sense.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that I don't believe video games are to blame for Cho or Columbine or anything like that. But I don't think they are completely innocuous either.

I think there are a great many problems with our society and I do believe that video games partially contribute to those through the act of isolating us as individuals from interacting with others. No more so than ipods, television, tivo, or anything else that chains us to our houses and isolates us from others.

We joke on Fark about the basement dwelling freak, but aside form posting rants on the internet what are most of those basement dwelling freaks doing? How did they get to that loner status in the first place?

But not even taking it to an extreme, just look at a "normal" 20-40 y.o. male. How many of us have chosen to sit at home and pop in a video game rather than interact with our families/friends? How many of us have chosen the video game over going out and doing something to change society's ills?

Again, not saying they are the root of evil or that there is anything wrong with playing video games. I, myself, am looking forward to beating RE4 for the 7th time later today with my handcannon while getting 100% accuracy and not dying once. So, perhaps I am throwing stones while living in a glass house.

Also, I'm not saying that video games can't bring people together. Some of my greatest times recently have been spent with my wife and our friends trying to trounce each other in anything from Mortal Kombat to Smarty Pants.

In short (too late), just because the violence of video games doesn't beget violence doesn't mean their effects shouldn't be examined with a skeptic's eye.

i disagree on the whole monitoring thing, i know when i was a kid i found ways of playing whatever bad game i wanted like Doom or Wolfenstein 3d or whatever, i think if parents were responsible to themselves and responsible for the kids they would raise the kid right, no matter what happens around them, there are families in war-torn parts of the world who have actually seen strangers or family members killed right in front of them, but they grew up well-adjusted albeit a lot more serious about life, but they certainly didn't go around killing people... in the end, if you have a troubled kid you should look into what's troubling them, not depend on the news to tell you your kid is troubled, of course that's another problem is when the parents themselves aren't responsible people they probably won't care

so in the end, wtf do any of these outside forces have to do with somebody troubled? very little, 99% of the time people kill because of other people, not because of some inanimate object

John Dewey: I'm going to go out on a limb here

No. Just, no. To your entire limb filled rant.

Joed112784: Resident Evil is freakin awesome. Just thought I would state the obvious.

I just wish the controls would be less awkward :(

/just made it _to_ the first village in RE4.
//I've got two grenades and 20 rounds of pistol ammo.

Kar98: Joed112784: Resident Evil is freakin awesome. Just thought I would state the obvious.

I just wish the controls would be less awkward :(

/just made it _to_ the first village in RE4.
//I've got two grenades and 20 rounds of pistol ammo.

Are you playing it on the wii? Its much easier. Its a hard game, but I thought the controls were great.

John Dewey: We joke on Fark about the basement dwelling freak, but aside form posting rants on the internet what are most of those basement dwelling freaks doing? How did they get to that loner status in the first place?

But not even taking it to an extreme, just look at a "normal" 20-40 y.o. male. How many of us have chosen to sit at home and pop in a video game rather than interact with our families/friends? How many of us have chosen the video game over going out and doing something to change society's ills?



Look at men like H.P. Lovecraft & Robert E. Howard. Classic introverts.



They were live at home, basement dwellers looooonng before Doom ever appeared.


Pulps, comics, horror movies, heavy metal & rap were all blamed for societies ills. Video games are just the latest scapegoat.

nukeim: He's obviously never played Katamari Damacy.

Perverts like you sicken me.

ilambiquated: Pillager: ilambiquated: Sofa King Awesome: I don't know, Milla Jovovich makes me want to slaughter hundreds of millions of unsuspecting homunculei.

You will go to hell for that. It says so in the Bible.

The same Bible that claims ants have 4 legs & rabbits chew their cud?

;>

Hah! Where is that?

Leviticus 11:20-23 (see Mechon Mamre's Hebrew-English Tana"kh online) reads:

"20 All winged swarming things that go upon all fours are a detestable thing unto you. 21 Yet these may ye eat of all winged swarming things that go upon all fours, which have jointed legs above their feet, wherewith to leap upon the earth; 22 even these of them ye may eat: the locust after its kinds, and the bald locust after its kinds, and the cricket after its kinds, and the grasshopper after its kinds. 23 But all winged swarming things, which have four feet, are a detestable thing unto you."

Great article. It makes me laugh a little, though, because my first real exposure to violence was when I discovered Stephen King's books in sixth grade, back in '81.

log_jammin:¿Qué carajo estás haciendo aquí? ¡Lárgate, cabrón! TO believe that a Japanese video game would teach me insults in Spanish. BTW,taht's where I got my username from.
It basically translates to "WTF are you doing in here? GTFO, melon farmer!"