This week, you were asked to watch
Joystick Warriors, which is a discussion about the relationship between violent video games and violence in the real world. The film examines the game industry's longstanding working relationship with the
U.S. military and the American gun industry.
Joystick Warriors examines several games to demonstrate how they sanitize, glamorize, and normalize violence while cultivating potentially dangerous and regressive attitudes and ideas about masculinity and
militarism.
Image source: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2017/02/15/can-t-balance-a-checkbook-here-have-an-ar-15.html
Gun ownership has risen dramatically in the past decade and the National Rifle Association has lobbied Congress repeatedly to relax ownership standards, most notably
the recent passing of legislation that removed the Obama-era regulation that bars people with certain mental health issues from purchasing or owning a gun. All that remains is a presidential signature. Arguments fall on both sides of this issue with some saying it's a
dangerous move and others saying that those who would have been prevented under the Social Security Reporting Act aren't likely to be violent because their mental impairment is severe enough that their disability is managed by caseworkers so r
eporting them to the national database is unnecessary.
Can you find any examples of gun violence that suggests it was encouraged by or facilitated as the result of an emphasis on masculinity and militarism in video games? Do you think the concern about marketing weapons through video games is warranted? Why or why not. Justify your position with examples and evidence including links.
