And Consequences Of Racial Stereotypes In Video Games

Video games have become as pervasive an aspect of our society as television, with many people spending more time playing video games than watching television. There are many perspectives with which to gauge videos games’ effect on society, from a functionalist, conflict or interactionist perspective. (Schaefer, 2011) Each of these sociological theories can provide a different view of video games, how they affect society and the subcultures that develop around them.

Racial stereotypes more or less affect our perceptions toward race, and judge people in a certain frame unconsciously, as Omi set forth in In Living Color: Race and American Culture. It greatly impact the images of minorities on the visual media, which the most direct medium to reflect the popular beliefs. Even though the “racist beliefs” have “just recently being reversed”, the portrayal of minorities on visual media is still not exemplary (Horton, et al “PORTRAYAL OF MINORITIES IN THE FILM, MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRIES”).

As video games become more and more popular, we will inevitably see an increase in amount of video games being produced. The growth in popularity of video games is facilitated by the creation of a website known as Twitch.com. This website allows gamers and content creators to stream themselves playing video games online and interact directly with a live audience via chat. This new platform makes gaming both more accessible and more acceptable. The social stigmas that accompany video games are diminishing; in fact there has been an increase in competitive electronic sports as well. Logically, the growing interest in video games encourages programmers to make more and more games. Melinda Burgess et al presents an interesting perspective about video games. She explores the prevalence of racial stereotypes and how their effects are detrimental to society as a whole. In Burgess’s essay, “Playing with Prejudice: The Prevalence and Consequences of Racial Stereotypes in Video Games”, she provides fantastic commentary on how top selling video games show “overt racial stereotyping” (Lunsford et al 551) and negatively affect how we think. By providing statistics and data about the videogames that she is critiquing, she effectively shows that there is may be a correlation between video games and how we think and interact with the world around us.

It is common knowledge that the topic of race is being examined all over the world. Frequently, more efforts are made through formation of policies, enactment of laws, and abolition of practices to obliterate racial discrimination. The pace of success of this endeavor is being delayed by the media because the media constantly portrays race in an inappropriate and derogatory manner. A race as described by Yolanda. T. Moses is a group of people who share similar and unique characteristics, while racial stereotypes are automatic and mental pictures held about all members of a particular social group. When people are stereotyped racially, they do not take into account individual differences .The media’s poor understanding of the true meaning of race has been communicated to the general public, making people think race is a biological phenomenon whereas it is socially and culturally constructed (Moses 735) and this has caused the increase in racial stereotypes by media’s continuous portrayal of negative stereotypes of different races all over the world.

Tom Bissell presents an article in 2010, to college students of which is “Why Video Games Matter.” Bissell isn’t intending for the argument to be about video game criticism, the history of the gaming, or an assessment of anything. On the contrary, he wants to articulate his own opinions and thoughts on what playing games feels like, why he plays them, and the questions they make him think about. Being a gamer myself, I have also endured the struggles of what being obsessed with a video game feels like. It is understood that when first purchasing a video game, all one thinks about is getting home and popping it in the console, disregarding everything else that is happening in the vicinity.

Researchers regularly research the media’s influence on race perception, but rarely examine one specific form: video games. Unlike formats such as television and newspapers, video games provide an interactive platform for users to live in an alternative world and perform acts considered socially wrong in real societies (Burgess et al). This form of virtual simulation can reinforce how one perceives stereotypes at higher rates. Not only do the majority of these games feature white protagonists, but also task them to defeat ethnically-ambiguous enemies. Currently, the most popular genre is shooter games set in the Middle East, where the

Games themselves are not the product of violence, but rather, the people influenced by the games and the interaction of the game. Just as guns do not kill, but the people and their cruel intentions, violent video games are a source that lead to effective mur-der homicides, suicides and tragedies. This is an evident problem. Yet, the problem lies in the heart of man. Until this is solved, every seemingly positive aspect in the world is merely the de-velopment of entropy awaiting

According to Mary Flanagan and Helen Nissenbaum “all games express and embody human values.” Throughout all of chapter one in “Values at Play in Digital Games” both authors express their beliefs on the power behind videogames. According to them, one can learn an incredible amount about someone's beliefs and ideas based on how they play. From the way they make their characters to the different actions they commit, it all expresses their beliefs and values. One can even understand game developers opinions based on how and what kind of game they make.

