University of Queensland lecture: are shooters to blame?
Video game enthusiasts - particularly in the general vicinity of St. Lucia, Queensland, Australia - may want to take note of an interesting public lecture from the University of Queensland’s School of Political Science and International Studies on first-person shooter games. The lecture will ask, and one would assume, attempt to answer the question: do these kinds of games by their very nature desensitize young adult males and teens to violence, conflict and war and ignore conflict resolution?
On Oct. 5. Academic Peter Mantello will head deliver the lecture (Are violent computer games to blame?), which aims to discern if FPS games teach youngsters that military warfare is the most effective foreign policy tool. By the way this public lecture is being framed at QU, one would think that Mantello (a self professed gamer) thinks it is a foregone conclusion, but it is an interesting topic that deserves more attention and thoughtful discussion.
It’s an interesting question but the answer will probably get lost on gamers who will find the way the question has been framed as slightly offensive. Does a person that plays a first-person shooter like Call of Duty or Counter-Strike truly believe that military action in tense global and political situations is always the first option, or better still, for the youth of the world - do they even care - are they even paying attention to the things going on in countries like Afghanistan, Iraq, Dufar, etc.?
First-Person Shooters are by their very nature about conflict, obviously - if they were not they’d be called Flower; but it is probably fair to say that they seldom offer any option but to kill, blow up and destroy. But to say they teach a certain behavior is a bit of an insult to the intelligence of most players who can separate game from reality.
One of the things that bothers me is the way Mantello has been quoted by the university. Are the following quotes taken out of context, or are they exact quotes, because they boil down what the goals of most first-person shooters are and perhaps over-exaggerate their influence on male players? Judge for yourselves:
“First Person Shooter video games blur the line between actual war and synthetic entertainment,” Mr Mantello said.
“Players transform into cyborg soldiers and patriotic crusaders whose goal is to liberate failed nations, protect national security interests and vanquish pre-modern evil.
“The underlining goal advocates a form of military humanism which justifies breaching another country’s sovereignty and the right of national self determination.”
The lecture will be held at room 208 of General Purpose North building 39A, St Lucia on October 5th from 4pm until 5:30pm at the University of Queensland.
Mantello is a gamer, media artist, lecturer, writer, and founder of the Center for Advanced Media Arts Studies at Ritsumeikan University in Japan. His photgraphy work can be seen in the United Nations Gallery and the Power House Gallery (New York City) and in the Bundekunsthalle Museum in Bonn, Germany.
Source: University of Queensland, Image Source: Zazzle
