Violence and Grand Theft Auto V
A video game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user to generate visual feedback on a video device and one of the most famous video games today is Grand Theft Auto (GTA) that has been developing for years. In September 2013, Rockstar Games released the latest development of the Grand Theft game, GTA V. The story revolves around three very different criminals that plot their own chances of survival and success in the state of San Andreas: Franklin, a street hustler looking for real opportunities and serious money, Michael, a professional ex-convict and Trevor, a violent maniac. Running out of options, the crew risks everything in a series of daring and dangerous heists that could set them up for life (Rockstar Games, nd). GTA V is considered on of the most successful video games today and this is due to the fact that players sense that they’re in a an open environment, the city matches the new trends and technologies and gamers can have side missions in order to create engagement.
However, there were loads of disagreements about the game’s representation of women, race and violence. For example, there comes a point in Grand Theft Auto V at which the player, as Trevor, is forced to extract information from Mr. K about an Azerbaijani fugitive who poses as a threat to the FBI. Players must complete the scene to finish the game and are offered a selection of torture implements, including sledgehammers and electric cables to use on the victim (Hern, 2013). Some people viewed this scene as if it’s obliging the gamers to act violent but others saw it as a commentary on the US government’s of torture. Another example is how Rockstar treat women in GTA V and the player’s ability to hire use and execute a prostitute (Tassi, 2014). For those reasons, Australia, UK, and Japan banned the game. Nevertheless, we cannot ignore the effect that these games that shed the light on racism, sexism and other issues have on the society.
Freedom of speech is an essential human right that cherishes self-determination . The producer has the right to decide and create his/her own content but when do they cross the line? Does freedom of speech justify their discrimination and violence? Finally, what differentiate harm from free speech and when should censorship be applied? To try to understand and answer these questions we should take into consideration that the rules and regulation that limit the freedom of speech and the rules concerning censorship differs from a country to another. For example, entertainment media in the US is only censored if the reasons behind it serve a greater purpose and the harm is intended (Packyard, 2013). However, in Lebanon the restrictions are tighter targeting religious, national and sexual disagreement.
Game developers are spreading their games and distributing it to international and numerous consumers. While working on the creation of the games, these developers and consumers needs to find the balance between their freedom and the consequences of their freedom on the users. To rescue themselves from critiques and bad reviews about their content, especially from parents concerned about their children, manufacturers set a specific rating system. GTA V is rated “M” targeting and audience of 17 years old and above. This specific rating system helps the consumers understand and predict what type of game they’re going to play. A lot of studies have been conducted on violent content on TV and movies and violent behaviors, and the results showed a relation between the two. If watching violent TV shows or movies has this impact on our behaviors. Doesn’t this mean that playing as the character that is choosing to make these violent choices has a greater effect on our violent behaviors?
A user on a Grand Theft Auto V forum asked whether players would be able to rape women in the game. In the post he wrote, “I want to have the opportunity to kidnap a woman, hostage her, put her in my basement and rape her everyday, listen to her crying, watching her tears” (Lileks, 2013). This is one of the real life examples that support the negative effects of these kind of violent games on the users. Torturing people, mistreating them and killing them in a Virtual Reality video game normalizes violence in real life.
To conclude, freedom of speech is crucial in order to let everyone express their thoughts and opinion but there is a fine line between being free and harming others. Video games producers have the freedom to express their own opinion through these games but this freedom has to be controlled when it’s directly affecting the violent behaviors of people in real life. GTA V and many other violent video games are negatively influencing the society. It’s normalizing killing and torturing, it is encouraging gender discrimination and racism that’s the reason why this freedom should be somehow regulated.
Refrences
Hern, A. (2013, September 18). Grand Theft Auto 5 under fire for graphic torture scene. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/sep/18/grand-theft-auto-5-under-fire-for-graphic-torture-scene
Lileks, J. (2013, September 2018). The Ethics of GTA 5. Retrieved from
http://www.startribune.com/the-ethics-of-gta-5/224271491/
Rockstar Games, Grand Theft Auto V Retrieved from https://www.rockstargames.com/games/info/V
Tassi, P. (2014, December1 11). ‘GTA 5’ And The Ethics Of Mass Murder. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/insertcoin/2014/12/11/gta-5-and-the-ethics-of-mass-murder/#623098fc734d
Packard, A. (n.d.). Digital Media Law / Edition 2. Retrieved from https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/digital-media-law-packard/1101187385
