Diversity in Video and Computer Games
Ever since the Pong and Atari 2600 consoles became commonplace items in the American household in the 1980s, video games have been part of the world culture. One may be challenged to find a college dorm room without at least one (if not all three) “next generation” video game systems. Yes, video games are common methods of entertainment among college students regardless of race. So it seems logical that, since the games are played by all races, they should have content featuring all races, right? Well, that’s what I’m here to examine.
Violence and Gaming
Up to this point, the majority of research based on video games was directed toward the two major concepts of gender and violence. The existence of violence in games is not up for debate; from Donkey Kong throwing barrels and Pac-Man eating ghosts during the birth of home gaming, to samurai Samanosuke slicing up demons in Playstation 2’s Onimusha series, violence has been prevalent in gaming. In fact, a study claims that, on average, 89% of video games include violent content (Children Now, 2001).The question is: how does the violence affect young players? There are two rival camps with opposing viewpoints on the matter of media violence. One, and arguably the more vocal of the two, states that violent content is likely to make the viewer/player act out in violent ways. The other claims that violence in games acts as a catharsis, thus preventing violence on the part of the user. Research on this aspect of video games, and in fact all media, has been conducted as long as the technology has been in existence (Dominick, J.R. (1984). Video games, television violence and aggression in teenagers.). As of yet, results have been inconclusive.
Gender in Gaming
Within the gender-based subset, most research involved the roles of women within the games, or quite possibly the lack thereof. In the often-referenced article “An examination of violence and gender role portrayals in video games: implications for gender socialization and aggressive behavior,” Tracy Deitz (1998) found the portrayal of women in games to be somewhere between negligible at best, and harmful to the perception of females at the very worst.
Martha is the first woman in the book. Jimmy Cross had a very strong love for Martha and even held onto two pictures of her around war. Jimmy had gone on a date to the movies with Martha before the war and put his hand on her knee. Martha moved his hand, but Jimmy would never forget this special moment (O’ Brien 4). After Vietnam Jimmy spent a night with her. He told her that he still loved her, but she did not respond (28). Martha did have an important role. I think
In all, the women in The Things They Carried were important to make it apparent to the reader the different emotions that O’Brien was trying to show, remembering the fallen and learning to forgive yourself and moving on. The most prominent women within the novel used to express these points being Martha, Kathleen and Linda. They were essential in showing the key parts in O’Brien’s life that lead to the turning points which lead to the creation of this novel and his ability to be at peace with what had happened in Vietnam. He finally accepted what ad happened and embraced it instead of avoiding it.
...s, and why he writes them at all. Instead of judging him, she tries to understand and fix it her own way, and it affects how he sees his writing:
...rthy Italian has his redeeming traits” (Reading 11, p. 2). These better traits are their honesty, hotheadedness, faithful wives and devoted mothers, and lastly happy and lighthearted. As for being lighthearted, Riis compared the Italian to a child in that there is no social filter, which can come off as rude. Although there are mixed feelings towards the Italians as a whole, Riis felt that they are preferable to Germans and other immigrants because they can be taken advantage of. He feels pity and sympathy for them. The comparison to a child connects to an image of the children of the Gilded Age (Slideshow 7:33). In this image the child is depicted to be serious and not to to what a child is usually thought to be. If an immigrant is like a child, then Americans must teach them to become a responsible American and educate them to progress, known as progressivism.
The Gilded Age was the last three decades of the nineteenth century, when America’s industrial economy exploded generating opportunities for individuals but also left many workers struggling for survival. With the many immigrants, skilled and unskilled, coming to America the labor system is becoming flooded with new employees. During this period, the immigrants, including the Italians, were unskilled and the skilled workers were usually American-born. There was also a divide in the workers and the robber barons. Robber barons were American capitalist who acquired great fortunes in the last nineteenth century, usually ruthlessly. There was much turmoil throughout the business and labor community. Two major organizations, the Knights of Labor and the American Federation of Labor, helped represent the workers in this time of chaos. The Knights of Labor, founded in 1869, were representing both skilled and unskilled workers. They were quite popular with a large boost in membership becoming the biggest union in 1885. They sought for equal pay and equal work. All were welcomed to the Knights of Labor; there was no discrimination on race, gender, or sex. They called for an eight-hour day in order to reduce fatigue and for safety issues. The Knights of Labor Declaration of Principles states their purpose is to “make industrial and moral worth, not wealth” (Reading 9, p. 1). This means the moral worth is to what they could contribute to society rather than monetary gains. They were working towards this improvement of the common mans life to advance in civilization and create new ideas for society. They also called upon the employer to treat the employee with respect and fairness so they can contribute to not only their company but to Amer...
