Essay Introduction:

How and why do games like 'GTA V' negatively impact youth audiences?

Grand Theft Auto 5 is one of the fastest selling piece of entertainment ever. Within just 24 hours of its release on September 17th 2013, it made up to $800,000,000 in sales revenue, within three days it reached the $1,000,000,000 mark, breaking records worldwide. So what makes this video game so successful? Why is GTA one of the best selling entertainment franchise to date? Well, GTA is known for its violence, sex, crime and drug style of narrative in its games. Its one of the first video games to have such adult themes in such realistic measures. Its a role playing game which isn't set in medieval times or in a galaxy far far away, its a game that is set in todays world, which makes it unique and much more open and easier for players to escape into this graphical version of their world. It allows players to do what they please with what is given to them in the game, whether that may be mass murdering a bunch of civillians, killing a bunch of cops and gaining a five star wanted level, stealing millions from banks, breaking into and hot wiring supercars, purchasing properties and even taking your dog for a walk (or even being able to let him rip up civillians faces apart). The decision is endless. Although GTA games are certified as a 18+ (M) video game by PEGI (Pan European Games Information) there is still a very high number of children below that age consuming the negative entertainment that GTA V has to offer. During the week of release, a cashier at american video game store Gamestop said that “Last week my store sold over a thousand copies of GTA V, at least a hundred of which were sold to parents for children who could barely even see over my counter.” With more and more youth gamers being able to play video games like GTA V, it can cause a growing threat to the minds of these children.

Essay Plan:

How and why do games like 'GTA V' negatively impact youth audiences?
Introduction:

• Context on gaming, gaming before and now.
• Introduce GTA V
• GTA V Sales
• What the essay will discuss, the affects of gaming.
• Representations, Stereotypes & Moral Panics In Gaming.
• Youth & Gaming

How The Game Is Viewed & Portrayed:

• The Violence In Game, News Reports, Articles
• Amount Of Violence In Games, Sales
• Moral Panic

GTA V Feminism:

• Representations of female.
• Negative stereotypes portrait.
• California reproduction.
• Advertisements, Radio.
• How it can impact youth gamers.

Textual Analysis: By The Book:

• Controversy, terrorism in a game.
• Viewers reception, mostly negative.
• Gamers left uncomfortable.
• Intense Violence.
• Must complete to progress in game.

Other Games:

• Call Of Duty
• Saints Row
• Mortal Kombat
• Gamers may understand but the public may not, combat simulators, train us to kill.

Conclusion:

• Is the game as bad as it is
• Can it damage society
• Can it really affect the youth in a severe way?

Historical Text: Mortal Kombat

How society and the issue you are investigating has changed over the years and how these changes are reflected in different media texts, or - to put it another way...

Over the years the question whether gaming was able to change society probably wasn't even in anyones minds. I don't think anyone would've thought how powerful and massive the gaming industry would've turned out to be now, in 1992. Mortal Kombat was one of the first games that involved violence in gaming, it had graphics of blood and brutal fatalities. It had a great reception, gamers loved it as it was addicting and fun to play, the violence made it more exciting but i don't think gaming like this would've caused motivation for murders and crimes. Now as the gaming industry is so massive, it has a mass audience, and a high number of this audience are children, these kids are still able to access over 18 games and it can damage their mind set.

How popular culture reflects the 'spirit of the age' or Zeitgeist.

The spirit of the age at this time was arcade gaming, games like Mario and Nintendo were in fashion and multi-player games was a method of socialising with friends. Mortal Kombat was a competitor for Street Fighter, which had the same button scheme and controls although Mortal Kombat had more of a violent side to the game.

How is it similar/different to your main text?

This text is very different due to how technology has changed over time, the way graphics and gaming has changed is incredible, gaming has become virtual reality with simulators costing £100,000,000 that allow you to feel the game. A game like Mortal Kombat would cost a couple thousand to make, GTA V cost around £200,000,000 to make.

How does this show how the genre/society/issue has changed?

This shows how the change of technology can change society and can make the youth much different. Now, kids can play with their friends at home on line rather than going out and socialising with them. This can seriously affect the social skills of the youth in today society and can question whether gaming is beneficial or not. Also, now that more and more games are violent it shows how we are becoming more and more desensitised, violence in video games is becoming more and more normal and is the best way games are able to sell and become successful.

Academic research and bibliography

GRAND THEFT CHILDHOOD
Kutner, L., & Olson, C. (2008). Grand theft childhood: The surprising truth about violent video games and what parents can do. New York: Simon & Schuster. 

