On The Subject of Grand Theft Auto, and Dumb Kids
So the newest iteration of the Grand Theft Auto gaming franchise is upon us, and it comes with all the violence, immorality and indiscreet bonage we've come to expect. Also expected: The never-ending argument about whether or not fake violence begets real violence.
People like me, who revel in simulated gore, excessive cinematic violence, gratuitous boob action and vulgar one-liners we'd never say in public (as long as they're integral to the plot or character development, naturally), but who would never actually go out to kill, skin and bugger a wino, insist that those things don't negatively influence culture in real life. We call it cathartic. We claim that it actually sublimates our more barbaric lizard-brain instincts; it's a harmless outlet.
On the other side of the argument are a bunch of the people that people like me tend to not like very much anyway - nosy, religious, well-to-do (read: often, white and insufferable) people who are deathly afraid of crimes that are rarely committed against them. They're the sort of people who, when entreating us to think of the children, are rarely thinking of their own children specifically, but are canny enough to know that every once in a while, one or two of those boarding-school kids get their wires crossed and make an awful mess. They say that the culture is eroding family values, that God is the answer, that the movies and the TV shows and the video games are encouraging a culture of selfishness and sociopathy.
And they're right about the last thing. But the truth, as always, lies somewhere in the middle. And if people of all races and social strata would stop producing such easily influenced, selfish, sociopathic, dumb-assed kids to begin with, maybe I could enjoy and then forget a Saw sequel without having to consider its sociological ramifications.
People like me, who revel in simulated gore, excessive cinematic violence, gratuitous boob action and vulgar one-liners we'd never say in public (as long as they're integral to the plot or character development, naturally), but who would never actually go out to kill, skin and bugger a wino, insist that those things don't negatively influence culture in real life. We call it cathartic. We claim that it actually sublimates our more barbaric lizard-brain instincts; it's a harmless outlet.
On the other side of the argument are a bunch of the people that people like me tend to not like very much anyway - nosy, religious, well-to-do (read: often, white and insufferable) people who are deathly afraid of crimes that are rarely committed against them. They're the sort of people who, when entreating us to think of the children, are rarely thinking of their own children specifically, but are canny enough to know that every once in a while, one or two of those boarding-school kids get their wires crossed and make an awful mess. They say that the culture is eroding family values, that God is the answer, that the movies and the TV shows and the video games are encouraging a culture of selfishness and sociopathy.
And they're right about the last thing. But the truth, as always, lies somewhere in the middle. And if people of all races and social strata would stop producing such easily influenced, selfish, sociopathic, dumb-assed kids to begin with, maybe I could enjoy and then forget a Saw sequel without having to consider its sociological ramifications.
Oh, you clicked through. Awesome.
I don't care how pervasive and influential are films, video games, pop stars and the Internet. I don't care if you're a single parent who works 50 hours a week to make ends meet. I don't care if your kid goes to "the bad school," which you should totally know is code for politically correct racism. If you aren't a more powerful influence on your kid than your kid's friends or movies or video games, then you are failing as a parent. And your failure will affect people you don't even know, some of whom perhaps elected not to have children because they knew they weren't up to creating a new life that wouldn't mug me, or destroy the dashboard of my Honda Civic, or use the word "bitch" incessantly as apparent punctuation.
Sure, Grand Theft Auto is dangerously influential. To dumb kids whose dumb parents weren't up to the task of raising a child with some sort of moral compass. It's more than fucking, you know.
I don't care how pervasive and influential are films, video games, pop stars and the Internet. I don't care if you're a single parent who works 50 hours a week to make ends meet. I don't care if your kid goes to "the bad school," which you should totally know is code for politically correct racism. If you aren't a more powerful influence on your kid than your kid's friends or movies or video games, then you are failing as a parent. And your failure will affect people you don't even know, some of whom perhaps elected not to have children because they knew they weren't up to creating a new life that wouldn't mug me, or destroy the dashboard of my Honda Civic, or use the word "bitch" incessantly as apparent punctuation.
Sure, Grand Theft Auto is dangerously influential. To dumb kids whose dumb parents weren't up to the task of raising a child with some sort of moral compass. It's more than fucking, you know.
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