September 25, 2007
As GamePolitics reported last week, Take Two Chairman Strauss Zelnick will testify today before the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade & Consumer Protection.Committee chair Bobby Rush (D-IL) is investigating the portrayal of stereotypes and degrading images in the media.
Expect Zelnick to be quizzed about the Grand Theft Auto series.
The hearing is scheduled to begin at 10AM Washington, D.C. time. A live webcast is available here.
UPDATE: Today's Los Angeles Times has more, including a profile on Rep. Rush. There's also this quote from music exec Danny Goldberg:
I probably agree with Bobby Rush on about 99 out of 100 things, but whether you think hip-hop or video games are elevating and illuminating or creepy and immoral, you can't change the evolution of culture by a Congressional hearing. All you get is a climate of fear.
UPDATE #2: What About Our Daughters? will be live-blogging the hearing.
UPDATE #3: Karen Dill, PhD of Lenoir-Rhyne College (Hickory, NC) will be testifying as well. Prof. Dill has been a critic of violent video games for some time.
Comments
Im glad I didnt miss Zelnick. Will be interesting to hear him.
Nightwng2000
NW2K software
Or are they all just there to hand out a good load of bollocks for their campaigns? I'm betting on the latter.
You can't know the sweet without having tasted the bitter.
E. Zachary Knight
Divine Knight Gaming
Random Tower: Game News and Commentary
Nightwng2000
NW2K Software
"Video games and music need to be legislated."
E. Zachary Knight
Divine Knight Gaming
Random Tower: Game News and Commentary
Rails against “filthy derogatory, offensive language.”
Children are assaulted daily with garbage under the guise of the First Amendment.
There is a right to free speech, but there is also a responsibility to refrain from denigrating a race and black women in particular.
Black women are embarrassed and humiliated by depictions on television and in videos.
“Rights without responsibility should be labeled ‘anarchy’.” Congress should insist on responsibility and force the FCC and FTC to take action.
Thanks for keeping the live updates going.
E. Zachary Knight
Divine Knight Gaming
Random Tower: Game News and Commentary
Parents don’t want to believe that child playing violent video game would have a negative effect. She says that response of video game players who maintain “I’ve played violent video games for years, and I have never shot anyone” misses the point. The point is that entertainment creates a culture, and you cannot turn off our culture.
There is freedom of expression, but there is no freedom from consequences of that expression.
Calls for more research on impact of media violence and images and a media education curriculum in schools.
Now to Q&A
I dunno, you?
Yes they could. But by doing this they can sleep at night by distracting themselves from the depressing reports and millitary jargon, no they want to try to reafferm that they dislike the videogame indestry and will skapegoat, and pidgenhole it at every chance they get.
But who knows maybe im just being to negitive. Mayhaps good things, and understanding will come of this, Instead of this being a more or less onesided hatefest.
(Im all for the solders but not the war. There is a lot I could say about the war none very of it kind, nice, or fair.)
And a congressional committee with a webcast setup? I'm impressed.
Geez, talk about scrapping the bottom of the barrel. :/
Luckily, there hasn't been a lot of work lately so I might be able to actually get to hear this.
Nightwng2000
NW2K Software
But for gods sake here folks, Enough already. We don't need it brought up every day on these boards. The media does that enough as it is.
Lets stick to the topic at hand ok?
On that topic, I hope Strauss just comes out and tells the whole group that if they bad mouth rockstar he'll sue them for slander.
Shut them up finally.
But the first few minutes will be the committee members making statements...
Nothing yet.
Nightwng2000
NW2K Software
E. Zachary Knight
Divine Knight Gaming
Random Tower: Game News and Commentary
Right now, that's ok. Not everyone is there yet.
Sheez! No wonder the US is so screwed up! Can't anybody in government tell the freakin' time! :)
Nightwng2000
NW2K Software
/facepalm.
"Not a head hunting hearing."
Uh uh, yeah, right.
"I'm not blaming anybody."
Yet, the media industry is there to testify for it's role.
