War games, and the glorification of conflict

Emp_Fab

I saw the TV ad for Battlefield 4 last night and both Mrs F and I were rather taken aback by the monologue that accompanies it, which refers to "...The glorious mindblowing freedom of all-out war".

Now, I enjoy playing a shooter as much as anyone, but....   I do have a problem with this glorification of war.  Generations of youths who have never experienced real conflict are growing up playing these things where there are no consequences to war, no pain or suffering.  This can't be a good thing, surely ?

Whilst these games are getting ever more realistic on the graphical front, they are depicting an increasingly unrealistic, sanitised version of war.  

I'm not for a moment suggesting that everyone who plays Battlefield 4 is going to rush to join the real army with a crazed bloodlust to destroy everything in a blaze of explosions, but....  I wonder what the consequences of this depiction of war as being an action-packed, exciting, fun activity, could be - particularly in the longer term where these games will inevitably become more immersive with the perfection of virtual reality and they become graphically indistinguishable from reality.

randomhandclaps

I'm surprised the ad didn't feature a quote for Prince Harry claiming "It's the most fun to be had without actually slaughtering real Afghans".

octatonic

Easily fixed- every time you play Battlefield, EA bump off a close relative.

holnrew

I only play sci-fi shooters for that reason. I'm totally against the military and anything that glorifies it. I hope the COD fad will have passed by the time I have kids.

Things like Brothers in Arms and stuff is OK by me because it's eucational from a historical perspective and does nothing to glorify war.

chillidoggy

I saw a scene from Grand Theft Auto last night with some bloke running around thumping people. It made me realise that I'm not remotely interested in that kind of rubbish.

I also wonder what percentage of games on the market include the ability for the gamer to shoot virtual people. I suspect it's a fairly high one, and if so, it could explain a lot if the kids buying it are impressionable. But what chance have you got when the parents are playing it too?

guitargeek62

Yeah, and hollywood perverts a childs mind too - did you not see how they portray the army men in Toy Story as uber-cool stealthy heroes?!

RobDavies

I'm still getting over the disappointment that not all women look like Barbie dolls with huge inflated norks, and they don't want to gag on my 14" penis.

randomhandclaps

RobDavies said:

I'm still getting over the disappointment that not all women look like Barbie dolls with huge inflated norks, and they don't want to gag on my 14" penis.

You need to move to a different town.

Emp_Fab

guitargeek62 said: Yeah, and hollywood perverts a childs mind too - did you not see how they portray the army men in Toy Story as uber-cool stealthy heroes?!

You are joking right ?  (obviously not the literal joke, but that plastic toys can be compared with representations of warfare in modern games). 

axisus

I have to admit that the bad language of these games really bugs me as well. 

guitargeek62

Emp_Fab said:

You are joking right ?  (obviously not the literal joke, but that plastic toys can be compared with representations of warfare in modern games). 

No, I'm not.

Go and take another look at the age rating on the game (and most other violent ones for that matter). If kids are playing this, then that's due to the parents ignorance.*

I sincerely doubt that any of these games (or movies) persuade someone that war is an amazing, fun, enjoyable-for-all event anymore than Toy Story does. My point, vague that was, is that they're both as accurate a portrayal as the other.

I really would prefer to think that the average gamer is a little less impressionable than you believe.

@axisus - on the back of the case it quite clearly points out that it contains bad language. And if you've never met a squaddie, they swear a lot more in real life.

*the usual argument here applies, but the point stands. 

Emp_Fab

Hmm.  Well, we'll have to agree to differ then.  I do think that the games in particular portray war as amazing and fun etc, but the use of the plastic soldiers in Toy Story is too far removed from actual war or even fighting to have any such effect on even the most impressionable.

>I really would prefer to think that the average gamer is a little less impressionable than you believe.

I would prefer that too, but unfortunately, I think that a lot of the teenagers who join up don't have the level of intelligence required to consciously separate the fiction from the fact.  The military machine has a huge interest in video games as recruitment and training aids, so the link is well established.

guitargeek62

I actually saw that advert last night. You have heard of humour, right?

martinw

So pasty-faced kids who've spent most of their lives in darkened bedrooms are the target market for the Army? )

 

Handsome_Chris

guitargeek62 said:

And if you've never met a squaddie, they swear a lot more in real life.

As a recently become ex-"squaddie", is this the type of ignorance I can expect to deal with when applying for jobs? Am I wrong to assume that all "civvies" are not as prejudiced as this? 

dindude

Bloody hell Emp, do you freelance for the Daily Mail as well?

Emp_Fab

What's with the hostility ?  If anyone's going to argue their corner, could they at least try to put some reasoning in their response ? Sarky references to humour and the DM don't actually qualify as input into a discussion.  It's a bit like someone on Question Time going "Pffffffftttt !!!  Knobber !!".

Emp_Fab

I thought it was common knowledge that the military have a vested interest in the promotion of war games... they certainly use them in training.  ...and in answer to Martinw, yes... it makes recruiting cannon fodder so much easier if you have a pool of kids who think war is fun.  I fail to see why some of you seem to think this is a ridiculous concept !

Grumpyrocker

martinw said:

So pasty-faced kids who've spent most of their lives in darkened bedrooms are the target market for the Army? )

Hey Martin, the 1980s called and wants its cliche back.(ironic use of 2010 cliche I know) Videogames are now bigger than cinema. Hit games are by far the biggest entertainment products - outselling films, music, TV etc. They are not a niche medium for basement dwellers. Stop peddling this nonsense - it's like old farts warning of the dangers of rock and roll in the 50s. You don't play games - fine - but they are now as mainstream as going to the cinema, watching TV or reading a book. There is no stereotypical gamer.

Handsome_Chris

Emp_Fab said:

I thought it was common knowledge that the military have a vested interest in the promotion of war games... 

I never knew that.  In fact on any of my promotion course I never came across it.  I remember Maslow's hierarchy of needs, and Hertzberg's hygiene-motivator theory; but, I have never seen anyone recommended for promotion based on their ability at CoD4.

Fretwired

Emp_Fab said:

I saw the TV ad for Battlefield 4 last night and both Mrs F and I were rather taken aback by the monologue that accompanies it, which refers to "...The glorious mindblowing freedom of all-out war".

Now, I enjoy playing a shooter as much as anyone, but....   I do have a problem with this glorification of war.  Generations of youths who have never experienced real conflict are growing up playing these things where there are no consequences to war, no pain or suffering.  This can't be a good thing, surely ?

Whilst these games are getting ever more realistic on the graphical front, they are depicting an increasingly unrealistic, sanitised version of war.  

I'm not for a moment suggesting that everyone who plays Battlefield 4 is going to rush to join the real army with a crazed bloodlust to destroy everything in a blaze of explosions, but....  I wonder what the consequences of this depiction of war as being an action-packed, exciting, fun activity, could be - particularly in the longer term where these games will inevitably become more immersive with the perfection of virtual reality and they become graphically indistinguishable from reality.

Humbug.

This is not new. I grew up watching Hollywood and British war films - a few were anti-war but most revelled in the action, especially killing Germans. And on holiday in the summer boys would read comic books like Commando which glorified war [see below].



And toy shops were full of toy guns ... games are just an evolution.

And 7 guns in 1 ...



:-)