According to several sources around 42% of the American population plays video games, and around 1.2 billion people worldwide play video games today. Gaming has become an increasingly more popular hobby since its creation. As such the medium has obviously attracted a multitude of different people and groups, all consisting of diverse backgrounds, body types, sexes, races, nationalities and the like. However, contrary to the numerous demographics video games have come to attract, it is very evident the vast majority of them do not seem to be marketed toward many of them via game characters, and their importance, if any, in a game. Video games show an overwhelming amount of white male characters, despite the many demographics they reach. Of the characters that are not white, or male, that are represented, are often represented poorly. For example, many black characters represented in video games are often characterized as vulgar, and violent. Women represented in games are often characterized as support characters, or objects of sexual desire. Considering forms of sexism, racism, and other such types of prejudices are still prominent in modern society, and these representations obviously do not help how people see these marginalized groups. Ultimately, these representations, or lack thereof, affect people in society in a number of ways, by perpetuating prejudice and harmful stereotypes.

In modern day, there aren’t any slaves and Blacks receive the same treatment as everyone else. But hidden in plain sight, the stereotypes regarding to Blacks still linger and one of them includes video games. Leonard (2006) mention stereotypes based on the race and Blacks were listed “as are the violent and muscular Black athlete” (p. 85). Due to their structure and history, game developers viewed them as a perfect race for enemies within the game. Deskins (2013) gave an example from Devine’s research that each participant was primed with stereotypic words such as “hostile”, “gangster”, and “Black” (p. 2). Although game developers have no ill intent towards Blacks, it was simply because it’s “default” of the discourse in society. According

The game seeks to trick us for a time into abandoning what is real (home) and focus on what is inside our monitors and T.V.s. Baudrillard spoke on the process of a simulated reality in a multi-step process. “In the first case, the image is a good appearance – representation is of the sacramental order.” This can be related to the early days of video games when they used cathode ray tubes to project pixelated images onto a curved glass scene. Video games where very new, and exciting. “In the second, it is an evil appearance – it is of the order of maleficence. This can be related to games starting about 15 years ago till today. Video games were and still are thought to be a source of violence in people. Many view them as a waste of time and that they detriment a person. Though this mentality is starting to fade as we shift towards the third order “In the third, it plays at being an appearance – it is of the order of sorcery”. Technology is starting to advance to the point that anyone without training in the field cannot understand what is going on. As myths about video games negative appearance are being debunked or confirmed their negative aspects are getting swallowed up by the more exciting advancements in the fields. “In the fourth, it is no longer of the order of appearances but of simulation.” At this level the video game stops being a game, and starts to become a part of everyday life (home). For as much as some may dedicate their whole lives to games, in the

Morality and human nature are important factors when considering the behavioral influences of video games, whether they are positive or negative. Violence in the real world involves much more complexity than any influence by the media. As previously stated, simple factors such as one’s home life, environment, and general human nature are ignored when video gaming’s influences are under scrutiny. In a world where millions of people are dying in real wars, it is a luxury to harbor concern for children to be excited after playing a shooting game (Gee). The moral and behavioral influences of any video game are left up to the interpretation of the player; there is no direct influence in any game that dictates bad behavior to their players. James Paul Gee provides an incredibly important point in stating, “Video games are neither good nor bad on their own, and induce neither violence nor peace.” It is important to consider the context of video games. In David Kushner’s article, he quotes The British Board of Film Classification’s conclusion from a survey: “The violence helps make the play exhilaratingly out of reach of ordinary life… Gamers seem not to lose awareness that they are playing a game and do not mistake the game for real life.” If a violent child did not play video games, then where would the blame fall?

When stressing the issue of prejudice and stereotypes in gaming, the authors note that video games are highly associated with specific and caricatured negative image. The stereotyping has permeated collective consciousness as online video gamers have become regular caricatures in the media. Of much concern is the racial stereotyping where minorities both male and female are underrepresented in video game magazines. In this study, white males were found to have more ‘vivid’ roles such as in military combat and conversant with the use of technology as compared to minority males who had minor roles. Additionally, the stereotypes that minority males are associated with crime was evident with their representation of being ‘dangerous’ or overrepresentation

Many video games use visuals to mentally immerse gamers into a virtual world filled with seemingly living, breathing people, animals, or cities. According to Michael Samyn and Auriea Harvey, game designers for Tale of Tales, video games increasingly develop into a true medium of artistic expression (Lamb). In just forty years, video games transformed from an abuse of the new computer for entertainment purposes into a sophisticated form of popular art. The development of video games recently produced results that arguably equal other similar, representational arts. Video games share many qualities with other forms of art, but they are also artistically significant in their own way. “This seems to be something

Ever since the video game was invented many years ago, violent, bloody games have existed also. Some include killing zombies, shooting people, and fighting that ends in either someone dying or being hurt. The outcome remains the same, and a select few continue to live out these games throughout their daily life. These games can sometimes cause people to become angry. Although, some video games may have a negative effect on some people’s lives, other reasons such as their home life can be a factor in these people’s behavior.