While admitting he has little interest in video games, horror-writer Stephen King has used his Entertainment Weekly column to strike out at those who want to ban the sale of violent video games to minors. King believes that such a move would be undemocratic, and misguided, as, he says, it is up to the parents to monitor their own children's electronic entertainment.
The Shining author's outrage was sparked when he learned a bill in Massachusetts would ban the sale of games deemed violent to individuals under the age of 18. "What makes me crazy is when politicians take it upon themselves to play surrogate parents. The results of that are usually disastrous. Not to mention undemocratic," he wrote.
In King's opinion, the violence depicted in many of the most controversial video-game titles is reflected from behavior that already is commonplace in society where it's real and not a game. "What really makes me insane is how eager politicians are to use the pop culture as a whipping boy. It's easy for them, even sort of fun, because the pop-cult always hollers nice and loud. Also, it allows legislators to ignore the elephants in the living room," he said.
While there is still no all-around accepted stance on whether or not video games generally incite violence in gamers, the controversy has been alive and well around the world. Last year, British and Irish authorities banned the videogame title "Manhunt 2", and recently it was revealed that Rockstar Games had made some changes to the upcoming Grand Theft Auto IV to be able to attain a rating and sell the game in Australia.
King wrote that banning the sale of video-games which are already rated is pointless when minors will always find a way to get their hands on them anyway, as they do with other things. He went on to say that the growing divides in the United States and some of the country's gun laws arguably are more responsible for violent behavior than video games ever will be.
"If he'd been stuck with nothing but a plastic videogame gun, he wouldn't even have been able to kill himself," wrote King while referencing the inaccurate report that Cho Seung-Hui, the Virginia Tech shooter in 2007, had been obsessed with "counter-strike". "Parents need to have the guts to forbid material they find objectionable ... and then explain why it's being forbidden. They also need to monitor their children's lives in the pop culture -- which means a lot more than seeing what games they're renting down the street."
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In King's opinion, the violence depicted in many of the most controversial video-game titles is reflected from behavior that already is commonplace in society where it's real and not a game. "What really makes me insane is how eager politicians are to use the pop culture as a whipping boy. It's easy for them, even sort of fun, because the pop-cult always hollers nice and loud. Also, it allows legislators to ignore the elephants in the living room," he said.
While there is still no all-around accepted stance on whether or not video games generally incite violence in gamers, the controversy has been alive and well around the world. Last year, British and Irish authorities banned the videogame title "Manhunt 2", and recently it was revealed that Rockstar Games had made some changes to the upcoming Grand Theft Auto IV to be able to attain a rating and sell the game in Australia.
King wrote that banning the sale of video-games which are already rated is pointless when minors will always find a way to get their hands on them anyway, as they do with other things. He went on to say that the growing divides in the United States and some of the country's gun laws arguably are more responsible for violent behavior than video games ever will be.
"If he'd been stuck with nothing but a plastic videogame gun, he wouldn't even have been able to kill himself," wrote King while referencing the inaccurate report that Cho Seung-Hui, the Virginia Tech shooter in 2007, had been obsessed with "counter-strike". "Parents need to have the guts to forbid material they find objectionable ... and then explain why it's being forbidden. They also need to monitor their children's lives in the pop culture -- which means a lot more than seeing what games they're renting down the street."
Get regular news updates from AfterDawn.com by subscribing to our RSS feeds using the Subscribe button below. If you have been living in a cave for a few years now and don't know how to use RSS feeds, then Click Here to read a Guide on how to use RSS (and other) feeds.
