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AIBU?

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Original poster

violent games, films and music- an influence on rioters?

26 replies

rainbowtoenails · 09/08/2011 21:43

Maybe this is another piece of the puzzle of why all this is happening.

From studying Bandura at uni I remember how influential media is on kids. I wonder howany of these rioters have played violent video games?

There is also the gangster rap that is all over the charts which glorifies criminality.

Is it time to put tighter restrictions on these?

OP posts:
A1980 · 09/08/2011 21:44

Absolute bollocks!

This is just another lame excuse for people not to take responsibility for their actions. The videos made me do it.....! Absolute crap.

StrandedBear · 09/08/2011 21:45

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

GypsyMoth · 09/08/2011 21:46

i wouldnt underestimate the influence of their music of choice!!

frownieface · 09/08/2011 21:46

no and have a Biscuit

HerBeX · 09/08/2011 21:47

The OP didn't propose that "the videos made me do it" A1980.

I think her proposition is probably a little more complex than that.

squeakytoy · 09/08/2011 21:47

There will be plenty of kids who have never so much as dropped litter who will have played the same games, and who listen to that music too.

It can only be influential if the mentality is there in the first place. It certainly isnt the cause.

mayorquimby · 09/08/2011 21:48

Saw some police officer trying to blame it on gta.
Seems lazy in the extreme to me.

solidgoldbrass · 09/08/2011 21:48

Oh here we go. Panicked mundane fuck-your-civil-liberties bingo, anyone?

niceguy2 · 09/08/2011 21:49

No I don't think games & films/music are an influence. I reckon the media have had a role to play here.

Yes it started out being organised by BBM etc but I think the constant news coverage and pictures of the police heavily outnumbered has given the thugs a degree of confidence that they will get away with it.

Unfortunately the police seem unwilling to do whats necessary, probably because over the last two decades they've been turned into a politically correct entity and right now we don't need that. We need to see some police with teeth.

And our politician's....well. Sorry Dave, I don't want to hear about your sympathy for this and that. What I want to hear is how the police will be let off their leash and bollocks to dealing with the looters robustly. I want some ass kicking. Once the looters see the police cracking down on them with plastic bullets, dogs, riot shield in the head they'll think twice about going out.

Itsjustafleshwound · 09/08/2011 21:49

Yes - those were probably the games that would sell best on ebay!!

Maleeka · 09/08/2011 21:51

this has to be a joke thread, no?

nightowlmostly · 09/08/2011 21:54

I was wondering how long it would take before someone used this as an excuse to attack video games and films.

I have been playing games all my life, as have many millions of people who, guess what, are perfectly reasonable social people who would never hurt anyone .

And films, yep, been watching them for a good long while too, and shock horror, when I was too young to watch them really. And? And nothing, that's what!

This is typical. I think the fact that we live in an extremely capitalist society where the be all and end all is to acquire material goods is more pertinent. These teens can't afford all the things they are bombarded with every day on adverts etc, and as misguided as it is, are taking this opportunity to get their hands on all the trainers and ipads etc they are indoctrinated to want.

Having said that, I am very shocked at the fact that they are setting fires in buildings which have people asleep in them, that to me is the worst thing I've seen.

WiiUnfit · 09/08/2011 21:54

Hmm I played GTA & the like, I am not out looting. Bandura did find a correlation with media violence + subsequent violence but it is not strong enough to blame the riots on this. It is a bunch of thugs who think they can get away with it.

StrandedBear · 09/08/2011 21:56

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

onagar · 09/08/2011 21:58

If you think about past atrocities they happened before video games and TV were invented. Humans are a violent species.

WiiUnfit · 09/08/2011 22:06

"There is also the gangster rap that is all over the charts which glorifies criminality"

Can we have an example of the 'gangster rap that is all over the charts which glorifies criminality' because personally, I can't see it...

HerBeX · 09/08/2011 22:06

The OP isn't blaming the violence on video games.

She's asking how big an influence they have. Plus the gangster rap.

I don't think it's unreasonable to ask how much cultural factors influence people's behaviour.

I suspect that they influence some more than others. Other factors must be their family backgrounds, stake in society, emotional disposition, etc. Also crowd dynamics change people's perspectives and behaviour. There's an interesting article about that here

HerBeX · 09/08/2011 22:08

I think the crowd dynamic argument is very persuasive. But what is more interesting, is what persuades someone to go down to Oxford Street/ Clapham/ other riot zone in the first place to join that crowd.

bonkers20 · 09/08/2011 22:15

OP said it might be a piece of the puzzle and that such violent games and music might be an influence.

I think it should be looked at.

Birdsgottafly · 09/08/2011 22:25

Bandura also concluded that positive behaviour would be copied as much as negative. So no, there isn't an explaination that crosses into; video games, films or music.

It kicking off where i live and those that have just walked passed me on the way to cause mayhem have no excuse, they are in no way hard done by.

mayorquimby · 09/08/2011 22:25

It may need to be looked at but there's so much pop psychology going on by people who have little or no qualifications or education in the matter. It serves nobody and it just muddies the waters and can often detract from the problems.
Look at the aftermath of Columbine, there was a push by the media and parents to blame the game DOOM (which they rarely played) and Marilyn Mansons music. I can kind of understand why it happens, people want something to blame and don't want to believe that kids they see everyday and who they have raised could do these things. But it's just looking for a scape goat and distracts people from the problems.

solidgoldbrass · 10/08/2011 00:03

Well the fact that it's all over the media that all these little thugs are stealing stuff and getting away with it is going to encourage other little thugs to have a go on their own account, of course. If you're a teenager, skint, poorly educated to the extent that no one's ever socialised you towards having basic impulse control, you're going to look at the reports and go 'Wooh, looks like fun, I'll have some.'
I once read an interesting article about the film A Clockwork Orange and the (very minor) Wave Of Violence that followed its release. Apparently quite a few of the perpetrators of violence had never actually seen the film, they had just read the press coverage about how violent it was and how it was 'making' people violent...

Empusa · 10/08/2011 00:09

Say you have 100 people who've read the same book, 1 of these people commits a crime. How much of I tit would someone look if they suggested the book was the problem?

CogitoErgoSometimes · 10/08/2011 06:33

YANBU... I don't think violent video games and movies cause this kind of behaviour but I think they skew the context & the language of everyday life for some people. As I understand it, the man shot by police last week had texted some reference to 'the feds' shortly beforehand. I'd assume he'd picked that up from movies, music, games... because it's not an English term. I met a young kid (8 or 9) recently through Scouts and he was drawing a picture. It was a picture of a swastika and he added the words.... I love hitler zombie nazis. Hmm I was a little shocked but one of the other leaders explained that it was probably a reference to a computer game.

Games and movies my not cause anything but they're certainly influential

RuthLlama123 · 08/04/2021 20:16

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