"Darren had a tough time in school earlier that week. On Monday, a teacher had said something that embarrassed him in front of his classmates. When he went home that afternoon, he plugged in his video game console, loaded Grand Theft Auto 3, blew up a few cars and shot a half-dozen people, including a young blonde woman. When asked, Darren admits that the woman he killed in the game looked a lot like his teacher." CHAPTER 1, PAGE 1.

Columbine High School shooters Dylan Harris and Eric Klebold were avid computer gamers. According to psychologists Craig Anderson and Karen Dill, "One possible contributing factor is violent video games. Harris and Klebold enjoyed playing the bloody shoot-em-up video game Doom, a game licensed by the US Army to train soldiers to effectively kill." CHAPTER 1, PAGE 2.

"It's unlikely that Harris and Klebold's interest in violent videogames or other violent media played any significant role in their actions. An FBI investigation concluded that Klebold was significantly depressed and suicidal, and Harris was a sociopath." CHAPTER 1, PAGE 4.

 "Young game players are socially isolated and unable to form interpersonal relationships." CHAPTER 1, PAGE 2.

"Video games that are rated "T" ("suitable for ages 13 and older") are less likely to desensitize a child to real-world violence than video games that are rated "M" ("suitable for ages 17 and older"). "CHAPTER 1, PAGE 2.

 "Much of the information in the popular press about the effects of violent video games is wrong." CHAPTER 1, PAGE 3.

"For younger children especially, games are a topic of conversation that allows them to build relationships with peers" CHAPTER 1, PAGE 5.

"Also, those games in which the player is rewarded with extra points for avoiding a violent confrontation (e.g., the SWAT series) are given the same "M" rating as those games in which the player is given extra points for piling up virtual corpses." CHAPTER 1, PAGE 7.

This book is relevant to my case study as it shows a balanced argument of video games and the impact it has on children. It also speaks a lot about how the press and how news institutions always have a negative against side on video games and how they talk lies about video games.

GAMING AT THE EDGE

 Shaw, A. (2015). Gaming at the edge: Sexuality and gender at the margins of gamer culture. 

"it never really occurred to me that gaming was something only a certain type of person did. In fact, it was only in my adult life that I heard people talking about the heterosexual, white, cisgendered male gamer as the norm”

"In Grand Theft Auto, it is used to construct a “credible” gangster fantasy, in Resident Evil 5, to paint a “realistic” picture of Africa. While these examples have been heavily contested as particularly “bad” representations of racial minorities"

"Games are absorbing, but in order to do that identification isn’t required” 

This book is relevant to my case study as it is almost like a audience study on gamers. Adrienne Shaw argues that video game players experience race, gender, and sexuality. Overall revealing how representation comes to matter to participants and considering the high stakes in politics of representation debates.

VIOLENCE IN VIDEO GAMES
Gimpel, D. (2013). Violence in video games. 

           

This book links to my case study as it has a lot of real life information of incidents that have occurred within video game violence, also speaks on how genuine they may be and how the news blame video games when really the killers are deranged and depressed teens.

VIOLENT VIDEO GAME EFFECTS ON CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS
Anderson, C., & Gentile, D. (2007). Violent video game effects on children and adolescents: Theory, research, and public policy. Oxford: Oxford University Press.  

"Characters make players feel like they are them, shooting and hunting down players to kill."

"The dramatic increase in speed and graphic capability has allowed video game violence to be as realistic as ever before."

"Fourth graders reported that they're favourite video games were violent, (59% girls, 73% boys.)"

This book goes into detail within popular violent video games and how they can affect young children in the long run. It also speaks on how easy it is for children to buy violent video games. The writers also question a lot of school shootings that have taken place in the past and gives details on how video games may not be the blame for these disastrous shootings.

THE EFFECTS OF VIDEO GAMES ON CHILDREN: 
Gunter, B. (1998). The effects of video games on children: The myth unmasked. Sheffield, England: Sheffield Academic Press. 

"Video games are becoming more interactive, therefore becoming more physiologically impacting on youth."

"Proponents of video games have been viewed to be a source of learning as well as entertainment."

"Mastering games can boost a child's self esteem"

This book relates to my case study as it goes into detail about the hypodermic needle theory and how video game violence is affecting our young children. Also how kids that play games early start to think how the games do on topics like, sexuality, race, violence, money and women. It will teach kids what the normal will be but video games will teach the wrong things.

 Death By Video Games:

Parkin, S. (n.d.). Death by video game: Tales of obsession from the virtual frontline. 

This book is about video game addiction and how there have been many cases of death by playing video games, shows how this industry is massive and can have a massive impact on people.

