Moral Kombat Screened at USC Conference
Moral Kombat Screened at USC Conference
September 28, 2007
Moral Kombat, a documentary about the game violence debate, was screened for the first time last night at the University of Southern California.The film was produced and directed by filmmaker Spencer Halpin (shown at left during production) and was shown as part of USC's Business of Gaming conference.
GP had a chance to view the movie earlier this week and was quite impressed. Both sides of the issue are fairly represented.
Critics like Sen. Joe Lieberman, Dr. David Walsh of the National Institute on Media & Family, Lt. Col. Dave Grossman and, of course, Jack Thompson get to have their say.
Industry types appearing in the film include former ESA boss Doug Lowenstein, game designer Lorne Lanning (Oddworld series), IGDA head Jason Della Rocca, EA founder Trip Hawkins and others.
Also featured are reporter Dean Takahashi of the San Jose Mercury-News (who has a very personal perspective - I won't give it away) and Prof. Henry Jenkins of MIT.
Anyone with an interest in the topic should enjoy the film. No news on distribution plans yet, but GP will keep you posted.
FULL DISCLOSURE DEPT: Spencer Halpin is the brother of ECA president Hal Halpin. The ECA is the parent company of GamePolitics.
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Posted 07/04/09 at 07:58pm
GoodRobotUs: Which seems to be the only point Jack proved, that some people find some games offensive. i.e. Nothing.
GoodRobotUs: Which seems to be the only point Jack proved, that some people find some games offensive. i.e. Nothing.
Posted 07/04/09 at 07:57pm
GoodRobotUs: The discussion was supposed to be whether games were dangerous not 'Do you find some games offensive'...
GoodRobotUs: The discussion was supposed to be whether games were dangerous not 'Do you find some games offensive'...
Posted 07/04/09 at 07:55pm
GoodRobotUs: Some agreed, some didn't, but it was their choice to make, not the governments.
GoodRobotUs: Some agreed, some didn't, but it was their choice to make, not the governments.
Posted 07/04/09 at 07:55pm
GoodRobotUs: By asking the audience their opinion, he more or less proved that it's a matter of personal choice
GoodRobotUs: By asking the audience their opinion, he more or less proved that it's a matter of personal choice
Posted 07/04/09 at 07:55pm
GoodRobotUs: Meh, he ended proving Mark's point for him
GoodRobotUs: Meh, he ended proving Mark's point for him
Posted 07/04/09 at 07:26pm
Erik: Jack if you are reading this you are a LIAR. There is no legal weight to the MPAA's ratings.
Erik: Jack if you are reading this you are a LIAR. There is no legal weight to the MPAA's ratings.
Posted 07/04/09 at 07:24pm
JDKJ: I still think my buddy the midget who rides a unicycle backwards while juggling four bowling pins would have been a much bigger hit with that crowd. And he can make up statistics and misinterpret studies, too.
JDKJ: I still think my buddy the midget who rides a unicycle backwards while juggling four bowling pins would have been a much bigger hit with that crowd. And he can make up statistics and misinterpret studies, too.
Posted 07/04/09 at 06:33pm
Alyric: Of course, Mark falls into the common trap about Columbine, which had nothing to do with bullying, etc. See: http://slate.msn.com/id/2099203/?GT1=3256 for a more thorough explanation.
Alyric: Of course, Mark falls into the common trap about Columbine, which had nothing to do with bullying, etc. See: http://slate.msn.com/id/2099203/?GT1=3256 for a more thorough explanation.
Posted 07/04/09 at 06:32pm
PHX Corp: Read this http://www.destructoid.com/sgc-09-liveblogging-the-jack-thompson-debate-138502.phtml#ext
PHX Corp: Read this http://www.destructoid.com/sgc-09-liveblogging-the-jack-thompson-debate-138502.phtml#ext
Posted 07/04/09 at 05:54pm
PHX Corp: JT is afraid of such ban then advocates it That's what i call a total Hypocrite
PHX Corp: JT is afraid of such ban then advocates it That's what i call a total Hypocrite
Posted 07/04/09 at 05:50pm
PHX Corp: AE: JT is a -Bleeping- Jackass
PHX Corp: AE: JT is a -Bleeping- Jackass
Posted 07/04/09 at 05:07pm
Andrew Eisen: JT "knew it would be a good audience." Not what he said on Tuesday.
Andrew Eisen: JT "knew it would be a good audience." Not what he said on Tuesday.
