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.

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.