RACISM, SEXISM AND THE MEDIA:

 Wilson, C., & Rrez, F. (2003). Racism, sexism, and the media: The rise of class communication in multicultural America (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage Publications.

This book relates to my case study, as it goes into detail about how the media puts racist and sexist views into our minds without us even knowing, We care so much about the entertainment that we don't realise what's being portrayed. It doesn't go into too much detail with video gaming but it does have a few pages on it. But over all it will help.

STOP TEACHING OUR KIDS TO KILL:

Grossman, D., & DeGaetano, G. (1999). Stop teaching our kids to kill: A call to action against TV, movie & video game violence. New York: Crown.

This book goes into detail about how video games are becoming much more realistic on shooters and other violent games. Also discusses how movies and TV shows are becoming much more violent and this can have a bad impact on society and for our kids of this generation.

 MEDIA VIOLENCE AND CHILDREN:

Gentile, D. (2003). Media violence and children: A complete guide for parents and professionals. Westport, CT: Praeger. 

TRAIT AGGRESSION AND STYLE OF VIDEO GAME PLAY:

 Paradise, A. (2007). Trait aggression and style of video game play the effects of violent video game play on aggressive thoughts. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

World Wide Web:

Why GTA 5's most controversial mission may be unpleasant and repulsive but there is a message behind the degradation:

http://www.mirror.co.uk/lifestyle/staying-in/video-games/gta-5s-most-controversial-mission-2279001

GTA 5: the violence debate

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/video-games/10312420/GTA-5-the-violence-debate.html

The Franklin Conspiracy: Why Gamers Decided The Police In “GTA V” Are Racisthttp://www.buzzfeed.com/josephbernstein/the-franklin-conspiracy-why-gamers-decided-the-police-in-gt#.fuxzXKJQL8

Why GTA 5's most controversial mission may be unpleasant and repulsive but there is a message behind the degradation

http://www.mirror.co.uk/lifestyle/staying-in/video-games/gta-5s-most-controversial-mission-2279001

Mary Poust discusses the video game, Grand Theft Auto, whose latest ‘upgrade’ allows kids to have sex with and kill prostitutes, and concludes that we should not be playing or supporting these games. http://goodmenproject.com/ethics-values/mkdn-never-play-gta/

GTA 5 review: Satire, parody - and gameplay to show Rockstar have cracked combat in breathtaking Grand Theft Auto V

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/technology-science/technology/gta-5-review-satire-parody-2277607

Documentaries:

BBC - THE GAME CHANGERS - TUESDAY 15TH SEPTEMBER 2015

Horizon, 2014-2015, Are Video Games Really That Bad?

Books / Magazines:

Trails and teasers: Marketing GTAV

https://www.englishandmedia.co.uk/media-magazine/articles/16959

Media Magazine 40: Play, Pleasure & Panics.

https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B0i5diL3vrEiSGxRNHIyZmM4Ums&usp=sharing

Censorship - the debate

https://www.englishandmedia.co.uk/media-magazine/articles/16293

Why audiences REALLY play video games?(MM40)

https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B0i5diL3vrEiSGxRNHIyZmM4Ums&usp=sharing

Ideas About Story Telling, The Narrative Structures Of GTA Vice City & La Noire: (MM 44)

https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B0i5diL3vrEiSGxRNHIyZmM4Ums&usp=sharing

GRAND THEFT CHILDHOOD
Kutner, L., & Olson, C. (2008). Grand theft childhood: The surprising truth about violent video games and what parents can do. New York: Simon & Schuster. 

GAMING AT THE EDGE

 Shaw, A. (2015). Gaming at the edge: Sexuality and gender at the margins of gamer culture. 

VIOLENCE IN VIDEO GAMES

Gimpel, D. (2013). Violence in video games. 

VIOLENT VIDEO GAME EFFECTS ON CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS

Anderson, C., & Gentile, D. (2007). Violent video game effects on children and adolescents: Theory, research, and public policy. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 

THE EFFECTS OF VIDEO GAMES ON CHILDREN: 

Gunter, B. (1998). The effects of video games on children: The myth unmasked. Sheffield, England: Sheffield Academic Press.

Death By Video Games:

Parkin, S. (n.d.). Death by video game: Tales of obsession from the virtual frontline. 

RACISM, SEXISM AND THE MEDIA:

 Wilson, C., & Rrez, F. (2003). Racism, sexism, and the media: The rise of class communication in multicultural America (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage Publications.

STOP TEACHING OUR KIDS TO KILL:

Grossman, D., & DeGaetano, G. (1999). Stop teaching our kids to kill: A call to action against TV, movie & video game violence. New York: Crown.