Posted 07/04/09 at 05:01pm
Andrew Eisen: VG cause violent behavior. VG companies influence behavior to get sales. Yeah, that makes sense. (To be fair, the Twitter feed makes deciphering JT's point pretty tough.)
Andrew Eisen: VG cause violent behavior. VG companies influence behavior to get sales. Yeah, that makes sense. (To be fair, the Twitter feed makes deciphering JT's point pretty tough.)
Posted 07/04/09 at 04:52pm
Andrew Eisen: Yes, it's been proposed but as far as I know it has not been passed. Big difference.
Andrew Eisen: Yes, it's been proposed but as far as I know it has not been passed. Big difference.
Posted 07/04/09 at 04:50pm
Cheater87: http://www.gamezine.co.uk/news/formats/xbox360/all-violent-video-games-be-banned-in-germany-$1301757.htm
Cheater87: http://www.gamezine.co.uk/news/formats/xbox360/all-violent-video-games-be-banned-in-germany-$1301757.htm
Posted 07/04/09 at 04:49pm
Andrew Eisen: Far as I know, Germany has not banned all violent video games.
Andrew Eisen: Far as I know, Germany has not banned all violent video games.
Posted 07/04/09 at 04:44pm
Cheater87: Jack wants the US to follow Germany's total video game ban.
Cheater87: Jack wants the US to follow Germany's total video game ban.
Posted 07/04/09 at 04:42pm
Andrew Eisen: Note to JT, it is not illegal to sell kids a ticket to R-rated movies.
Andrew Eisen: Note to JT, it is not illegal to sell kids a ticket to R-rated movies.
Posted 07/04/09 at 04:39pm
Cheater87: Jack said we would be better with no rating sytem.
Cheater87: Jack said we would be better with no rating sytem.
Posted 07/04/09 at 04:35pm
Alareth: So what was the introduction used for Jack?
Alareth: So what was the introduction used for Jack?
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Game Politics and Game Politics logo are trademarks of the ECA.
Game Politics and Game Politics logo are trademarks of the ECA.
Comments
The trailer is meant to be as sensationalist as possible on purpose.
Isn't that the point of any trailer? :) To generate interest.
BTW Dennis, good job leaving the Full Disclosure there.
"I wish we could more from the European academics, I think they can provide a completely different perspective on video games. like the people at the IT university of Copenhagen."
I agree, would be refreshing.
The trailer is meant to be as sensationalist as possible on purpose. It's the only way to get people from BOTH sides of the argument to show an interest to the movie.
Once they get the audience they needed, all they needed to do was show the actual documentary, which (unlike the trailer) is actually fair and balanced.
It's an old trick used by Newspapers. Sensationalist headline, but fair balanced article.
I think with that kind of confusion, they might want to watch out for Midway's lawyers. Or maybe I need to get more coffee in the morning :/
Does this movie take any measures to openly debunk some of their claims?
~Otaku-Man
Also, if they’ve fixed the inaccuracies in the trailer (bullet holes in Myst IV, etc.)
After hearing about this, I checked out the trailer again. And holy crap, there is is. A clip from Myst IV, showing a view out of a typical transport, and suddenly the glass is overlayed with bullet holes, something that didn't happen in-game. the 0:56-0:58 mark.
I sincerely hope that was done purely for shock value in the trailer alone, and that in the actual documentary such shooping is not present...
Likely to snag those willfully ignorant people that wouldn't watch this if it painted games and gamers in ANY positive light
Lucky for you, this is a country in which you can choose to see both - or neither.
I've been in touch with Spencer and thus I saw Moral Kombat a few months ago on DVD and was very impressed. It is an aesthetically beautiful, engaging, and driven work. It offers many perspectives but, in the end, is clearly pro-game (people like David Walsh aren't really anti-game, they just want GTA out of the hands of their children). Certainly worth viewing.
Spencer's film focuses almost exclusively on the issue of videogame violence and is also representative only of the mainstream industry - retailers, developers, etc. In my documentary ('Playing Columbine'), I pay special attention to the independent developers who I argue are pushing the real innovation in the medium - and of course focus much more on the nature of school shootings. Certainly there is some overlap, as well; Spencer and I each interviewed Doug Lowenstein, Hal Halpin, Jason Della Rocca, and the indispensable lawyer from Miami.
Certainly this is a subject big enough for more than one movie. ;)