Blog #5 – LCN639 – Censorship and the video game scapegoat: issues surrounding privacy and freedom within popular culture
Is censorship bad?
This is a question I applied when researching video games in Australia, and the results came in at a resounding – yes. To many, censorship law, particularly in Australia, is ridiculous when compared on a global scale. Australia, “the nanny state”, has one of the highest censorship rates of video games on the planet, and remains one of the few countries in the world to censor games by outright banning them from being able to go on shelves.
We shouldn’t be surprised by the Australian government actions on this, considering many in this country support filtered Internet access, and that in June 2015 an amendment was passed to allow court-ordered website blocking of content that allegedly infringed on copyright – in other words, sites dedicated to internet piracy such as The Pirate Bay or Kickass Torrents (Grubb, 2015).
Perhaps a better question should be: why is censorship bad?
It conflicts with freedom of artistic expression, and the freedom of individuals within a democratic country. Do we seriously think young adults are so impressionable that they believe that what they are playing is real life? I would think the worst thing to watch these days is the news at 6, personally. It is the government censoring themes and images that it dislikes. Video games therefore cannot enjoy the same freedom of speech and artistic expression as other artistic mediums. Why? It is up to the consumer to choose to buy this game or not, to dictate their morals and standards when choosing such a product – the right to buy a game (that are the intellectual product of the studio who made it) should lie with the consumer.
Video games act as an outlet – we can escape reality through these games, cinema, comic books, and many different art realms – and in all of them you will find examples of topics the Australian government believes should not be available on our shores (but only if it is in video game format).
Video games should get the same artistic status as all other ‘accepted’ forms of cultural expression, not be the scapegoat they run to any time there is a ‘rise in violence’. All you need to do is switch on any news channel for that. With the example of Aliens vs. Predator game, which was banned because it featured “decapitation and dismemberment” as well as multiple “stabbing” scenarios, it is odd that the game was banned but all the movies in this franchise (that showed this type of scene, if not more) were granted full release.
If the same censorship ratings had been applied to films as they do video games, critical films such as A Clockwork Orange, Taxi Driver or Crash would not exist. Our laws are so mismatched between different media texts that games are now poking fun, such as in South Park: the Stick of Truth.
In Australia, anything that could not get an M15+ rating (that had content that was deemed stronger than that rating) before 2013 was refused classification and was essentially banned form sale. On the 21st of January 2013, an R18+ classification was added. Fans were overjoyed with this addition, believing this was the first step in combating this imbalanced censorship rating system. However, many games continue to get banned or sanitised so severely that they have been rated as ‘unplayable’, such as in the case of Left 4 Dead 2 (Shea & Kolan, 2009).
VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OH7QCtuaXgI (Left 4 Dead 2 Censored Comparison).
The main issue is that the government is worried that video games are causing children to become more violent. There have been many back and forth arguments around this issue, but no conclusive findings have yet been made (Hart, 2015). This blog would be remiss if we of course did not get to the predictable argument that this censorship is somehow protecting our children. By censoring something in one format, whilst having similar products freely available online (via steam, for example), seems a ludicrous mistake. You can’t isolate children from sex and violence when digital technology makes it so easy to find. Further, the more you damn a game and the more you try to censor it or have it banned, the more people want to play it!!! If children seek violence, they will seek it out. If they don’t, they will still be exposed to it through the endless channels and digital media because access is so easy.
WHY CENSORSHIP LAWS MAKE NO SENSE IN THE DIGITAL AGE
There are inherent problems in censorship.
Censorship laws here are ridiculous when you look at the ease of access to these original censored cut scenes and the like we have, such as right here (don’t click if you’re squeamish):
VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTN5ga39v48
(7 banned moments in South Park: The Stick of Truth game).
In relation to this video, check out the number of hits on the video – whatever gets banned, its’ popularity increases tenfold – if it is censored, it will simply be sought out more by the public.
Australian gamers get around the censorship laws primarily by purchasing the original content as a digital download, on sites such as Steam, and use a VPN to hide their address when playing the game. Easy. People have been doing the same thing with Netflix for ages because the US Netflix contains far more content on monetary comparison.
CENSORSHIP FAILS (SANITISATION)
‘Sanitised’ games are games that were once good (in their original form), but through a process of sanitising the content in dispute, now have either deleted said content or have modified it to some degree (all the good bits have been ripped out). Fans want the original game how it was intended to be and how the majority of the rest of the world gets to experience it. Even though a good chunk of content is stripped from the game, players expect to be compensated (as they are still paying full retail for a game that is now ½ what it advertised itself to be). Many developers still don’t compensate for sanitisation, however. The end result is a game that feels rushed, devoid of atmosphere, and unfinished. People have a right to play the content they want in the freedom of their own homes. If you find it offensive, don’t buy it.
Bottom line: we need to apply the same principles to video games as we do other forms of cultural expression, and we need to pay more attention to the ratings for video games. I agree that children shouldn’t be playing R18+ games – they are designed for adults, but it seems insane that other mediums that have equivalent questionable content get an MA15+ rating (any big budget Hollywood film).
It is the fear of immersion: that somehow when playing these types of games, that the player will confuse the game with reality (Askildsen, 2016). Are we so irrational to believe that what we experience in these games is real life? Surely the point of playing video games is to escape reality, and interact in ways we would never be able to do in the real world (either physically or morally).
References:
Askildsen, J. (2016, June 17). Video games and violence: our fear of the immersive perspective. Retrieved from http://ncac.org/blog/our-fear-of-the-immersive-perspective
EmmaExegames. (2015, September 8). How many games get banned in Australia??? (Mad Max Gameplay). Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFMopvIhwI4
Grayson, N. (2016, October 6). The people fighting to keep crappy games off steam. Retrieved from http://www.kotaku.com.au/2016/10/the-people-fighting-to-keep-crappy-games-off-steam/
Grubb, B. (2015, June 22). Australian senate passes controversial anti-website-blocking laws. Retrieved from http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/digital-life-news/australian-senate-passes-controversial-antipiracy-websiteblocking-laws-20150622-ghuorh.html
Hart, P. (2015, August 25). Here we go again: Video games and violence. Retrieved from http://ncac.org/blog/here-we-go-again-video-games-and-violence
Iamfallfromgrace. (2013, June 30). Games banned in Australia – Grace rants. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPCaQdhzEt0
Junglist. (2014, March 5). Our censored south park: the stick of truth is mighty similar to Europe’s. Retrieved from http://www.kotaku.com.au/2014/03/our-censored-south-park-the-stick-of-truth-is-mighty-similar-to-europes/
Lake, C. (2009, December 7). Aliens vs predator game banned, will not be ‘sanitised’ for Australia. Retrieved from http://www.news.com.au/technology/aliens-vs-predator-game-banned-will-not-be-sanitized-for-australia/story-e6frfro0-1225807850199
Leigh, M. (2013, August 12). Censorship, privacy, and freedom in popular culture. Retrieved from
http://pop-verse.com/2013/08/12/censorship-privacy-and-freedom-in-popular-culture/
Shea, C., & Kolan, P. (2009, November 18). Left 4 dead 2: edited Australian version review. Retrieved from http://au.ign.com/articles/2009/11/19/left-4-dead-2-edited-australian-version-review
TheStrykerForce. (2014, May 1). The downside of Australian gaming. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsdxI3zX7Kk
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