MEDIA VIOLENCE AND CHILDREN:

Gentile, D. (2003). Media violence and children: A complete guide for parents and professionals. Westport, CT: Praeger.

 MEDIA VIOLENCE AND CHILDREN:

Gentile, D. (2003). Media violence and children: A complete guide for parents and professionals. Westport, CT: Praeger. 

TRAIT AGGRESSION AND STYLE OF VIDEO GAME PLAY:

 Paradise, A. (2007). Trait aggression and style of video game play the effects of violent video game play on aggressive thoughts. 

TASK #1 TEXTUAL ANALYSIS

Grand Theft Auto 5 is the most up to date instalment from the top selling video game franchise. Rockstar games have always been the centre of attention when it comes to controversy in the media entertainment industry. This is because Grand Theft Auto is a one of a kind open world adult game which features a ton of violence, drugs, sex, money and swearing more than any other video game created. Each addition in the block buster franchise has always had a scene / mission that catches a lot of attention in the media. For example, one of the other most successful GTA's: San Andreas, it featured a fully animated game play scenario which allowed players to have sex within the game. The creators removed the scene from the game before release, but a group of hackers still managed to publish the locked codes. The reason why it was removed was because Rockstar didn't want San Andreas to be a 18 rated game, thinking it would affect sales as many younger consumers enjoyed their game. As the game then had to be changed to a 18 after the hackers exposed rockstar, it didn't affect sales, and it still became one of the most high selling pieces of entertainment to date.

September 17, 2013. GTA V was released to the public after years of anticipation. After just three days, the game reached a sales revenue of $1,000,000,000. It broke a number of records and still hasn't been beaten for the fastest / highest grossing entertainment product in history. So what did Rockstar decide to add into this version of the franchise that could cause a stir? The 25th mission of the storyline "By The Book". Heres what people that own the game had to say about this mission:

This scene in the game was able to start another debate in media, something GTA is very likely to do when releasing another game. It seems to indicate how games are evolving more and more and that video games may actually be becoming even more violent than ever before. Although kids shouldn't be playing GTA V, theres still a vast amount of under 18s that consume the poison like entertainment that this game offers. The game REQUIRES that you torture this innocent man for no reason, thats what made it so controversial. GTA has always been an open world game, meaning that the player can act how they want to, evil or bad. It came down to players decisions on how brutal they want to act, but now for the first time, every player must direct this torture which is constructed to be very realistic and gruesome.  I reckon that when video games were first developing to be able to produce open world games, a scene like this wouldn't be regulated, but it goes to show how censorship and regulation in the gaming industry has evolved for this to be acceptable.

Lets take a deeper look into how Rockstar have created this mission as a whole. Firstly, the main character behind this interrogation is Trevor Phillips. When first being introduced to this character within the game, he kills someone with the bottom of his foot for no reason. He's the first character in GTA that allows players to go murder crazy and not feel guilty for it, because its something Trevor would do. But things like Trevor casually stamping someone to death is something us as players of this game wouldn't react to, its normal for us to see this in a GTA game. In the mission "By The Book" Trevor and the other protagonists (Michael & Franklin) are called out by the FIB (GTA version of the FBI) to extract information from a alleged captive MR K, who is entirely innocent. Mr K is tied up to a chair in a dark, abandoned, rusty garage. The room already looks like its been a place thats been used to torture people before. Next to this tied up innocent man is a table with enough instruments to create an orchestra of pain. Pliers, Car battery with clamps, a massive wrench and a gallon of water. As you're playing as trevor, you already know whats about to happen. When choosing the clamps, you clip them to Mr K's nipples and taze the man to un consciousness. You could also kick his chair to the floor, cover his face with a cloth and suffocate him with a gallon of water. You can also fix a plier to his molars and wiggle the analogue stick until he has no teeth. Also, if you torture him too much for him to pass out or almost die, you can just stab him with a syringe of adrenaline to wake him up and continue the brutality.

The thing is, this mission doesn't even play a major part to the plot of the game, rockstar just inserted this pointless mission into the game because they can and because they know it will cause a debate within the media. Bad news is good news. Despite what the media say they will still gain even more acknowledgement for the game they have created.

