Initial Ideas
- How has film represented the changes in stereotypes of Muslims Post 9/11
- Are the representations of Arabs in video games an accurate representation of them in real life?
- How does the genre of violence in video games attract a teenage demographic within print advertising?
Production
- Opening scene of a film, parodying the traditional stereotypes of Muslims
- Documentary based on the comparisons of representations in video games and real life
- Magazine article promoting a new and upcoming video game, and maybe a viral campaign/web advertisement
Texts to Study
- Four Lions & The Infidel
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Medal of Honour
- Edge Magazine, GamerZines, Call of Duty, Medal of Honour, Hitman
BEST IDEA
How does graphic violence within video games attract a teenage demographic within print advertising?
Media Language
Contrast of lighting to make the game give a greater impact and engage their audience, a lot of blood and gore is used to add to the graphicness of the violence. The use of non diegetic and diegetic sounds are used from songs in the background to suit the mood of the game and also sounds such as heavy breathing to make the game more tense, gun shots and voices are also used.
Institution
Activision - Call of Duty : Modern Warfare
Infinity Ward - Call of Duty : Modern Warfare 2
EA Games - Medal of Honour
Eidos Games - Hitman
Rockstar Games - Manhunt
Game Magazines
PC Gamer
PCZone
The Official Xbox Magazine
The Official Playstation Magazine
EDGE Magazine
GamerZines
Genre
Action - Most violent games consist of a lot of action, this genre is one of the most attractive genres and therefore game producers use this genre to their advantage when producing a very violent game.
Shooter - Other than just raw blood and gore, weapons are also essential to meet a target markets requirements and many weapons such as guns and knifes etc. are included in shooters. Psychological horror - A genre which influences a lot of young teenagers and encourages them to carry out things which they see in these types of video games. An example would be Manhunt which influenced a lot of young kids and therefore was banned.
Representation
Violence is being portrayed in a very negative light, no positives can't be attained from violent games apart from the fact that they are the most likeliest type of games to sell. The negativity of this violence causes for young teenagers to become influenced and adapt to the violence. Games like Call of Duty and Medal of Honour adapt to a lot of violence and make the idea of war a enjoyable experience. Arabs are portrayed negatively within Call of Duty and shown to be antagonists. The first ever hitman was banned due to the use of asian ethics being portrayed and a lot of racism was conveyed within it. Manhunt was also a very graphically violent game and caused a lot of controversy, a quote read, "Although it was generally well-received by critics, Manhunt created a controversy due to the graphic violence the player is encouraged to engage in. This resulted in the game being banned in several countries and implicated by media in a murder".
Audience
Very young audience - 13 - 25. Games such as Call of Duty, Hitman, and Manhunt are very influential around that specific age boundary. Teenagers at a young age have been encouraged by the graphics to percieve the violence positively, and act upon it. It's targeted specifically for males due to the high content of violence, however females are also known for playing games such Call of Duty, however they are far from influenced by the violence.
Ideologies
All the institutions are based in the USA, and therefore creates the idea of how american based video games come to the United Kingdom and influence teenagers more than the USA are affected. It also creates the idea that post 9/11 the amount of violent games have increased, ecspecially in Call of Duty where a lot of negative representations upon arabs have controversly affected the way we as an audience perceive them.
Narrative
Social
Socially accepted, a lot of moral panics are young teenagers are influenced and encouraged to take aboard the idea of graphic violence for their own enjoyment
Historical
The events of 9/11 have caused for an increase in violent gaems and also the idea that arabs are antagonists and therefore misrepresented. Violence is over-represented which adds to the moral panics.
Economical
A very big increase in violence games. Games such as Call of Duty are now seen to be a fashion item and a desireable game amongst young teenagers, it's a very debatable game socially amongst teenagers.
Political
Theories
Gender & Ethnicity - gender and ethnicity is misrepresented within games such as Call of Duty where arabs are shown to be villains. I think this has been done as a response to the actions of 9/11. In all of the games males are shown to be the main protagonists and makes it seem as if only males are violent. This can be shown to be controversial as females are also known to play such violent games.
Audience Theories - hypodermic theory, cultivation theory, effects theory, reception theory, uses and gratifications theory
The way that such violence in games has been shown in the media to be quite effective. Also how the audience itself that play it are encouraged to follow the actions of these graphic images, or just tend to play it for enjoyment and not act upon being influenced by it.
Issues & Debates
Representations & Stereotyping
Media effects
Post 9/11 and the media
Media technology and the digital revolution
The effect of globalisation on the media
This fits into the Contemporary Media Landscape as the use of violence in modern games is still debatable on whether this much graphic violence should be accepted and the effects socially. It also undermines the misrepresentations of race, gender, and ethnicity which at the moment is also another factor which is still controversial around the world.
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