 |
| Assassin's Creed: Unity has been given an '18' rating by PEGI. But don't worry, we didn't commit any crimes by playing it, as the PEGI ratings system is purely advisory. In fact, even the BBFC ratings system mainly refers to restriction at the point of sale (which is why we can occasionally watch 18 rated products with no restrictions being breeched). Quite frankly, the regulation of the videogame industry (and EVERY media industry) is totally ineffective! |
Assassins Creed franchise: what material does this game include which may cause harm and/or offense?
- Stereotypical representations of countries and cultures. Stereotypes are harmful, and they can be cultivated over time
- Aspects of cultural appropriation
- Graphic bloody violence may be traumatic to audiences
- Certain weapons may be demonstrative, and may encourage acquisition
- Gory sound design: more immersive and more effective
- Parkour: a classic example of imitable behaviour
- Game focuses on assassins, a career criminal who murders for money.
- Game focuses on death and organised murder
- Stereotypical gender representations, including sexualisation of women (representation of prostitutes)
- (Later games however present more detailed representations, including both male and female sex workers, and being able to choose female characters)
- Inaccurate historical representations
- Moderate bad language
- Themes of anti religion and anti monarchy
The effects model, and why it sucks
The effects model AKA the hypodermic needle model: videogames have a direct and definite affect on audiences, and can easily transfer the ideology of the producer in to the mind of the audience.
Fortunately, this statement is nonsense, for a number of reasons:
- Banduras experimented on young children, who are clearly more naïve than adults
- Even children could work out that punching a 'bobo doll' is not the same as committing 'real' violence. Audiences understand this
- All audiences are different! They are not the same and react in different ways. Audiences are active: they are not passive
- Even though newspapers tend to report on any story that presents a link between videogames and violence, these stories are rare. Which is why they are so notable!
- A doll is not a person. It's a toy
- Children viewed an adult roll model violently playing with the doll
A few other, potentially better alternatives
Gerbner's cultivation theory
Being exposed to violent images over and over can normalise these processes, and can even desensitise audiences to violence! Videogames are repetitive, and often we as a player are forced to kill the same characters over and over again, and to witness the death of the player. Additionally, the Assassin's Creed franchise is an exercise in repetition, with consistent reusing of generic conventions
Hall's reception theory - an assumption that there are many ways in which an audience can receive and negotiate the ideology of the producer in a variety of different way
Different audiences will decode the ideology of the producer differently. Not all audiences will see the videogame in the same way, or will accept the messages of the videogame. For example, a classic negotiated reading would be a player who detests violence, but who is able to realise that violence in videogames is fictitious and unrealistic
Assassin's Creed's ideological perspectives
- To be successful and powerful, it is sometime necessary to kill
- To become powerful, one must become the strongest and mist dominant (character's in the franchise can progress and become more powerful)
- That thinking and acting fast should be rewarded
- That violence is in fact essential
- Violence is sometimes acceptable, and even fun
- Assassination (i.e killing people for money) is an acceptable occupation
- The game sometimes takes an anti-monarchy and anti-establishment ideology
- The story is complicated and involving and audiences can and should concentrate very hard on it to understand it
Oppositional readings:
- Audience members may be frustrated with the lack of historical authenticity or the science fiction subplot
- Audiences may be too disgusted with the concept of violence and bloodshed to even engage!
Negotiated reading
- May disagree with the extreme violence, but could instead be engrossed by the story.
- Audience members may even go in to the options to switch off blood and gore effects, in effect altering the game itself to their own preferences
- Audiences may completely ignore the story, playing the game instead to muck around in the sandbox environment
Jenkins' theory of fandom
- Some audiences potentially may take their experience of the game too far. They may become obsessed with the game, and may even attempt to re-enact things...
- However, Jenkins would probably suggest that audiences can use Assassin's Creed as a starting point for a range of less harmful active readings, including cosplay, fanfic, fan films and so on!