The Representation of Violence and Race in Video Games

1 Representation of Violence and Race in Video Games Video games are increasingly being considered as an important media in today's world.

The video game industry generates billions of dollars in revenue, employs hundreds of thousands of people, and is enjoyed by millions of people worldwide. Like all forms of media, there are several themes present in games; some positive and others negative.

Research shows that in the United States alone, more than 100 million people regularly play video games, averaging at least 3 hours per week. Grand Theft Auto and Resident Evil are two of the best-selling video games (Anderson, Gentile, & Buckley, 2007). Both games fall into the action-adventure and first-person shooter genre. One of the main negative aspects of video games is the celebration of violence and aggressive behavior. Continuous exposure to violence in video games may cause players to become desensitized to violence in real life (Shao, & Wang, 2019).As advancements in technology continue, games are becoming more vivid and realistic.

Therefore the stereotypes portrayed may also have a negative effect on player's perceptions of race in real situations.

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Negative representations of minority races such as Blacks and Latinos are constant in both Resident Evil and Grand Theft Auto. This paper explores the representation of violence, race, and gender in GTA IV, and compares it to Resident Evil 5. Essentially, GTA has a problematic portrayal of race, violence, and gender. In GTA, players advance in the game by gaining extra points for their use of violence. Resident Evil is similar to GTA, where virtual characters engage in a game-oriented quest for survival. Like GTA, Resident Evil combines both action and adventure genres.

Grand Theft Auto Grand Theft Auto, otherwise known as GTA, is a series of video games that combines the genres of action and adventure. It was first released in 1997 and has since become one of the most popular games globally. The games are set in three fiction cities, namely, San Andreas, Liberty City, and Vice City. These cities represent California State, New York City, and Miami, respectively. The series focuses on the protagonists' criminal activities, where they steal cars and escape, shoot people, stealth, race, hire prostitutes, and join gangs. Despite its immense popularity, GTA has also been criticized for its celebration of crime, and its perpetuation of gender and racial stereotypes (Embrick, Wright, & Lukács, 2012).

Violence in GTA When Grand Theft Auto was launched, there was intense debate about its normalization and celebration of crime. Players could hire prostitutes, carjack motorists, join gangs, and murder

3 people. Raising further concern about the impact of the glorification of violence is the fact that it has become immensely popular among children, teenagers, and the youth, all of whom are highly impressionable. To date, GTA continues to sell millions of units globally with each release of a new series.

All GTA series have generated considerable public outcry due to their casual representation of violence and other societal vices. A typical game of GTA requires the player to participate in harmful and violent activities such as running over, injuring, robbing, and shooting people. As such, it provides a platform for players to practice aggressive thoughts and behavior to situations of conflict. In 2013, Grand Theft Auto V generated a lot of controversy due to its brutality. In one of the game’s missions, players are required to use torture equipment to interrogate hostages. In the mission, a man believed to have links with terrorist groups that threaten the activities of the Federal Investigation Bureau (FIB) is interrogated to extract crucial information from him. The protagonist uses a variety of extreme torture methods during the interrogation process, from waterboarding to electrocution and removing his teeth using pliers (Gimpel, 2013). Once the man provides the information, the protagonist is instructed to kill him but instead decides to give him an opportunity to escape.

GTA IV was released in April 2008 and immediately received public outcry for its blatant simulation of the murder. Throughout the game, there are several scenes where the player is expected to carjack, shoot, murder, or commit sexual violence. Due to its extremely violent nature, the game is recommended for adults because it can adversely affect children and teenagers. Since its release, there have been several crimes where the offenders claim to have been influenced by GTA IV. For instance, in June 2008, a group of teenagers robbed a man violently, vandalized a van and attempted to hijack a car inspired by Grand Theft Auto IV

4 (Adachi, & Willoughby, 2011). In yet another incident, a few months later, a teenager in Bangkok murdered a taxi driver while attempting to carjack him. He, as well, cited Grand Theft Auto IV as his inspiration. In 2013, a 90-year old woman was shot dead by her eight-year-old grandson who had been playing GTA IV. These incidences show that the game's depiction of violence has a negative impact on players. In GTA IV, players have the option of driving while intoxicated. Unlike its predecessors, there are also several scenes in the game that depict nudity and sexual content. Owing to its adult content, it has been proven to have severe adverse effects on young players.

Racism in GTA The racial content of GTA has been subject to scrutiny over the years. The idea of Grand Theft Auto is to offer a fun gaming experience to the player, but in the process, it exposes certain stereotypes that are held about African Americans and other minority races. One of GTA IV's main characters is an African American man called Franklin. He grew up in poverty, and having no other choice, becomes a carjacker and murderer. Despite being a criminal, Franklin is portrayed as a likable person. He tries to leave the criminal life but is forced back by his circumstances.

