Haugen, D. M. , & Musser, S. (Eds.). (2009). Media Violence. Detroit, MI: Greenhaven Press.

Haugen, D. M. , & Musser, S. (Eds.). (2009). Media Violence. Detroit, MI: Greenhaven Press.

As a product of the opposing viewpoints series, the book presents a collection of essays that act as a model for several contrasting opinions in the debate concerning media violence. The book’s sections juxtapose scholars that believe media violence has a causal relationship with youth crime and authors that perceive the war on media as another moral panic that amplifies the problem for various political reasons. The book highlights the arguments of some of the best media scholars and maintains an interdisciplinary approach in its arrangement. The author’s range from Henry Jenkins, a comparative literature professor, to Jonathan Harbour, an instructor of game development, and even includes political documents from the federal communications commission.

This reader is a great place to start when in the infancy of a research project concerning media violence. The book led me to a number of great scholars in the field, and helped me locate articles to strengthen my bibliography. More specifically, reading Jenkins’ article in this text has definitely made me want to locate other articles by him. I identified with Jenkins viewpoint on media violence because he wants to move away from scholarship that only researches the effects of media violence, and instead embrace research the elucidates the meanings behind America’s depictions of violence.

Walkerdine, V. (2007). Children, gender, video games: Towards a relational approach to multimedia. Houndmills, England: Palgrave Macmillan.

Walkerdine, V. (2007). Children, gender, video games: Towards a relational approach to multimedia. Houndmills, England: Palgrave Macmillan.

Walkerdine’s study derives from the psychoanalyzed discussions of twenty-four students which took place during an after school video game club. The book’s primary argument suggests that video games provide an outlet for males and females to perform masculinity. Games create an imaginary space for the player to dominate in their fantastical unconscious. By mastering the game’s various levels, children demonstrate their ability to succeed in a masculine realm. Thus, the inability to beat a particular game may cause frustration for male players, as their masculinity is being called into question, and only by winning can achieve a sense of success. Walkerdine argues that females’ express a confused femininity while playing video games because they desire to win yet simultaneously desire to help others. Females often chose games or avatars that have dichotomous protagonists that are cute and powerful. For example, Pokemon’s Pikachu is an androgenous mouse (cute) with a dangerous electrical shock (powerful).

Walkerdine’s book is very interesting however, by relying on psychoanalysis as its primary theoretical framework, the book does stretch its arguments a bit far. Walkerdine’s discussion of video games and the performance of masculinity will aid my discussion of social strain because it provides another realm in which people are given aspirational references and thus a desire to succeed. Interestingly, Grand Theft Auto (GTA) uses the video game, a technology that fosters the desire to win, in order to portray the minority’s social strain, a structural force that impedes an individual’s capability of success.

Barlett, C. P. , Anderson C. A. , Swing, E. L. (2009). Video game effects confirmed, suspected, and speculative: A review of the evidence. Stimulation

Barlett, C. P. , Anderson C. A. , Swing, E. L. (2009). Video game effects confirmed, suspected, and speculative: A review of the evidence. Stimulation & Gaming, 40, 337-403.

Barlett et al. present a detailed review of scholarship pertaining to the effects of video game violence on children. The article summarizes several opposing views within the debate on media violence. Barlett et al. categorize the views into two distinct sections that either suggest video games have positive or negative effects on children. Likewise, Barlett et al. do a wonderful job of defining the various theories pertinent to the study of media violence and video games studies. The article briefly covers everything from the video game’s ability to aid a student’s hand-eye coordination to the promotion of narcissistic thoughts in children while playing games.

The review does an excellent job of juggling the many opposing views concerning media violence and presents much of the conflicting evidence that supports the claims of many scholars in a single coherent essay. Thus, the article is essentially an annotated bibliography that can lead scholars of video game studies to an immense amount of information; much of which is the best in the field. Therefore, I would argue that the article is worth reading simply for its extensive bibliography and the authors’ ability to compress an immense amount of information into a well-written concise article.

Carnagey, N. L. , Anderson C. A. & Bushman B. J. (2007). The effect of video game violence on psychological desensitization to real life violence. Jou

Carnagey, N. L. , Anderson C. A. & Bushman B. J. (2007). The effect of video game violence on psychological desensitization to real life violence. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 43, 489-496.

