Assignment 3
Grand Theft Auto V is “an action-adventure video game that was developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. The single-player story follows three criminals and their efforts to commit heists while under pressure from a government agency. The open-world design lets players freely roam San Andreas’ open countryside and the fictional city of Los Santos, based on Los Angeles.” (Wikipedia, n.d.) More importantly, in order for the players to progress in the game, they have to take part in a series of killings, theft, and violence towards both genders.
The game has raised many questions and debate over its content. From one hand, it is admired for its intricate world-building, highly technical advancements especially when it comes to graphics as well as the active participation of the player. As a matter of fact, the game provides the player with the opportunity to be in control and to take any action he/she aspires. This gives the player a sense of freedom and independence (which he/she might lack in real life). From the other hand, the game was extremely criticized for not being female-friendly as well as the role it plays in promoting violence, sexism and subversive action. For instance, the game does not in any way portray women equally to men. On the contrary, women are depicted as sex objects and subjects to violence and humiliation. “Grand Theft Auto V is designed deliberately to degrade women” (Hoggins, 2013). For this reason, GTA 5 was banned from various countries throughout the world. Including KSA, China, Malaysia and many more. As an example “Two Australian retail chains have removed video game Grand Theft Auto V from sale in its stores, following complaints about the depiction of violence towards women” (BBC, 2014).
Nonetheless, other countries such as the United States of America protects such games under the 1st amendment which allows freedom of speech to all.
At this level, a more serious debate was evoked when it comes to freedom of speech. Is banning video games such as GTA 5 violates and infringe on people’s right to freedom of expression? Do authorities have the right to decide for their citizens or should it be left to the people to decide what’s right and what’s wrong? Answering these heated questions requires to put ideas of ethics and social harm into consideration especially when examining and analyzing the essence of such a game.
Many events such as the mass shootings in Newtown, Connecticut created a debate and a public dialogue over ethical responsibilities of game and entertainment producers. In fact, manufacturers of these games are often accused and blamed for inciting violent behavior in youth. (Mathews, n.d.). However, no scientific evidence was found to prove the connection between committing crimes and playing video games.
Some also argue that video game producers are not responsible for the outcomes of playing certain video games. In fact, there is also a rating system to video games that tell which age range is supposed to play a certain video game. An “E” rating means the game should be available to everyone, “E10+” for ages 10 and above, “Teen” for teens, or “M” for mature or for ages 17 and above (Mathews, n.d.). This puts also a huge responsibly on parents, distributors, and stores that might sell the game to much younger ages.
In a nutshell, no one can deny the cruel and violent nature of various video games in general and GTA 5 in particular. Nonetheless, it is important to acknowledge that our reality and our world today does not differ much from what we see in video games. This definitely does not justify the violence, sexism or racism portrayed in these games. For this reason, it is highly crucial to find a balance between protecting our freedom of expression and also protecting our kids and community from crimes and certain sexist and racist beliefs. Thus, censorship should only be applied to games that fully and completely threatens the well-being of the people and society. Governments should strictly study the content of games and prevent any sort of serious violence, dehumanization or sexism. In addition, it is important for parents to be aware of what their kids are playing and to teach them solid and robust ethical standards. Institutions such as schools ought to include ethics classes in their curriculum (if not already offered) and to teach it at an early age in order to build generations with good characters, responsibilities and mainly ethical standards.
References
Hoggins, T. (2013). Grand Theft Auto V is designed deliberately to degrade women. The Telegraph. Retrieved from https://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/womens-life/10355275/Grand-Theft-Auto-V-is-designed-deliberately-to-degrade-women.html
‘Sexually violent’ GTA 5 banned from Australian stores. (2014, December). Retrieved from: https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-30328314
Wikipedia. (n.d.). Controversies surrounding Grand Theft Auto V. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Controversies_surrounding_Grand_Theft_Auto_V
Mathews, R. (n.d.). Ethical responsibility of Video Game Manufacturers. Demand Media.