Racism in GTA V is evident in the racial stereotypes and jokes that are present throughout the game. The white pedestrians react in shock and disgust to Franklin. There are also several incidents where police attack him without an apparent reason, and this can be attributed to his ethnicity and skin color. The police's reaction to Franklin is harsher and more aggressive than any other protagonist in the game. The theme of racism is also evident when Franklin goes to the rural areas with Trevor and quad bikes appear next to them, and the people riding the quad bikes begin to taunt them before shooting him. He is taunted for being Black. The police reaction

5 to Michael and Trevor, who are white, are noticeably different from their reaction to Franklin.

They responded to him by arresting him, pointing a gun at him, and even shooting. Trevor and Michael, on the other hand, do not draw the same reaction from the police. The dialogue between Franklin and the police as they chase him contains racist slurs such as the one who tells him, "I will lynch you!"

Grand Theft Auto is based on rivalries among different gangs. The gang members in each gang are of one race. The Asian gang has only Asian gang members, while the African American gang has only African American gang members. The division of the gangs into different races is a sign of racism. Racial stereotypes are also shown by how the gang members talk, dress, and the type of music they listen to. For example, the Black gang wears baggy trousers, flashy jewelry, and speaks in African American colloquial.

Resident Evil Released in 2005, Resident Evil 5 is the seventh major installment in the Resident Evil series. The game follows an investigation of a bioterrorism threat by Chris Redfield and Sheva Alomar, who are agents of the Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance (BSAA) (Malkowski, & Russworm, 2017). The bioterrorism attack is in Kijuju, a fictional village in Africa. The game portrays the age-old cliché of white people rescuing poverty-stricken Africa from its dangers.

Racism in Resident Evil The game draws a significant proportion of its plot from well-known racial and gender stereotypes that depict African people as dangerous savages who are wild even before they turn into zombies. Despite being launched in 2005, Africa is portrayed as being dark, dangerous, and backward. This is controversial because it is reminiscent of the colonial attitudes towards Africa.

6 In the game, African Americans are portrayed as being poor and violent. Released in 2007, the trailer of the game shows Chris Redfield arriving in an impoverished African town whose inhabitants are infected with a mutant virus and have become zombies. To avoid getting infected by the zombies, Redfield has to shoot them. The portrayal of Africans in this series is that they are poor, and their lives are disposable.

Additionally, the music used in the game is similar to that used in the movie "Black Hawk Down," where the U.S. Army fought and defeated Somali guerrillas (Olson, & Kutner, 2014). In the trailer, the Africans are given a hostile and unattractive appearance, long before they turn into zombies. Their first reaction to the white person is to attack. This depiction of Africans brings attention to the attitudes that developing nations hold of the developing world.

Racism is one of the most sensitive social issues. Resident Evil V may easily be considered racist because it portrays black people as being primitive and savage, and therefore, as deserving objects of violence. Additionally, it is set in a location that looks extremely dirty and primitive, this promoting the stereotypes that have been promoted by the media for several centuries about Black people and Africa.

Violence in Resident Evil Like in Grand Theft Auto, there is a lot of realistically simulated violence in Resident Evil. The game contains several bloody scenes and disturbing images where the player is rewarded for shooting and injuring. Resident Evil also contains foul language that is unsuitable for younger audiences. The impact of playing the game for a long time may show up later in life through negative behavior and attitudes (Parsons, 2019).

Conclusion

7 Video games are popular universally among children, teens, and even adults. The content of video games has been subject to debate for several decades. With advancements in technology, video games are becoming increasingly vivid and realistic, and it is important to investigate the message communicated. Like any other type of media, video games provide a way for users to explore ad practice cultural and social identities and therefore learn about the world. Children and teenagers are highly impressionable and if continually exposed to violence and other vices. They can easily be influenced to engage in negative behavior. This report finds that GTA and Resident Evil are two of the most popular video games that glorify violence and perpetuate racial stereotypes.

8 Reference Adachi, P., & Willoughby, T. (2011). The effect of violent video games on aggression: Is it more than just the violence?. Aggression And Violent Behavior, 16(1), 55-62. doi: 10.1016/j.avb.2010.12.002 Anderson, C., Gentile, D., & Buckley, K. (2007). Violent video game effects on children and adolescents. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Embrick, D., Wright, J., & Lukács, A. (2012). Social exclusion, power, and video game play.

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Gimpel, D. (2013). Violence in video games. Minneapolis, MN: ABDO Pub. Malkowski, J., & Russworm, T. (2017). Gaming representation. Race, gender, and sexuality in video games. Indiana University Press.

Olson, C., & Kutner, L. (2014). Grand theft childhood. New York: Simon & Schuster.

Parsons., T. (2019). Ethical Challenges in Digital Psychology and Cyberpsychology. Cambridge University Press.

Shao, R., & Wang, Y. (2019). The Relation of Violent Video Games to Adolescent Aggression: An Examination of Moderated Mediation Effect. Frontiers In Psychology, 10. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00384