Dissertation Proposal

For my dissertation, I thought of various topics that I could use, but not many came to mind. The obvious subject would be video games, since I’m passionate about them and they are the focus of my course. Since we were encouraged to pick a topic that we were sufficiently interested in to talk about, I thought of a universal topic that I was interested in: controversy.

I’ve always been fascinated by controversies, simply out of purely human curiosity as to why certain topics/images/words tick people off and cause outcry. In the 1980’s, Britain was the subject of a moral panic caused by the ‘video nasty’, a term describing a film (almost universally horror films) that was considered so horrific and explicit in its depiction of violence, that it would ‘deprave and corrupt’ all who watched it. Of course, I was not alive during this time, but I caught wind of it by accident when my mother bought me a DVD, that had happened to be one of the previously banned 72 ‘video nasties’. A brief internet search uncovered the facts, and since then I’ve been extremely interested in controversy within film, especially when films are censored. It fascinates me how the censors view a film, and then decide what other people may see because they felt a specific reaction to a certain part of the film. It seems almost arrogant to me that a fellow human decides what the public can and can’t see, as it gives the impression that the censor is either ‘immune’ to harmful effects, or that they conceive the public as easily influenced and unintelligent.

I then realised that I could use this aspect of the video game world, since video games have also been the subject of various controversies and have been censored in equal measure. It’s difficult to determine why certain themes or images in games cause offence to people, although I realise that in some cases, it’s also quite obvious. Video games also seem to have much harsher guidelines and regulation than films, mostly because the public has become a lot more cine-literate and are more aware of the conventions of film. Since video games are relatively new in terms of human history, and the fact that they are interactive by nature makes them a much easier target to blame and attack than film.

Controversy isn’t only limited to film either; works of fine art and books have been subjects of controversy and censorship. Specific examples include Rene Magritte’s The Rape, which was exhibited behind a sheet warning that it may be the most disturbing painting viewers may see. Another is the works of D.H. Lawrence, which were heavily censored because of their explicit sexual content. Similarly, the works of the Marquis de Sade were frequently banned and burnt, and the marquis himself was imprisoned, because of the highly detailed explicit themes of sadism, cruelty and sexual violence in his works. In a very similar fashion, even violence in comic books was considered too explicit for children in the 1960’s, leading to legislation on their content.

I hope to use my passion and interest in controversy to determine the answer to my dissertation question: Is Video Game Controversy/Censorship Justifiable? I not only want to tackle the cases of controversy, but the censorship that is distributed to the ‘offending’ material, to see whether or not it is effective.

In the dissertation, I aim to compile a list of notable games that have been controversial or censored (or both), in order to present a history of what issues and subjects have been controversial. This will determine whether or not attitudes towards games have changed through time, and it will also give an idea of the common complaints that people have with video games. Notably, I won’t be listing games that have simply had a negative response or extremely bad critical reception, as this does not pertain to controversy. I will also be striving to play a number of the controversial games myself, to develop my own opinion on their effects. It will also generate first-hand experience that I can use as evidence in answering my question.

There have been many cases where certain video games have been attributed as an influence on human behaviour, especially in the trials of criminal acts. Certain murder or felony cases involve a specific game being used as a scapegoat or a reason behind a person’s behaviour. It frustrates me mostly because there is usually no reason whatsoever to believe that a video game has influenced someone, and the game is implicated without any proof of the claim. Films have also been treated in this way, so it’s a common subject that I’m interested in. By looking at notable examples in my dissertation, and uncovering the facts, I shall determine whether or not it’s justifiable to involve the ‘offending’ games in these trials, and hence, cause unnecessary controversy.

Stemming from the fact that video games are implicated as influences in crime, there has been countless research and investigation into psychological behaviour and the effects of media (such as film and video games) on a person’s psyche. From common knowledge, it appears there is little evidence to support that video games DO influence human behaviour, but I want to probe a little further. I’m aiming to read through official research and tests into human psychology and the effects of video games on people, in order to use actual data to aid the answering of my question. I will also undertake research of my own (in the form of questionnaires and interviews with members of the public) to document people’s attitudes towards video games and controversy. I will also try to consult a psychologist in person and get their opinion on the subject. Not only will this be first-hand data to use, but it will create an opportunity for a forum between me and them.

On the subject of censorship, it’s well known that video games aren’t the only victim, and therefore, I wish to investigate censorship as a whole entity to see whether or not it’s effective in ‘protecting’ the public from dangerous or harmful imagery. I will read studies and analyses of censorship and watch documentaries on the subject, and then investigate video games that have been censored worldwide. By doing this, I hope to gain the professional opinions of third parties in relation to censorship, and also gain an insight into the views of other countries.

 I think it’s safe to say that in the UK, we are becoming more and more accepting of controversial subjects in our everyday life, including video games. We are actually quite lenient in terms of censorship, since the majority of the ‘video nasties’ are now available uncut, and newer films with a higher level of violence and realism are now the norm, and with the exception of a few examples, most video games in the country are passed without cuts. However, I’m aware that specifically Germany and Australia are particularly vociferous in their regulation of video games, leading to many games being censored or banned entirely.

Despite me being opposed to censorship, I do believe in the ratings system that we have, specifically the PEGI system, soon to be implemented as mandatory for UK games, in place of the BBFC’s certification process. I also wish to look at the PEGI rating system, and determine its effectiveness as a form of ‘self-censorship’. As an example, a violent game may be uncensored and released, and a person looks at the rating, they should be their own censors by deciding whether or not they want to view violence or sexual themes. People really have no right to complain about something that they have been pre-warned about, as it is their ultimate decision to view it.

After undertaking all these tasks, I will have a large amount of exemplar material to consider in answering my question. Included in this will be a list of controversial games, the reasons behind the controversy, and my own opinions (if I have played the game). After investigating and gathering official tests into human psychology, I will hopefully have enough data to determine whether video games can affect human behaviour, which will have significant impact on my answering of my question. I also wish to gather up my own evidence by asking my peers and members of the public about their opinions on the subject of controversy, and this will add to my own opinions. By looking at censorship as a whole, and then looking at it from a gaming point of view, I can then offer my feelings on the effectiveness of censorship on the general public. Looking at the attitudes of different countries towards certain games, as well as their regulation techniques and rates of criminal behaviour will also augment my answer to whether censorship does indeed work.

All in all, this is my method and my proposed outcomes that I will undertake in my dissertation and it will allow me to answer my question: Is Video Game Controversy/Censorship Justifiable?