The mighty stadium rumbles with anticipation as death stirs. Two figures
start to battle and they don’t know which one will survive. Each time one
of the blades touches the flesh, the crowd goes wild. Blood spews from a
body as another remains standing.
A player by the name of Deadpool advances through the dim hallway with his
shotgun ready to fire. He hears footsteps from around the corner as he nears.
In seconds, a gun fight breaks out with bullets blazing. Deadpool wins,
enjoying his simple victory by taking his hand of the mouse and gives his
friend a high five.
The two scenes I described above have very much in common. One scene is
a typical gladiatorial game in ancient Rome, the other a depiction of an
online gamer winning a duel. Though seemingly very different, that may not
be the case. Give me your time and I will discuss humans’ darker side, violence.
From the beginning of civilization, survival of the fittest has always existed.
However, this theory of all animals, including humans, has changed as society
has progressed. Romans, infamous for their gladiatorial combat, exemplify
a typical pre-Judeo-Christian culture. They did not have a commandment stating
that killing was wrong, thus, why not entertain Roman citizens by pitting
slaves, criminals, and beggars in a duel to the death. "Why not?" most of
these peoples figured, "No one gives a damn whether they live or not." While
this view appears very barbaric to society today, Romans became excited
at the thought of making their own kind fight for their life and ultimately
prove which gladiator was the best by achieving victory.
Originally, gladiatorial and athletic games were associated with funerals.
The purpose of the contest was not to exhibit blood sport, but to glorify
man and to unite and solidify society. It’s ironic that the Romans took
these contests and debased the funeral celebrations. Instead, emperors held
the spectacles to appease the populace and keep them under their control.
Today, thankfully, we do not participate in such cruel and gruesome practices.
Although society presently values the sanctity of each human life, there
is one subject that many find controversial. Do games such as Soldier of
Fortune desensitize our emotions in to not feeling remorse for real life
death? I answer a resounding "No!" when asked this question. I believe that
games were originally created for fun and to take up time. However, Soldier
of Fortune and many other First Person Shooters help me vent my anger on
imaginary and meaningless enemies in games. One time or another, we have
imagined ourselves as the hero in these games fighting for good and slaying
evil. But does my hobby bring out the same horrific and brutish violence
in me that occurred during Roman Empire’s gladiatorial games? Many people
would agree that yes, this would be the same emotion drawn out. They could
look at the situation and say that the main object of the computer game
is to stay alive just as it was for gladiators.
This view that video games desensitizes people’s emotions just as gladiatorial
fights did the crowd, who watched these real life deathmatches, is ridiculous.
I think almost all people can separate fact from fantasy, but not everyone.
When I saw the recently released Gladiator, I was enthralled and excited
by the depiction of gladiatorial fights. The same thing stands true when
I first played Soldier of Fortune. I couldn’t believe how realistic and
entertaining it was blowing off another enemy’s limb with a gun. Yet, I
always remember that these are simply fantasy scenes of violence in which
no actual human life is taken. That is why I find that I can enjoy these
forms of entertainment i.e. I am not actually looking at a real life lost
on video footage. Sometimes, people get too caught up in fantasy so that
they almost forget how horrible you feel when you see scenes of human misery.
When I visited the National Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C., I was
ashamed of human nature after seeing rooms full of murdered people’s shoes.
Hitler and others took Darwin’s theory of "survival of the fittest" to an
extreme, radical, and cruel level. That is why I write this article to at
least impact that one out of a million person who thinks about actually
taking another humans life. Video games and movies sometimes glorify death
and killing. Still, never should one associate this idea to real life. |