Grand Theft Auto 5 has always been regarded as a game that is very misogynic, the treatment for women in the top selling franchise is something that has always been negative and actually quite harsh. Now, GTA V is set in Los Santos, the twisted rockstar version of Los Angeles. "Nearly all the characters in Los Santos are portrayed as awful people, women are shallow and sidelined, and the men front-and-centre are heartless, psychotic, money-obsessed, philandering bastards" - Tom Hoggins, Video Games Editor

In GTA V, we finally have some main characters to the plot which are female. That being; Amanda De Santa & Tracey De Santa. The wife and daughter of 1/3 protagonists Michael De Santa. The first time we ever come across these two in the game we see them arguing. The daughter Tracey is arguing with her mother, Amanda about how she's not allowed to invite boys over to her house. We then see Michael enter his pool garden, trying to relax by attempting to ignore the nagging and annoying voice of her Daughter. Throughout the game, the creators of the game have scripted these two characters to become more and more slutty and skanky as possible as you progress through the game. Tracey aspires to become a successful pornstar and Amanda cheats on Michael many times with the families tennis coach and yoga instructor. Tracey is also represented to be extremely dumb and dopey, she enforces the stereotype of the rich blonde daughters of California. Lets not forget the fact that rockstar also stuck a tattoo on her back which writes: "Skank".

There is also a set of missions in the game that are designed to be played with Franklin. In these missions you buddy up with a paparazzi and you scout through Los Santos trying to capture as much negative footage of local celebrities as you can. In the mission above, you sneak into a teen actresses mansion and catch her in the act. The paparazzi goes on to say how she's represented to be a local sweetheart and that she's such a blessing and a cutie. But behind the cameras she's actually a "skank" as what rockstar would say.

This mission enforces how cruel GTA is towards females and how the sandbox of Los Santos is constructed to hate on women. The in game radio presenters constantly make harsh jokes on girls and are always hating on them. Lets not forget that the in game world of advertising has a fragrance targeted for females which has the slogan 'Smell Like A Bitch". This GTA is also the first one which has more than one playable character, and not one is female.

Media Magazine Conference Recap:

Bill Thompson:

Technology Expert....

Benefits:

1. Connection
2. Information
3. Voices in your head
4. Political action
5. Campaigning
6. Financial reward
7. Games
8. Learning
9. Friendship

Disadvantages:

1. Bullying
2. Unwanted porn
3. Images of child sexual abuse
4. Extremism
5. Abuse
6. Scams and rip off's
7. Fraud
8. Conspiracy theories
9. The Dark Web

Natalie Fenton:

The Power Of Media...

Media Controls The Power Over:

1. Media content
2. Audiences
3. Journalists
4. Government

It Also Has The Power To:

1. Censor
2. Mislead
3. Set the agenda

Rob Watson

Film Producer...

What Do Film Producers Do?

1. You're The Boss
2. Hire People
3. Financial Control
4. Marketing
5. Finding Material
6. Choosing Cast
7. Have The Full View On Production And Post Production

Where Do Movie Plots Come From?

1. Musical Adaptations
2. Play Adaptations
3. Book Adaptations
4. Personal Life
5. Random

Jenny Grahame

Murdered By My Boyfriend...

1. Script Was From A True Story
2. Took A Lot Of Research And Planning To Create Script
3. Visited Many Families Affected By Relatives Murdered Due To Domestic Violence
4. Writing Changes When Being Filmed
5. Directors Choose How Everything Will Look.

Owen Jones

Democracy & Politics...

1.  Society Doesn't Make Sense
2. The Rich Control Everything
3. Only 4 Of The Richest People Continue To Make The Most Money Every Year.
4. Young People Punished To Educate
5. Too Many Middle Classed Journalists, They Don't Understand The Working Class.
6. 
   
7. 
   

Critical Investigation: Notes and quotes

Why GTA 5's most controversial mission may be unpleasant and repulsive but there is a message behind the degradation:

http://www.mirror.co.uk/lifestyle/staying-in/video-games/gta-5s-most-controversial-mission-2279001

• One almost designed to generate outraged opinion pieces decrying the damaging effect of video games on our otherwise innocent children (neatly obfuscating the fact that GTA V, like all manner of equally explicit films, is a product that, by law, can only be sold to over 18s).
• Trevor Phillips, the torturer, is a psychopathic career criminal who savagely stamps a man to death within minutes of being introduced earlier on in the game.

GTA 5: the violence debate

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/video-games/10312420/GTA-5-the-violence-debate.html

The gaming world has been eagerly anticipating what has been dubbed the "most exciting" event in the entertainment calendar - the release of the game which cost more to make then many Hollywood blockbusters.

Grand Theft Auto V reportedly cost around £170 million to make and market - more than films such as Avatar - and has sparked so much interest that stores will open their doors at midnight on Monday for special launch events.

The GTA series has always been controversial. Critics cite the remorseless emphasis on crime and violence and question the subtlety of its satire, while fans praise the staggeringly comprehensive game world that allows players freedom of movement and action in meticulously recreated versions of America’s greatest cities, and hail the writers’ lethally funny intolerance for American political and social exceptionalism.

