I was reading an article in USA Today this afternoon and came across a Q&A that really caught my eye. Let me give you the info before I tell who you the interview was with:
Q: What do you think of these video games as a way for music lovers to interact with music?
A: The music thing is OK, but there are so many other video games. Like I went “wow” at the one with carjacking and all of that. Some desensitize kids, you know. It’s a changing time.
That quote came from none other than 
Ozzy Osbourne. I’m assuming the video game being referred to is part of the “Grand Theft Auto” series.
If Ozzy Osbourne is actually shocked by a video game and understands it is desensitizing children, what does that say about our society?
Many times we like to turn a blind eye and say the movies we watch, the music we listen to, and the games we play don’t affect us or influence us. The new “GTA” game has already been banned in certain countries. However, some people would just attribute that to conservative censorship and think it’s mostly political.
Has the media desensitized us? If so, how? I think it’s hit us in a few obvious ways:
1. Tolerance of sin
We have a tendency to tolerate sin as long as it is funny, entertaining, or keeps our attention. We’ve allowed ourselves to find sin funny and reject the notion that sin is inexcusable in the eyes of God.
2. Depreciated view of women
We have become so desensitized that we no longer have a proper view of women. Nudity/partial nudity has flooded the media industry in such a grand way that we expect all women to be sexual predators and look just like the airbrush stars we see on the screen. The biblical view of women has flown out the window.
3. More Violence, More Entertainment
Violence has become a sport. We want to see more blood, more broken bones, and more gore. Our minds are driven by our desire to want more and more and keep stretching our boundaries.
4. Inability to separate reality from fantasy
The media has affected some people so hardcore that there is no longer a fine line between reality and fantasy. In effect, people try to turn their fantasies in reality and are willing to pay any price to do so.
Our culture is suffering. The sad thing, many of us are too desensitized and numb to know it. If the self-proclaimed Prince of Darkness can figure it out, maybe we can too. Like Ozzy said, “It’s a changing time.”
Tags: Desensitized, GTA, Media, Ozzy Osbourne
August 7th, 2008 at 4:59 pm
I really don’t think that the media has much to do with the areas that you bring up. For instance, boxing was one of the most popular sports in America for over a century. Guys would stand toe and toe and trade blows for 12-15 rounds and beat each other bloody and Americans ate it up. Until a couple of years ago Muhammed Ali was the most recognized athlete in the world. But when boxing lame and MMA filled the void all of a sudden there was this outrage about violence in sports. That’s ridiculous. MMA fights last 5 rounds max and a ref stops the fight when a guy can’t defend himself – much safer than fighting 15 rounds with a concussion.
At one time there were different morals regarding nudity. Then as a culture we accepted teaching our kids that we are all here by chance and here due to evolution so the morals are just things imposed by society and if one doesn’t like it they shouldn’t have to follow it. Not that I agree with it, but it’s not the media’s fault – it’s the result of poor logic and education.
Tolerance of sin has been around as long as sin has. Every great preacher for the last 300 years was made famous speaking out against the acceptance of sin in the culture – it just looks different from generation to generation. One could argue that we tolerate less than most generations have.
I agree that the world seems to be decaying – but that was promised to us, it shouldn’t be a shock.
August 8th, 2008 at 8:41 am
Thanks for the comment. I’m glad you brought up the violence in sports, because in a way, I misspoke. When I said violence has become a sport, I did not mean a literal sport such as MMA. I am actually a fan of MMA and I completely agree that it is much safer than boxing. Statistics back that up. My argument was with the violence we see on TV, movies, and video games like GTA. Although the parents should take responsibility in these matters, I am not ignorant enough to think no 8 year olds are playing games like GTA and having fun running over people with cars, killing people with machine guns, and picking up prostitutes on the street. The media has made violence material more available than ever before (the internet is a prime example) and I really believe it has desensitized people, especially teenagers to its reality.
I think I would partly disagree with your opinion on the degradation of women. I hate to use this example, but when the movie “Showgirls” hit theaters, it carried an NC-17 rating and caused much shock among people. Well, the media has slowly stepped further and further in that direction, and now a movie like that can carry an R rating with no problem. Also, look at the Playboy phenomenon. Even 20 years ago, Playboy was viewed as taboo and even pornography. Today, Playboy is a fad with men, women, and teenagers. You can see the logo on cars, in stores, and there is a reality show on E! that follows the life of girls from the magazine. I would argue that this movement has been fueled by the media’s desensitization of culture. We no longer see the magazine as risque but welcome the product in our culture as an accepted fad.
I think both of those issues show that we are tolerating sin more than ever. However, I could be wrong.
You’re right. We were promised that this world would hit a downward spiral. I believe that promise is 2000+ years old and still ringing true.
August 8th, 2008 at 3:46 pm
I think that some of the things in video games is shocking – but it’s not really a new thing. As the technology has gotten better things are able to be more mainstream. Games like Doom, Duke Nukem’ etc. started the craze over 15 years ago on computer. The whole point of role-playing video games has always been to make the game as realistic as possible. If something happens in reality, we can almost guarantee there will be a game. The only regulation on media is the consumer. No one holds a gun to anyone’s head and forces them to buy anything.
