GTA IV and (versus?) the (Christian) Parent

Today is another one of those days. You know the ones I mean. When you kind of shake your head and say to yourself "wow, how did we get here?" Today the focus of the question is the release of the latest - sure to be a best selling - adult violent video game, Grand Theft Auto IV.

Now that can go many different ways.

Translation 1 - How did we get here? = The world is falling apart.
A very common knee jerk response. Especially from parents. (I confess I fall into the camp of parents who don't want their kids to play these games. But then since my kids are in elementary school, I don't think I am way out of line there. A little self serving but keep reading anyway, that isn't my whole position...) Then there are the hyper news readers telling us that kids who play these games go crazy and kill people. A lot of fear here.

Translation 2 - How did we get here? = Boy, these game make me wonder what our world looks like.
This is the more despairing response. It tries to "analyse" the games and read them as a reflection of what our world looks like.

Translation 3 - How did we get here? = My parents don't understand me at all.
This would be the opposing point of translation 1. Teens and young adults who enjoy playing these games and wonder why on earth their parents can't just relax, after all didn't their parents go crazy over (insert cultural item here Elvis/cartoons/heavy metal etc.).

I'm sure there are more translations but I will end it there for now. Thinking about the first and third translation, I bring good news of a possible bilingual dictionary. A recent book, Grand Theft Childhood, has tried to shed some light and sanity on the subject. Their basic advice, "talk to your kids more." Violent video games don't necessarily make kids violent, mental illness and other factors are much more important. It's the old causality question again. But, by talking to your kids you may be relieved by how matter of fact they are about the unreality of gaming. Whew. Here's a short article from the Star that describes their work. And there are many helpful websites where parents can get information so they can have an informed chat with their teens (they will respect you more if you know what you're talking about after all.) Here is what one teen had to say,

" “I don’t think that the people who are criticizing these games are very well informed,” he says. “Many people seem to think that kids buy the game just to kill people, and that couldn't be further from the truth,” he says, in line with what all the kids we spoke to told us. For all of them, the allure of the Grand Theft Auto games seems to pure escapism into a world of forbidden activities. "The games also involve long branching stories that have characters working their way up the social ladder, with multiple objectives and paths to take," Greg continues. "Honestly, the GTA games are nowhere near as bad as they are made out to be.”"

This quote is from a site where there is lots of info http://www.whattheyplay.com/ This is a weird kind of site where links to info about GTA IV sit next to a review of Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends. But that is what it is meant to be, information for parents about everything they need to know.

So the bottom line is relax first, become informed second, and then (then) talk to your kids. At that point you can reach into your own wisdom on what kinds of spiritual themes (good and bad) are embodied by these games. Talk about the messages so kids (and grown ups too) aren't just drinking them in uncritically.

As to the second translation. This game doesn't begin to compare with real life. There are many tragic events every day. Just listen to the rest of the newscast when you aren't being distracted by tirades against video games.

So, if you have teens or kids who ask about this game then you have your work ahead of you. But otherwise there are many better ways to spend your angst than worrying about this game. You could even do some good. Over the past year I have been privileged to take part in many activities through our church that had a direct impact on improving our world. Some local projects and some not so local. Most notable has been our partnership (along with several other churches in our area) with a small village in Sierra Leone where we have been a part of building a new school. Now that's important.

K