Jimquisition: Desensitized to Violence

[GodzillaGuy92]

I'm more than used to walking away impressed at the end of a Jimquisition video at this point, and yet I couldn't help but give a short round of applause to my computer screen at the close of this episode, something not even any of the others drove me to do. Truly, thank God for Jim.

 

[TotalerKrieger]

I honesty didn't react that much to the suicide footage, but I spent time working in EMS so I guess I've been desensitized to some extent (not enough to want to continue working in EMS mind you).

Anyways good video, some excellent arguments. Although, with some obvious exceptions, the only civilians who are afraid of real guns are those who have never handled one. I would say many individuals who identify themselves as fearful of guns would change their position after a crisp fall afternoon at the range blowing up pumpkins...glorious.

 

[wsmieszek]

A question for either Jim (if you read these) or for someone more familiar with his work:

Is there any place that you put all of your great analyses into a more "serious" form? While I absolutely enjoy the humour and relate to why you do it the way you do it, I'd like to share your commentary with people that may not. For some, the sarcastic/pastiche/ironic approach can work as immediate deterrent, yet I believe they would appreciate what you have to say.

 

[Your Gaffer]

That clip disturbed me the first time I saw it but this time it didn't bother me. And that disturbs me.

 

[Dire Sloth]

I really had to force myself to watch that bit, and now I just wish I could unsee that.
Here come the nightmares.

 

[AceRay]

I think that that footage of the video game violence could have been portrayed much much better to be honest. Obviously it's not going to seem disturbing when it's mere short clips of explosions and people falling down layered into some wacky music in the background. If you used some gruesome Gears of War footage or God of War footage or Manhunt or other games of that nature with their accompanied sound then it wouldn't be clearly fake violence.

If you sped up the footage of the real suicide video and added some wacky music it wouldn't be nearly as disturbing as it was either.

I thought exactly this. Jim's point was still good but his bias was clearly seen because he added wacky music to the game violence!

 

[Magmarock]

I expect Jim to get a lot of negative comments from this, but I actually support this. I first saw that video when I was 17 and at first I thought it was fake. I think the contrast between real violence and game violence is well represented here. The NRA needs to just piss off.

 

[Rellik San]

Whelp I may not be convinced, but everyone has valid points, I guess I, personally don't see the need for fire arms, but as I've said before I'm not interested in taking them away from honest citizens either. Thanks for the points and opinions and even the little bit of fire arms classification education. More so, thanks for keeping it civil as these debates often descend into pettiness.

 

[Zeckt]

Thank you for giving plenty of warning. I only wish I would of listened to your warning and not of seen that at all though, that was quite disturbing.

 

[jollybarracuda]

I've been playing games since I was 2 or 3 years old, I've played "violent" video games since I was, i dunno, 13 or something, and i honest to God had to skip over the suicide video using his time stamp. When he was explaining what the video was, I actually knew I wouldn't be comfortable seeing it; seeing someone take their own life. And I think to me, that speaks volumes for how true this video is.

When I see a standard, cannon-fodder death in a video game, it's like destroying the ships in Galaga, it means nothing. Sure, video games can make a death feel sad, by building relatable characters with well-developed stories, but that's the thing, they can make them sad, but they'll never really make our stomachs turn, our make us physically uncomfortable like you would be with a real death.

I'm not even sure gamers themselves are "desensitized" to video game violence, I think anyone would be able to pick up a video game, shoot a bad guy, and be perfectly fine. Like Jim said, the brain can tell the difference. Even the most grounded and realistic game can't make death seem real, it's just impossible with pixels and lines of code, thankfully.

 

[chadachada123]

Also I don't mind concealed carry, but these fucking twats who exploit their right to open carry in municipalities that have are are just morons who want to show off their gun-penis to everyone and pretty much get any harassment from the police they get. If you feel the need to carry a gun in public please cover it up just like you do your willy, thank you.

I agree with most of your post except for this.

The general public doesn't even know that open carry is legal in a very large number of states, and I think that's because people don't open-carry often enough. It creates a "well I've never seen it, and my gut instinct says guns are icky, so it either is or should be illegal"-type attitude.

I would say to not do it in a city or in a crowded area, yes, because it does look like a flexing of the G-peen in those instances, but I wouldn't really apply that to your standard suburb, your low-to-moderately-crowded Walmart, or your otherwise low-populated area.

