Originally Posted by Deckura
Video game violence does not desensitize people. I guarantee you that if you put a gamer who plays violent video games in a room with a dead body, they will feel incredibly uneasy, if not terrified. Your example about the nudist only translates to violence desensitization if the person is actually witnessing gore first-hand, and not through an entertainment medium. You take a guy who's never seen a woman naked in real life but is obsessed with porn, and put him in a room with a nude model, I can promise you it will still excite him.
|
First of all there are different levels of desensitizing. It isn't an on/off switch but a gradient. You aren't either sensitive or not. Second of all, I agree that most typical people will likely get nauseous when it's right in front of them. They aren't used to the level of detail, such as for example smell, that make it "real" and that they aren't used to. Likewise, most people won't see a fresh corpse unless they are in a related occupation (and desensitized to it over time) or related to the deceased (which adds impact).
Even so, in part due to video game training, it is generally easier (emotionally) for military personnel to, for example, use UAVs to strike a target than it is to shoot someone up close. The UAV is just like video games. In fact, this method making things emotionally easier is the whole point of the movie Toys (fictional though it is).
When people are exposed to something repeatedly, it naturally becomes less shocking (either that or becomes traumatic if it was a negative thing). People can be desensitized to gore through movies, video games, etc. but that won't remove scent, emotional impact when you think about someone as a real person, etc. Even so, the image of a corpse on TV is generally far less impactful than seeing one in person, and a large part of that is because the imagery is readily available in news and in entertainment.
If you take the Aurora shooting as an example, some of the victims initially thought the guy attacking was part of a show, because the show itself, media, etc. had made someone bursting in with a mask and smoke bombs "normal" It was only when they realized he was actually killing people, that their lives were in danger, that they reacted in the typical fashion, but that initial reaction wasn't there, and they were desensitized to a masked man entering the theater throwing smoke bombs, but most of them not being shot at (or in the case of the ex military there, had an idea of how to respond due to training).
The video game nerd might respond more to an actual corpse than a fake one, the porn addict might respond more to a real woman than a video, but that doesn't mean they aren't desensitized to it at some level. In fact, that very fact points to them already being desensitized to the "virtual" experience, and the novelty of it being "real" likely adds to the excitement (at least for the porn guy).
I'm not saying people don't know the difference between reality and not, or that there's no difference between media violence and real violence. All I'm saying is that exposure to something makes later exposure to it less shocking or stimulating... not that it removes that shock entirely though.
|
Get a headshot with a sniper rifle in Gears of War and you'll understand what makes it satisfying. It just feels good to see the person you shot at get fucked up. Makes the kill more visceral. It provides those "OH SHIT" moments.
|
I haven't played Gears of War, but I have played TF2, Quake, and other similar games (referring to levels of hyper-violence, obviously the older games have less detail/blood). I understand how people could come to think that (kind of like how I can understand people liking the sequels to Saw or either Human Centipede), but it isn't something that I share. I enjoy TF2 and Quake generally in SPITE of "giblets."
It also again points to being desensitized, that people not only want hyper-violence to get "satisfaction" but also that they "need" it.
But hey, just because I don't like it, and am saddened that people take enjoyment of it, doesn't mean I'm going to stop people from asking for it if that's what they really want, or companies selling it if they actually make a profit from it. Just don't expect me to endorse it.
2012-08-04, 05:31 PM
Linear Mode