The Telegraph's pro-GTA Mic Wright and anti-GTA Cristina Odone take on the debate about the video game series' use of violence.

• This video/article is a debate between two people within the same status but one is a mother and the other is a younger adult.
• The  mother explains how the violence and pornography is not something she wands her kids playing.
• They both believe the game is misogynistic to its own aspects.
• They also both agree that video games help kids with hand eye coordination and thinking skills
• Ruins social skills in real life.

The Franklin Conspiracy: Why Gamers Decided The Police In “GTA V” Are Racisthttp://www.buzzfeed.com/josephbernstein/the-franklin-conspiracy-why-gamers-decided-the-police-in-gt#.fuxzXKJQL8

“Cops are racist towards the black character, Franklin.”

"So, I was strolling down a boulevard, innocuous as any upstanding citizen, and suddenly, a white man begins assaulting me, making me flee as he pursued me with his frantic violence. Abruptly, I have 1 star - absolutely no reason besides the fact a citizen reported the situation and I was presumed the culprit… and the cops arrive. As I’m innocent, I raise my hands, knowing they’ll understand, but they abruptly say ‘HE HAS A WEAPON’ whilst I’m unarmed, opening fire….. 2 minutes later, I’m running down an alley as eight LAPD cops are behind me, GUNS DRAWN, and I still have absolutely no clue as to why. “Is it because I am black? Is this what happens? They think I am immediately guilty? I am armed? I am a huge threat? I’ve done something?” I see an escape, a rooftop with a ladder up it, and I begin climbing, but the police murder me - shooting me in the back multiple times as an ‘armed suspect’….. execution-style as I have my back to them."

“The main thing I’ve learned while playing this game (GTA 5)”

"I was driving around as Franklin and stopped at a gas station in a more rural part of town. Got out of my car, walked up to this white trash woman. The fella she was with punched her in the face, ran away, she looks at me, calls the cops. 1 star.”

I’ve played more than 40 hours of GTA V, and I’ve experienced this kind of aggressive police behavior and emergent violence while playing as all three characters. But are these people simply extra-sensitive to the way the game treats Franklin, or are they noticing something real? “This is absolutely false, the in-game police don’t treat one lead character any differently from the others,” Rockstar said in a statement.

One answer may have to do with the area in which Franklin spends a lot of his time: South Los Santos, the game’s version of L.A.’s historically crime-plagued South Side. A higher percentage of non-player characters in South Los Santos carry guns, and a higher percentage of the dynamic events in this game region involve violence than in the areas of the game meant to simulate, say, Beverly Hills and West Hollywood. If you lead the police on a chase into South Los Santos with any character, not just Franklin, the gang members who are programmed to carry guns will fire on the police, who will, of course, fire back. A lot of Franklin’s early missions take place here, and so it seems natural that more players would see this kind of emergent dynamic between his character, GTA’s gang members, and GTA’s police.

This video clip is a piece of gameplay from GTA V, the small clip is taken from a GTA v player playing as the african american lead character Franklin. In this clip he is free roaming the vast open world of Los Santos (GTA's Version Of Los Angeles). As he's roaming around he stumbles across a police station, when walking into the facility he over hears a bunch of cops swearing and talking aggressive to franklin, he then walks up to another cop and triggers the button that enables any playable GTA character to communicate with other non playable, computerised players. When doing so, Franklin greets the cop with "hey, whats up dude?" The cop then stops what he's doing and replies with "greetings" but after realising that the person in front of him is a african american he then grips his gun and shouts you're dead now" the cop then points his weapon and the player has now received a 1 star wanted level (a punishment for behaving badly in game). The player then brutally kills the cop before the cop killed him, once again opening the door to more controversy about how this game allows for cops to be killed. So from this clip we can see that a lot of detail was put into the animations of these police officers and how they react. GTA V had a total budget of £170,000,000 for the production of the game, judging from how the cops react to franklin, the makers must of come up with the idea that the cops are racist towards Franklin and that they're animations are more detailed and different for him.

Why GTA 5's most controversial mission may be unpleasant and repulsive but there is a message behind the degradation

http://www.mirror.co.uk/lifestyle/staying-in/video-games/gta-5s-most-controversial-mission-2279001

"Given GTA V’s potential for player improvised violence on an unprecedented scale you wouldn’t think developers Rockstar would need to manufacture controversy of their own. And yet, reasonably early on in the game’s main narrative, comes By the Book, a mission in which you have have to torture another character in the most graphic and gruesome ways imaginable. For a series that’s had more than its fair share of past run-ins with tabloids and watch dogs, this seems like a strange move. One almost designed to generate outraged opinion pieces decrying the damaging effect of video games on our otherwise innocent children (neatly obfuscating the fact that GTA V, like all manner of equally explicit films, is a product that, by law, can only be sold to over 18s). It’s unlikely that the authors of many - or, indeed, any - of these pieces will have actually played the game, especially now that footage of said scene is freely available on YouTube, so here’s a little context to counterbalance the inevitable hyperbole.