As far as nudity goes, when Showgirls came out the biggest reason it was a shock was that Elizabeth Berkley was the star. She’d previously been on Saved By The Bell for years (before we knew everything about child actors). The film Basic Instinct (written by the same guy that wrote Showgirls) and came out 3 years earlier also had an NC-17 rating until 40 seconds were removed to get the R rating. Many reviewers said that Basic Instinct was racier than Showgirls. I would agree that something like Playboy has helped to push the envelope – but they’ve been around for years doing the same thing. In the late 80s there was actually a push to move Playboy back into the shadows which caused Playboy to close all of their Playboy clubs. When Clinton took office there was a large liberal segment of the population that pushed back harder and became more accepting.
August 10th, 2008 at 12:57 am
Joe, you’re right that sin has always been around. There were cities being destroyed for their sin in the Old Testament.
However, I think David’s points just remind me that we are not to be of the world. These are things that maybe we should have our guards up a little more about and even be completely against.
As far as it affecting us negatively, I think they are. New or not, the media is being used for evil – much like anything can be. The ideas, sins, and immorals may not be new, but we should never neglect to identify the devices being used to amplify the prevalence of sin. The world is covered in sin, but we often grow numb to it.
Today I thought of the verse that talks about removing a part of the body that that hinders you. Maybe Christians should think about that when it comes to the internet and TV… maybe if they hinder your walk with God and provide you too many temptations to sin, you should get rid of them.
Anyway, I see what you’re saying Joe. But I also agree that we can not let that keep us from being aware of the sin in our culture and avoiding it and taking a stand against it if neccessary.
August 11th, 2008 at 4:30 pm
Let me preface this by saying that I really enjoyed this post. The things that we feed upon and dwell upon will end up having the greatest influence on us. The old adage “birds of a feather flock together” also comes to mind. Although it’s not a Biblical statement, it speaks of the same process that takes place. If you surround yourself with objectionable material and do not spend any time dwelling on Spiritual things, you soon become desensitized to the content and will eventually find yourself a part of it.
I do have one observation. The issue of children playing adult videogames is a heavily-debated issue these days, but I fear that it is largely based on a faulty premise. Many assume that it is mostly children who play videogames, but a recent survey done by the Entertainment Software Association showed that the average videogame player is now…..35?! (source: http://www.theesa.com/facts/pdfs/ESA_EF_2008.pdf)
I used to be much more outraged that the videogame industry would create these games with objectionable content when I thought that kids were the largest consumer of the games. Now I know that they are just trying to tailor the games to meet the largest target audience’s desires. The issue, then, is just what this post was about. Why is it that the content desires of the average 35 year old videogamer are violence, sex, and crime? The answer shouldn’t suprise us: These things cater to the commonality of every man, that is, the unregenerate side of man. If you want the largest target audience possible, there you have it. “For ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” I hate to sound like a Marxist, but basically, it’s all about the money. I’d also be stupid to say that these types of games are not fun either. The best-selling franchises can afford to hire the best videogame makers, therefore the most fun games to play often end up with some bad content.
And here’s a little something for Ozzy Osbourne: I don’t like the idea of a child playing an M rated game any more than I like the idea of a child watching an R rated movie or listening to the lyrics of your songs. The point is, as always, it’s the parents’ responsibility to know what goes into their children’s heads.
August 13th, 2008 at 10:04 am
Maybe instead of saying that it’s the responsibility of the parents to know what goes into their childresn’ heads, I would say it’s their responsibility to help the children to know what to do with it.
I know there are several times in my life when my parents weren’t around to control what my friends said in front of me. But it was what my parents taught me when they were around that helped when they weren’t around.
We must always remember that we can’t shelter children from crises. We can not treat sins as though they don’t exist. But we must clearly teach what is wrong so they know when they do see it. Maybe we shouldn’t let them listen to certain music and play certain video games, but sometimes we can’t always help it when they leave the house. I think teaching them that killing is wrong and that God views hating the same way will help them maybe think a little more if they do decide to play those games at a friend’s house.
So, basically, I just don’t know if we can say parents should 100% control what goes into the child’s head. Unless they home school and never leave the house without you, maybe. But I think the parents have the responsibility to help the child know what to do with the things they see, hear, or are surrounded by. The world is sinful. They need to know this.
August 14th, 2008 at 11:03 am
Of course, I agree with you Hannah. You bring up some really great points about parenting. I’ve seen too many really sheltered kids get away from home and go nutso.
I meant my last remark to indicate more of a “screening” process for younger children (as opposed to being a control freak about everything they do), but I used poor terminology. The idea of a parent unwittingly buying GTAIV for his impressionable 7 year old was what I had in mind, not a 14 year old at his friend’s birthday party.
Ahhh the joys of blog commenting! It’s so easy to be misunderstood, or to not consider the breadth of your comments. Sorry for the confusion, but thanks for the insightful reply!
August 14th, 2008 at 9:10 pm
I think I knew what you meant and I was more just bringing out the other side of things. Didn’t mean to sound like I was going against what you were saying.. totally agree!
lol.. yeah I think we’re thinking the same things, just bringing up different points. I’ll try not to sound so abrasive next time. :)