Spring Break
Professor says videogames promote stereotypes in youth
Tyler Will
Issue date: 2/20/08 Section: News
02/20/08 - Dr. Anna Everett, the chairwoman of film and media studies at the University of California at Santa Barbara, said videogames convey stereotypes during a multiculturalism lecture in the Chafee Social Science Center last night.
However, Everett described herself as a videogame enthusiast, and said she played "Super Mario Brothers" while working on her master's degree.
"We don't want to censor games. That's not what this kind of work is about," Everett said, referring to her research on technology and socioeconomic factors. She also said there is "no direct correlation" between videogames and violent behavior.
But a wider variety of videogames with other genres and characters would reduce videogame stereotypes, Everett said.
Everett began her lecture with pictures from "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas," the primary focus of her thesis. The urban "ghetto" setting and story line of GTASA acts to "seed and construct racial identities," Everett said.
Other games, like "Bully," a game set in a prep school that came from the same company as GTASA, also perpetuates stereotypes, Everett said.
"Why I'm talking about these things is because, number one, I love videogames; and, number two, I hate videogames."
Everett said videogames have benefits. They improve performance in math, computer programming and life skills, she said.
But videogames also carry risks. Everett said most videogames are intended for entertainment, and when young people play them, they retain some of the messages. She called the retention a "documentary effect."
"For better or for worse, kids use videogames as filters," she said, noting the guns and alcohol in a picture of GTASA. "Kids will learn what lesson is in a game," she said.
Another game Everett displayed was called "Ethnic Cleansing," and it was released on Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday about seven years ago, Everett said. The game features a white male trying to prevent his race from becoming extinct.
However, Everett described herself as a videogame enthusiast, and said she played "Super Mario Brothers" while working on her master's degree.
"We don't want to censor games. That's not what this kind of work is about," Everett said, referring to her research on technology and socioeconomic factors. She also said there is "no direct correlation" between videogames and violent behavior.
But a wider variety of videogames with other genres and characters would reduce videogame stereotypes, Everett said.
Everett began her lecture with pictures from "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas," the primary focus of her thesis. The urban "ghetto" setting and story line of GTASA acts to "seed and construct racial identities," Everett said.
Other games, like "Bully," a game set in a prep school that came from the same company as GTASA, also perpetuates stereotypes, Everett said.
"Why I'm talking about these things is because, number one, I love videogames; and, number two, I hate videogames."
Everett said videogames have benefits. They improve performance in math, computer programming and life skills, she said.
But videogames also carry risks. Everett said most videogames are intended for entertainment, and when young people play them, they retain some of the messages. She called the retention a "documentary effect."
"For better or for worse, kids use videogames as filters," she said, noting the guns and alcohol in a picture of GTASA. "Kids will learn what lesson is in a game," she said.
Another game Everett displayed was called "Ethnic Cleansing," and it was released on Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday about seven years ago, Everett said. The game features a white male trying to prevent his race from becoming extinct.
