Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 has received its fair share of critical barbs for its content leading up to its release, but this has not deterred consumers in the slightest, with early estimates of seven million first day sales; this does not sit well with Washington Times columnist and Parents Television Council national advisory board member Marybeth Hicks.
"We ought not be surprised, but we ought to be concerned," writes Hicks of the game's impending record setting sales. "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is another immersive first-person game offering players the chance to vicariously participate in acts of violence for the sole purpose of... entertainment."
After talking about the "taboo actions" incorporated into Modern Warfare 2, the former talking points writer for President Reagan got very sociological about the effects of violence. "Defenders of games such as Call of Duty (note the patriotic-sounding title), Grand Theft Auto and others first point to the 'mature' rating for these games and claim they do not incite adult players to greater violence. If you're older than 17, they say, you're not likely to be influenced by the behaviors in which you engage in the virtual world," she continues. "But the fact is young people -- specifically young men and boys -- whose behavior is known to be influenced by extreme violence in video games, are playing these games."
After citing some dubious statistics about connections between violent media and violent behavior, she noted that large retailers are opening at midnight for "the release of a game that promotes the darkest, most disturbing fantasies within the human heart."
"Once again, we don't want to see the cultural connection between a society that glorifies violence and offers it up for entertainment purposes, but then dismisses the possibility that we are breeding our youth to exhibit 'unthinkable' and 'heinous' behaviors. America's children are surrounded by senseless violence on TV, in movies and worst of all, in video games that enable them a realistic experience of 'the thrill of the kill.' It's not maturity that's needed to play these games. It's maturity that rejects them as barbaric and harmful to the psyche of anyone who would play them," she concluded.
Artistic rendition of Marybeth Hicks.
Yes, Modern Warfare 2 is entertainment, but the game is also about showing the consequences of war and dealing with certain fictionalized if believable geopolitical struggles. Its plot is much more thoughtful than most action movies... but this is lost on Hicks, who most certainly will never play Modern Warfare 2.
We admit to some pause in considering the Ft. Hood shooting, release of Modern Warfare 2, Veterans Day and the execution of John Allen Muhammad all happening in close proximity to each other, but when it comes right down to it, there are so many other larger factors in people's lives besides fantasy, however interactive and real.
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