Carnagey et al. argue that witnessing violent acts in video games desensitizes children to depictions of real life violence. In other words, individuals who play violent games will see a “reduction in emotion-related psychological reactivity to real violence” (p. 490). Carnagey et al. note that much of the current research on desensitization analyzes the casual relationship between media violence and a person’s desensitization to further depictions of media violence. So, a child that watches several slasher films will become accustomed to the violence portrayed in the movie after a given period and will not have an elevated heart rate when watching future scenes of a similar nature. Carnagey et al., perceiving flaws in this methodology, aim to analyze the relationship between violent games and the player’s desensitization to real life violence. The study measured the heart rate and galvanic skin response (GSR) of a sample of 257 college students in order to delineate the effects of media violence on the students’ desensitization to depictions of true violent acts. Carnagey et al. had the students play several violent games and subsequently watch videos depicting true accounts of shootings, brawls, riots, and stabbings. The study concludes that playing violent games desensitizes people to real life violence and likely leads to an unsympathetic view towards the victims of violence.

While the research elucidates the desensitizing effects of media violence on people, the study seemingly succumbs to what it desires to avoid. By showing depictions of real life violence in video format, the study reduces the verisimilitude of the horrific acts being depicted. In other words, because the students watched graphic “real life” violence on a television screen it is likely that the students associated the acts with other forms of media violence. Thus, this study cannot accurately measure how the same students would react to an actual stabbing if it took place in front of them. However, since this is the closest methodology an IRB would allow, the study does a great job of proving its point granted the projects’ limitations.

Shubuya A. , Sakamoto A. ,Ihori, N. , & Yukawa S. (2008). The effects of the presence and contexts of video game violence on children: A longitudinal

Shubuya A. , Sakamoto A. ,Ihori, N. , & Yukawa S. (2008). The effects of the presence and contexts of video game violence on children: A longitudinal study in Japan. Stimulation & Gaming, 39, 528-539.

Akiko Shibuya et al. offer the first longitudinal study concerning the effects of video game violence on children in Japan. The group took a sample of fifth graders (male and female) and surveyed their understanding of violence in video games over a two-year period. When the children entered six grade they were surveyed again to determine the answers to three major questions: (1) Does playing video games that contain violence cause later aggression in the life course? (2) Which contexts of video game violence lead to the aggressive behaviors being studied? (3) Which contexts of video game violence decrease later aggression in the life course? The study found mixed results and suggests that males are more susceptible to later aggression than girls. Likewise, interactivity, justification, and the extent of violence in video games affect the manner in which a child perceives the violence depicted in video games.

The study demonstrates that interactivity and unjustified violence increase the likelihood that a child will demonstrate aggressive tendencies later in the life course. Grand Theft Auto (GTA), according to Murray and Farman, creates a realistic depiction of crime due to the game’s hypermediation and grants the player limitless freedom. Therefore, GTA would likely cause later aggression if Shibuya et. al. are accurate in their findings. Unexpectedly, Shibuya et. al. found that players typically perceive extensive violence as socially unacceptable. As a result, games with extensive violence are likely to decrease later aggression. As the first of its kind, the study lacks empirical support and confuses rather than illuminates the effects of video game violence on children due to its mixed findings.

Farman, J. (2010). Hypermediating the game interface: The alienation effect in violent videogames and the problem of serious play. Communication Quart

Farman, J. (2010). Hypermediating the game interface: The alienation effect in violent videogames and the problem of serious play. Communication Quarterly, 58 (1), 96-109.

Farman, relying heavily of the terminology of Bolter and Grusin, argues that games have developed hypermediated interfaces over the last decade and as a result have blended real life experience with virtual reality. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (GTA) provides an excellent example of Farman’s point because it provides an interfaceless interface through it’s “mapping of virtual space onto material space (or vice versa)” (p. 98). Rockstar Games generates a sense of realism within the GTA by recreating Southern California as the setting for San Andreas. Furthermore, by including other technological devices like cell-phones and navigation units, GTA creates verisimilitude through hypermediation. Farman suggests the hypermediation of game interfaces alienates the player because it forces the “loss of clear boundaries between the virtual and the material in the digital age” (p. 101). Thus, the verisimilitude of violent acts in games are the true threat to children rather than the depiction of the act itself. GTA through hypermediation either becomes a violent gang simulator for the player a satire on media and violence. These two views derive from the player’s ability to alter the appearance of CJ. For example, if players places CJ in a chicken suit, that greatly contrasts the violent acts in the game, they can detach themselves from the game’s hypermediation and realism.

Farman’s article provides an interesting way of understanding media violence that contrasts the many psychological viewpoints on this bibliography. Farman’s argument could be incorporated into my own argument to demonstrate how the interfaceless interface generates the realism of the immigrant/minorities strained American experience. As stated in Murray’s annotation, Farman and Murray provide support for each other’s arguments and should be read in context with each other. Farman does a great job of depicting GTA as a cultural object that can either promote or hinder social change depending on how the player perceives the game’s interface.