Trevor Phillips, the torturer, is a psychopathic career criminal who savagely stamps a man to death within minutes of being introduced earlier on in the game. There is no small degree of dark comedy to his character, but it’s ultimately the pitch blackness of a moral vacuum. By the time of By the Book, he and the rest of your GTA gang are being manipulated by the FIB, the gameworld’s feckless and fraudulent equivalent of the FBI, and it is they who task him with torturing Mr K in the hope he will help them identify an alleged insurgent hiding out in Los Santos. The segment is every bit as unpleasant and unsettling as the leaked videos suggest. Playing as Trevor, you must select an instrument in turn from the array of sledgehammers, jump leads and pliers, and then perform a series of mini-games to use them. If your assailant’s heart stops beating while being waterboarded, say, then you can give him an adrenaline shot and carry on. There’s no way of skipping these sequences and I’ll admit to feeling repulsed when I played through them, Trevor’s matter-of-factness in the face of his victim’s distress adding to the degradation."


Mary Poust discusses the video game, Grand Theft Auto, whose latest ‘upgrade’ allows kids to have sex with and kill prostitutes, and concludes that we should not be playing or supporting these games. 

http://goodmenproject.com/ethics-values/mkdn-never-play-gta/

"Not only does it glorify crime and violence, but now it lets you or your child watch as a prostitute performs sex acts on you, moaning all the way."

"The audio alone should be enough to make any parent rethink this as an entertainment option for their kids — no matter how old they are."

"The icing on this controversial cake is the ability players have to then gruesomely murder their prostitute and take back their money. Still not convinced that this game is not only bad for children but bad for adults and bad for women and bad for society?"

"I am so beyond offended by this game, as a woman, yes, but as a human being even more. I’ve always been offended by this game, not just for how women are portrayed and treated on screen but for the over-the-top violence that is rewarded with points. And that was even before this latest version put sex into the hands of the controller, prostitutes were part of the on-screen world. Now it’s just a lot more graphic and offensive."

"How is it possible that we find this okay, that this is a bestselling video game?"

"Where are the feminist voices speaking out against this kind of misogyny? I’m dumbfounded."

"When people spend hour upon hour using their controller to kill people, steal things, hire prostitutes, beat women, it begins to blur the edges of what’s okay in real life."

"I sort of insulate myself from this sort of thing. We don’t allow it in our house, and to a large extent I don’t allow it into my mind because letting it into my mind puts images of violence and murder and beating of women there, and that’s not good for me, or anyone. Which is why it’s bad for society."

"It desensitizes us to violence, which is why the the military uses video games to help soldiers get over the innate human aversion to killing. "

"Video games—especially first-person violent video games—do affect us, even if we don’t realize it at the time.

GTA 5 review: Satire, parody - and gameplay to show Rockstar have cracked combat in breathtaking Grand Theft Auto V

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/technology-science/technology/gta-5-review-satire-parody-2277607

"You’ll directly control them all, switching freely between them between missions and at opportune moments while on the job."

"Plus, being able to dip in and out of Michael’s dysfunctional family life, Franklin’s turf wars and Trevor’s trailer park empire eliminates the element of grind that occasionally prolonged progression in past GTAs."

"In fact, it’s surely the best world created by any games developer at any time. It’s not just the eye-watering size and scale, but that way that every square foot feels handcrafted for your enjoyment. This is a world so believable and full of life that even the likes of Skyrim feels like a corridor in comparison."

"what is likely to become one of this most controversial of series’ most controversial moments yet; a supremely unsettling mission entitled By the Book, in which you subject an innocent Asian character to prolonged and graphic torture. The segment is all the more disturbing for the evident delight Trevor takes in his work.

As a rule, criticising Rockstar for their violent content and moral ambiguity is ultimately as facile as lambasting their cinematic equivalent Quentin Tarantino for his: the medium is the message."

Trails and teasers: Marketing GTAV

https://www.englishandmedia.co.uk/media-magazine/articles/16959

"But what is interesting about Rockstar's early marketing strategy is that it appeared to focus primarily on the hard core fans. Without searching for the information, the average video game consumer would not be aware that a new game had been announced."