THAT is "blame".
Once again, another politician refers to GTA as allowing players to "rape" women. Clearly, her argument, being so segregated based on gender, is uninformed and meant to misinform others.
The gentleman from NC makes a good point about this being a circular issue. The media reflects what's going on in society to a large degree. Much of what is being focused on right now is music.
It's interesting that they have yet to mention the effect of other aspects of society (such as religion) on society as a whole. So, so far, they DO appear to be blaming the media rather than other aspects of society.
I wonder how many times the lady from TN will use the word "filth" today.
I also agree with the gentleman from CA(?) that mentioned the PSA for TV ratings. I do like those commercials. :)
The guy from NY ROCKS! I'm sorry, but he is rather intelligent in his comments. His opinions are rather well thought out and he's making some great points without being abusive about it. Dennis, if you're reading, can you direct us to more info on him?
Nightwng2000
NW2K software
Nightwng2000
NW2K software
Because of the jumpy sound, I missed where the next guy was from, but this one is a git. Blaming Columbine on music. Blaming Domestic violence on the media. Clearly, this guy is totally uneducated on the overall issues at hand. "Blame stuff I don't like" seems to be his thing. Even the trafficking of Humans in present day society.
Music is taking a much more serious beating here. But it may be partly because there are actual "artists" there, not just industry people.
Bloody Hell! Frozen transmission.
Nightwng2000
NW2K Software
She's also in favor of not restricting speech, but rather promoting "positive" messages to counter negative ones.
"We understand that with influence comes responsibility. We take this seriously. We have a responsibility to entertain, because if we're not entertaining, we have no business. We must engage our audience, which is no small task."
"We seek a balance of entertainment, between entertaining and informing. Not every show is for everyone."
"We rate blocks of videos so parents can be informed about the content and either block the content, or merely turn the tv off."
Now he's talking about social responsibility, and how they engage youth to get involved in world issues. BT will air a discussion on Hip Hop and it's impact on American culture. He's showing a clip.
Same responsibility blah blah as Viacom.
He's talking about how some artists push the controversy angle in order to bring it into the spotlight. And how some controversy can be offensive, but that offensiveness is a moving target, because everyone is offended by different things.
He's talking now also how even wide-spread offensiveness "line" have changed. Elvis, jazz, the blues, and other music were in the past considered highly offensive, but no longer are.
"Our aim is not to create or censor."
They rate content using RIAA standards, and even provide edited content to those distributers who want it. He also talks about how the line shifts depending on who you are, you age, upbringing, profession, culture, your religion, etc.
We don't deny that music doesn't influence culture. But who draws the line?
Not everyone will like or appreciate every work or every artist.
Artists push us to consider things we wouldn't necessarily consider.
Rap holds up the more disturbing elements of the human condition for scrutiny. The words used by some (B, H, and N words as he calls them) are prompting dialogues.
Someone else take over for me, I gotta run. :)
Thanks for the play by play, I missed a bit of the beginning and Doug Morris' segment.
Also, I just wanted to say that I'm pleasantly surprised. I was totally expecting this to be a big witch hunt, but it turns out that a lot of the committee members seem to have a level head. In particular the two from New York and the guy that brought up the TV Boss commercials.
They all seemed very reasonable and well informed. They were all concerned about kids being exposed to inappropriate content, as any parent should, but took the opportunity to talk about parently controls and responsibilities, rather than legislation.
Also, this is what I love about coming here. I've never watched or listened to a Congressional Hearing in my life...yet here I am at my desk with my headphones in and waiting with baited breath. I just wanted to say thanks to Dennis for providing us with all the news and the updates, and the forum for concerned gamers to talk about them.
I wish I was good as Jabrwock with the play by play. But for that, I have to be able to review and go back to verify things. I'll try to keep it up, but if someone is better at it and watching, I'll happily give over to them. Plus, I'm constantly suffering from freezes and hiccups with the sound.
Nightwng2000
NW2K software
Oh, the next witness isn't Zelnick, but the President of Radio One.