The Gamer’s dilemma, a term coined by Morgan Luck (2009), outlines the predicament faced by gamer’s when asked to acknowledge why the ethics of virtual killing is deemed morally permissible, whilst virtual paedophilia is considered morally prohibited. This dilemma prompts an analysis of the acceptance of the immoral act of virtual killing and question why virtual paedophilia is wrong in a gaming context. I will argue that there are not enough moral discrepancies between virtual killing and virtual paedophilia to suggest that virtual paedophilia should be socially rejected, whilst killing accepted, therefore both must be allowed. I will evaluate two arguments to support the premise of my thesis. Firstly, I will assess the claim that no living human being is harmed in the process of a virtually immoral act.…
In The Gamer’s Dilemma, author Morgan Luck argues that “Unless such players [video gamers] can identify a morally relevant distinction between virtual murder and virtual peophilia, they must either accept that committing virtual pedophilia is morally permissible, or that they themselves have often committed morally prohibited acts,” (pg 510). What Luck is suggesting is that there is no moral distinction between virtual murder and virtual pedophilia, and that people must choose to acknowledge both as either morally permissible or as morally prohibited.…
In this series, Sarkeesian utilizes many sociological and feminists theories to analyze female tropes in pop culture media (in this case, video games), highlighting how these tropes contribute to harmful and sexist towards women. Many others (i.e. gender activists and feminists) believe that 'harmful' tropes and stereotypes of women in video games can alter the perspectives of male…
Prior to the turn of the millennium, video games were practically spat upon by those in “high-art” circles. Seen as mindless time killers, barely worth a mention, they were isolated from discussion for the better part of a quarter century. However, as years passed and technology evolved, the medium as a whole evolved with it. Development tools became more accessible to the masses, providing any person with an idea to tell a story that pushes the boundaries of the medium and of art itself. Despite these clear evolutions, there are still vocal societies that condemn calling a video game ‘art’.…
In the past women changed their last name from their father’s last name to their husband’s last name when they got married. Women changed their last name to show a change in ownership from one male, the father, to another, the new husband. Men did not change their last names because they were viewed as the owners. Throughout history women were viewed as property rather than as individuals. In today’s society many women still change their last names when they get married, however it is not necessarily because they are being “traded” as property.…
Ultimate Violence Simulator In no other period of time has there been such exposure to violence as there is today. The world has, long before been consumed by such hatred and acrimony however, it was never praised to children and young ones for the sheer fun of it, but rather to protect something they loved and cared for. Over the decades, human society has begun to expose more violent media to the young masses with acts of entertainment such as movies and TV shows, but within the last few decades the rise of an interactive violence media known as video games has ascended to the public.…
Video Games: A Misunderstood Medium For many years children and adults have enjoyed a special form of entertainment that provides experiences like no other, the video game. These electronic toys have been on the market since the 1970’s, a recent development, and history has shown that new trends are often targeted as a scapegoat for problems of the time. Currently, the ever growing industry of video games has been the source of such controversy, and is frequently blamed for many of the modern world’s misfortunes. Yet, despite what the media may say, these electronic distractions may actually be better for humanity than previously imagined.…
This led to a decrease in empathy amongst participants. This came from the participants being more tolerant of sexual harassment amongst females and females being more likely to view themselves as sex objects as a result of the game. The researchers built upon similar previous research by expounding on the question of how identification with the game character in violent sexist games affected the participant’s empathetic attitudes toward female violence victims. The results showcased that the research was conclusive with previous research revealing that video games have the ability to desensitize individuals as well as reinforce masculine beliefs to…
Adapting this argument to virtual pedophelia, however, leads to contradicting responses. The question is: is there a clear distinction between virtual murder and virtual pedophilia? Or in other words; if society is accepting of murder in video games, then why not pedophilia? This is the Gamer’s Dilemma addressed in Morgan Luck’s article.…
I found Roxane Gay’s media criticism in Bad Feminist very compelling through her use of humor and pop culture to make powerful arguments about women’s representation in media. When contemplating my own research in feminist video game criticism, I found myself struggling with how I could emphasize the seriousness of harmful depictions of women in interactive media, when gaming is often viewed as a childish or “fluffy” topic. I found Gay’s breakdown of Fifty Shades of Grey in the chapter, “The Trouble with Prince Charming: or He Who Trespassed Against Us,” to balance the dichotomy of “serious” and “fluffy,” quite well. In this section, she analyzes the gendered narratives within the Fifty Shades series and constructs these narratives within fairy tale archetypes. This paragraph serves a close look at the trilogy’s Prince Charming, Christian Grey (page 199-200).…
However, the popularity of this game does not do anything to change the way women are treated in the game. “The underrepresentation and exploitation of women in gaming culture leads to serious steps backward for gender equality.” (Sherman, 2014) For a game with so much impact…
The generation of future men is at risk for there is only two perspectives of a guy. Sameer Pandya argues that men at a young age are forced to follow a path of superhero or slacker. He states that the options for men are becoming limited for the reasoning of masculinity. Men are supposed to resemble superhero 's who have tons of money, women, and supply of guns instead of the opposed funny slacker. This is significant for it is forcing young boys to choose a path, even though an availability for jobs in the future is not guaranteed.…
Video game popularity is rising each year. But with all the popularity people are noticing how few of games portray a leading female role. Even if a female character has a leading role, almost all of the females are portrayed with fantasy body types to draw in a crowd. These women characters deserve to have a chance to entertain gamers just like any other male character, but it doesn’t have to be where their body is drastically overhauled to look fake. These things degrade females not only in the game, but it can have an affect on what happens outside the game.…
This shows that Video games franchises like ‘Tomb Raider’ are favorable by the male audiences due to the characters being so overly sexualized which grab their attention of these thirsty men. There are men out there that would spend their cash on games because ‘there 's a really hot chick in it’’. In the end sex does sell, most consumers would be attracted to video games with these sort of features. Compared to the female point of view of these unfair sexual representations, they would offer the same opinion as the male and prefer to choose something more sexier and feminine. Other video games without over sexualized female characters don’t gain much popularity compared to games with sexbomb characters like ‘Tomb Raider’ , ’Metroid’, or ‘final fantasy’.…
A world filled with fantasies and pleasure that the real world can’t give you. Jane is an incredible person she creates her own video games and she has written many of her own books. She is a world-renowned designer of an alternate reality, she believes that “game designers are on a humanitarian mission — and her #1 goal in life is to see a game developer win a Nobel Peace Prize” (McGonigal pg.1). For example, the author Jane McGonigal, wrote “Be a Gamer, Save the World,” published on January 22, 2011, in the Wall Street Journal, and she argues that we all think that playing video games is a way to escape reality, but gamers could change the world. Jane McGonigal effectively uses statistics and facts, and she successfully uses ethos and logos…