"Rockstar released the first trailer for Grand Theft Auto V. At barely 1 minute and 15 seconds long, this gave very little away about the actual plot of the gameplay, but emphasised the vastness of the landscape - the mountains, desert, the beaches, the city itself"

"One is having a mid-life crisis and feels bored, one is young and feels trapped and unfulfilled by his economic circumstances, and the third is psychotic and bored, turning to murder and arson for the sheer hell of it."

This article explains how GTA V didn't need to put a lot of marketing techniques into introducing the game to people, they knew that they're trailer and new concept for their brand new addition to the franchise would enable a strong impact on "word of mouth". They simply posted their trailer to their website and YouTube page, so only the hardcore fans and subscribers would see first. This caused a bang on social media, many gaming fans and even high valued institutions were stunned by how the game looks. Rockstar shocked everyone with this one minute trailer, they fit just enough in to get everyone talking.

Media Magazine 40: Play, Pleasure & Panics.

https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B0i5diL3vrEiSGxRNHIyZmM4Ums&usp=sharing

AQA examiner Steph Hendry considers the long history of public concerns about both the dangers of popular culture and the attempts made to control and sanitise it.

"The history of the mass media is littered with examples of censorship, banning, moral outrage and controversy. Self-defined guardians of ‘moral decency’ such as tabloid newspapers"

"The hypodermic syringe theory. This theory claims that the media ‘injects’ its passive audience members with ideas, values and attitudes that can directly influence behaviour."

"Clearly some individuals are more easily influenced than others, but the idea that the media can corrupt or be the direct cause of violent behaviour seems actively disproven by the fact that we not living in a lawless, violent dystopia."

This article gives a lot of references to how the media has had an effect on people and how governments have placed bans on certain texts, although it also goes on to explain how its just a big moral panic in which people believe violent video games, movies, tv shows etc will affect peoples minds. In the cases where this has happened, its only ever affected mentally unstable people, such as the cinema shooting killer that was inspired by the joker. Also how the music from Marilyn Manson and the video game Doom inspired the Columbine High School Shooters This idea that the media is responsible for violence and antisocial behaviour can be seen as scapegoating – attempting to apportion blame and reduce a complex problem to a simple solution.

Censorship - the debate

https://www.englishandmedia.co.uk/media-magazine/articles/16293

"Most forms of media, from video games to DVDs, both rated by the British Board of Film Classification, give a specific age rating if their content is deemed unsuitable for everyone"

"The popular Grand Theft Auto series is frequently linked to violent behaviour in teenagers as they try and repeat things they do in the game"

"The game creators get away with labelling the game with an 18+ rating: they assume only people who are over 18 will play and are smart enough to realise the difference between games and life. "

"It is still very easy to get hold of the game if you are under 18"

"very few shops bother to ask for ID providing you look like you could possibly be 18" 

"They steal a car in-game instead of in the real world"

"The amazingly realistic graphics that some of the newer games have seem to fuel such worries about their impact on young people".

This articles discusses how gaming requires more censorship than ever before and that the regulations for cesnsorship is slowly becoming more and more meaningless and so many adult games are being played by children. It shows what games like GTA can do to children and how it can affect society.

Why audiences REALLY play video games?(MM40)

https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B0i5diL3vrEiSGxRNHIyZmM4Ums&usp=sharing

"A growing number of people worldwide of all ages are spending increasing amounts of time playing games."

"the global gaming audience at between 450-700 million people with an average 11 hours of gaming per week."

"Sandbox games are called this because of the ability of players to freely create situations from a blank canvas environment, the most popular of these games are the Grand Theft Auto and Saints Row series."

"the options of undertaking criminal missions or behaving in a violent and anti-social manner whilst evading the virtual city’s law enforcement"

"Masculine dominance and emotional detachment in committing crimes for the sake of personal gain is rewarded with notoriety within the story world."

This article discusses how there is a high number of audience in the gaming community and how sandbox games such as GTA can impact thier minds. Also how the audience pleasure of escapism is becoming more and more realistic and more immersive than ever before.

Ideas About Story Telling, The Narrative Structures Of GTA Vice City & La Noire: (MM 44)

https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B0i5diL3vrEiSGxRNHIyZmM4Ums&usp=sharing

"whether gamescan be labelled ‘interactive cinema’ or if they should be considered within an entirely different paradigm."

‘non-linear game-play with a character driven narrative.’

"game narrative is becoming more filmic"

This article discusses how the gaming industry are starting to produce more and more filmic narratives into the genre, its starting the debate whether gaming is now becoming interactive cinema. Games such as LA Noire also used many actors in order to produce the game, Thats w much gaming is evloving.