Politicians Attacking Ratings, Insulting Gamers Grasp On Reality

The Manhunt 2 controversy is still swirling and causing waves, at least in the political realm. A small group of politicians from both sides of the party line are once again attempting to tackle the issue of violence and video games. This group, compromised of Senator and current presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, Joe Lieberman, Evan Bayh and Senator Sam Brownback have set their crosshairs on the ESRB. In a letter the foursome sent to the ratings board they expressed their opinion that the current ratings system needs to be revised or enhanced, citing the fact that while Manhunt 2 was banned in the UK and merely received an M for mature rating here. Personally I’m not sure what the complaint is, as an ‘Adults Only’ game is limited to people aged 18+ instead of the 17+ the M for Mature tag gives it. They also expressed concern due to the Wii’s motion-sensing control:

“That system permits children to act out each of the many graphic torture scenes and murders in Manhunt 2 rather than simply manipulating a game pad,” the senators wrote. “This led one clinical psychologist to state that the realistic motions used with the Wii mean that ‘You’re basically teaching a child the behavioral sequencing of killing.’ While this was not cited as the reason for the BBFC decision, we do believe that the ESRB should take the Wii Remote controller, and future advances in game controllers, which create more realistic gaming environments, into consideration.”

Given that the game is rated M for Mature and that any responsible parent should be at least paying passive attention to their children’s gaming habits, these politicians should be directing their efforts at lazy parents who don’t pay enough attention to their children and allow them to have unfettered access to entertainment materials intended for adults.

With the relatively simple nature of most Wii controls in games it’s also unlikely that playing the game is anything like real violence. Most games involve twirling the remote in a circle, pushing, pulling and shaking it. For a clinical psychologist to make a statement like that without any relevant proof or studies is a little reckless. In every study about video game violence I’ve ever read (and I’ve read a few, I did papers on this topic in college) the effects they found were minimal and often short-lived. Cross-cultural analysis finds that in most countries where video games are just as popular and just as violent there are far lower crime rates. Our problem with violence in this country has much to do with our society and our values, not with the entertainment we consume. Art reflects life far more than life is influenced by art.