In 1883, the Pendleton Act establishing a federal civil service gave an end to government patronage. The federal workers were then hired on competitive exams rather than political influence. Government jobs would now be based on merit, calling for a Progressivism Era. The Populist and Socialists soon emerged then declined. Farmers rose to form the Populist Party, which advocated for shorter workdays and government loans to farmers as well as election reforms. Once their party leader lost in the election, there causes washed-out. Next, the Socialist party formed to put an end to capitalism. The Socialist believed that capitalism was the reason for the large gap between the working poor and rich. Middle and upper class Americans rejected this view and instead formed the movement of progressivism. Progressives made their way on to the scene with a not so extreme approach. Progressives called to reform government and business to have better working conditions. These conditions can be seen in a excerpt form John Spargo in The Bitter Cry of the Children, “Sometimes there is a worse accident: a terrified shriek is heard, and a boy is mangled and torn in the machinery, or disappears in the chute to be picked out later smothered and dead. Clouds of dust fill the breakers and are inhaled by the boys, laying the foundations for asthma and miners’ consumption” (Reading 12: p. 2). The coal industry was no place for a child, especially in conditions where death is at stake for such a young boy who has the rest of his life ahead of him. Spargo documented just one example of the conditions that Americans were facing and progressivism was called in to fix. In a 1903 speech before the Western Federation of Miners by Eugene V. Debs, he calls for “Th...
The major reasons why the philosophies were developed was because of discontent. Socialism has many different theories of origin and ha...
“Statistics prove that the scum of Southern Europe is dumped at the nation's’ door in rapturous, conscienceless, law-breaking hordes” (Dickie 162). Escaping poverty and overpopulation in Italy, particularly Sicily, Italian immigrants flocked to America in hopes of reaping the benefits of a booming industrial revolution. With emphasis on family bonds and the prevalence of tradition, Italian Americans established communal centers, known as Little Italies, in several of the largest American cities, notably in New York and Chicago. With the initial distrust of Americans, it became customary to avoid integration, thus rendering Italians “repulsive to Americans” (Smith 337), who held individualism and American values highly. The roots of the Sicilian
Children today are exposed to more graphic violence in video games compared to any past generations. This is because the media finds that making a profit, surpasses the lives of the adolescents that play these games. However, over time two set of views formed from the violence in video games. James D. Sauer, is a graduate of the School of Phycology. In his article, “Violent Video Games: The Effects of Narrative Context and Reward Structure On In-Game and Postgame Aggression,” Sauer, describes that adolescents gain forms of aggression and violence after playing certain games. Not every video game causes post game aggression, but documented in his article, “Players who enacted in-game violence through a heroic character exhibited less postgame
Women in war stories were only heard of as nurses or when they were brought up by the men. Martha was one of them women brought up by soldiers. She, although without notice, kept Jimmy Cross sane by taking his mind off war. Cross is not the only one to love a woman who does not live him back. Soldiers use love all the time to help them cope with war whether if the love is real or not.
This journal article is entirely credible and written by two women who know what they’re talking about. This article discusses how video games form stereotypes about both genders and that they impact both gamers and non-gamers. Men are portrayed as aggressive and women are unsurprisingly portrayed as sex objects. A main issue with this is that video games are mostly played by the younger generation meaning these are the ideas being imbedded into the youth of the world. The...
Throughout the late 1800s and early 1900s, the United States experienced many new changes as a result of the Industrial Revolution. One of these changes was the major wave of immigrants from several countries. These “New Immigrants”, as they were called, were primarily Jewish, Italian, or slaves. “Between around 1880 and 1924, more than four million Italians immigrated to the United States, half of them between 1900 and 1910 alone.” (“When Did They”). One of those Italians was Delaney’s great great grandfather, Michelo or Michael, who came from Italy to America in 1909. Before he arrived in the U.S. from Italy, Michael worked on a farm. 2/3 of the Italian immigrant population were farm laborers or contadini. The laborers were mostly agricultural” Michael
“As video games have become more violent and more sophisticated and the sales of video games has skyrocketed in the last few decades, youth violence has plummeted,” Ferguson says, citing evidence compiled by various federal agencies (Adams 3). Violence in video games is not a new issue. It has been debated and argued since the release of the first violent video game. As time has progressed, so has the evolution of violence and strong language within video games. Ratings have become more relaxed, and the lines between T (Teen) and M (Mature) rated games has gotten closer together. Violent games are becoming the normal and accepted of all games, and are being demanded by the gaming industry more heavily. Parents have always shied away from these games for their children, regardless of age. However, kids are getting these games whether they are the correct age (17+) or not. Young kids, less than ten years of age are playing horribly violent games and parents are fearing the repercussions. But video games are not to be blamed for child violence. Violence in video games does not cause children to become violent people later on in life.
Every country has spies. The general public has a common thought that espionage is just like typical James Bond movies which have basic plots of spies sent out to gather unknown information for their country. Espionage branches out to much more than that. Spies are defined as people “who obtain information in a secret, indirect, underhanded, or illegal manner” (Bachrach 9). Despite having a negative definition, there are both good and evil espionage organizations. Some examples of good organizations include the MI5 and MI6 which are security networks under Great Britain’s control. An evil espionage network would be GESTAPO which was a secret service organization run by Hitler. The United States is fairly new to the whole espionage game. The
In society’s current era of technological advancement, video games have gone a long way since they were first created. Video games in the twenty-first century are no longer just toys or junk in the lifestyles of the youth. They have become innovative inventions that not only entertain its users, but also help aid the people in both the academic field and in jobs. The influences that video games bring about in the culture of the youth today are, in fact, not the negative influences that most people think. Video games are actually this generation’s new medium for educating the youth. The information they learn are also mostly positive and useful things that they may apply in their future lives (Prensky 4). In a generation that revolves around technology and connectivity, developers and educators have already been able to produce fun and interesting games that can teach and train people. Video game developers and educators should continue to collaborate in order to create more positive, educational, and appealing games.