Hell, the fact that many COPS don't know the law concerning open carry for their own state is bad enough, a problem that I think could be remedied by open-carrying while not being a dick about it.

I recognize that many that open-carry on tape ARE dicks about it, but that's just an argument against being a dick, not against open-carry.

 

[shadowstriker86]

i was surprised they let you put that clip up, but ya, its no surprise that media outlets whore the hell out of a tragic story

 

[Metalrocks]

thats why i never watch the news because they are full of crap and twist the meaning so that it makes them look good but everyone else look bad.
of course they complain about games (especially germany) because you are the one controlling a character that kills people wile in movies you just see it. but, no, politicians support the media and these so called experts that games are bad instead blaming them selfs and the person responsible who actually committed the crime.
and the news just shows big pictures of the shooter like he is an anti hero.

i am against violence as well unless its self defense. but i still think people who really have no hope like these idiots raping this poor woman on the bus in india, should be beaten to death in a most painful way possible. give them a taste of their own medicine. no jail sentence will make them change their minds. once out they will do it again.

 

[Keneth]

Thread is TL;DR so I'll just post my own personal feelings on this.

I'm a hunter and a fisherman. I hunt deer, rabbit, and squirrel, and I fish for bass and catfish. Since I live in a fairly rural area I've also butchered cows, pigs, and chickens. Suffice to say, I've killed a fairly large amount of living things.

IT. STILL. BOTHERS. ME. EVERY. TIME.

Every time I kill an animal I feel a twinge of guilt and sadness. I understand the consequences of my actions. I'm ending a life.

Some of you are probably wondering why I still hunt and fish. The answer is complicated. Mainly, I enjoy the overall experience of it. Like a football player doesn't like being tackled but they still enjoy playing the game. Secondly I like the feeling of self sufficiency. That "I can take care of myself" feeling. Also, I don't entirely trust grocery store meat. I like knowing where my food comes from.

So in the end do I feel that I've been desensitized to violence? Most certainly not. I feel bad enough killing animals for food. I can't even begin to imagine how bad I'd feel if I was ever forced to kill a human. But if I see you in-game I won't feel the slightest bit of guilt for owning your ass. =P

 

[Vault101]

I watched the video...

and I feel I didn;t find it disturbing as I should have, probably becase of the lack of gore

I mean yeah it was disturbing, I covered my eyes during the actual trigger pulling and the face with all the blood..but...I don't know, things in fiction have disturbed me on a deeper level

 

[Sehnsucht Engel]

This was an interesting episode, even more so than usual actually, since it demonstrated its message in a great way. I did find the video of Dwyer killing himself disturbing, but didn't flinch at the video game violence and even found the purple haired woman killing people attractive. >_>

 

[Nokutisu]

so may games i´ve played..so many kills..so many headshots..stabs, slices chop offs..still i could not bring myself to watch that footage.

 

[Djaevlenselv]

When that clip came on and with your introduction to it Jim, I decided I was going to watch the whole thing even though I knew I wouldn't like it afterwards. I felt very unpleasant and disturbed by it and still do as I write this, but I'm still glad I watched it and that you showed me it Jim, because I've had my own slight misgivings about game violence, and I think I needed to see *that* and the game footage back to back to understand how truly ludicrous it really is to equate the two. Also your comments throughout the video were great help at putting the whole thing into perspective. Lastly, I just want to thank you for that post-credits bit, which really helped cheer me up again after a truly unpleasant experience.

Thank god for you Jim, and no fucking meta-joke-playing-along-with-your-catchphrase this time. I sincerely mean it.

 

[MonkeyPunch]

Though I might sound "me too"-ish these are exactly some the points or counter arguments I raise about this shit too.
So I obviously agree with all the points. You can make more too, but no point going in to them here and now.

What's "funny" too is that when I was young I could watch real-life "gore" on TV etc. a whole lot easier. Without feeling sick. I didn't play as many video games back then either, nor did I play games that looked anywhere near as good or realistic as they do today. Yet as I've grown older I now have a hard time watching things like that clip shown in this video without feeling ill. (I had seen it before though. Almost 10 years ago now) Yet I'm probably playing more games now than I used to.

It's sad that we're STILL in an age where morons try and use things like games as a scapegoat for murders etc. But then again books had that too back in the day. It will pass. But it will take time.