Last month, this author was one among many adult males that were looking forward to a new video game, set to come out for the Xbox 360, titled “Mass Effect.” It is a science fiction role playing game, set in the future. The gamer assumes the role of a captain of a spaceship in which he can fly around the universe, complete with stunning graphics and complete freedom to make choices that impact the in-game world. This game is rated “M” for “mature.” These ratings are issued by the Entertainment Software Rating Board, or ESRB, and these ratings are printed on every video game released in America. “M for mature” means the purchaser has to be seventeen years of age or older to purchase the game. Its effectiveness is suspect, in that like seeing a rated R movie, a youth can always get their parents to purchase it. In 2010, only five percent of games had this rating, but out of those, twenty nine percent were the best selling games of the year.(Pereira) Such a small percentage of released games made millions of dollars in sales. This speaks to the attitude with which video game developers are approaching their content. Their target audience is largely adult gamers; the ones that don’t have to ask their parents’ permission to buy a game. Video games are just one part of a culture of “adult-children” who are reading adult comic books, going to see children’s movies in the theater without children, and spending time living on another planet, in another time, in another universe through books and video games. Adults are engaging in activities that could be considered as “for-kids”. With the mass media targeting adults through youth content, it has become more socially acceptable for adults to entertain themselves like children.
One of the foremost examples of companies marketing to adults is adult arcades. Some very popular places, like Dave and Busters, contain a huge arcade specifically marketed towards adults. Their tag line reads “Eat, Drink, Play.” A patron must be 18 or older to enter after six p.m., where they have a plethora of arcade games and serve alcohol. The author has heard it referred to as “The Adult Chuck E. Cheese.” The author has been to this place for many of his friends’ birthday parties. Drinking liquor and acting like a kid sounds like a great way to celebrate getting older. Portland has Ground Kontrol downtown, which is a popular bar/arcade with vintage arcade games in it. When mentioned to other collegiate classmates, their responses were along the lines of: “Oh, that place is awesome.”
Another example is the appearance of more and more video games with adult content. In Mass Effect, the player has the choice to start a relationship, and through their choices can have sex with another in-game character. There is no nudity, but it’s done in a PG-13 sort-of-way, in that all the vital parts are covered. Mass Effect is in no way the first game to do this. One of the most notable demonstrations of sexual content is the “rocking car” found in the Grand Theft Auto series of games. In these games, the player has the ability to pick up a female streetwalker, and their money total goes down twenty five dollars. There is no nudity, but the explicit act is implied. Adult themes, including extreme violence, seem to be the center of many of these games. Certain games have imagery of literally blowing the player’s opponents to pieces rendered in fantastic computer art. Many have said that these games are going too far, and that they are becoming too real or too violent. Some of these games exhibit the “uncanny valley” effect, wherein gamers experience revulsion when violence “looks too real.” This author believes this to be entirely perception based. Whenever there is a beautifully made human character in a game, the author marvels at its creativity and craftsmanship. Perhaps games are not quite at the point to sicken people from sheer appearance? What about when a player shoots the perfectly crafted digital human in the head, with a flash of blood, and then moves on to the next digital victim? Tom Bissell was playing the kind of game I am describing. He plays Fallout 3 for seven hours straight, instead of watching history in the making. This adult would rather play a game. (Bissell)A further example are children’s films that have adult themes in them to attract adult viewers. A great example of this phenomenon is the Shrek series of movies. They seem to always cut off at the last minute before an offensive word, or make subtle reference to sexual themes, or include subtle references to other R-rated films. Some would argue that this would be so that adults who take their children to these films can enjoy the movies also, and this author does not disagree with that. Conversely, is it socially acceptable for adults without children to go and see these films? Also, do these children not pick up on these innuendos? Society is already questioning Disney’s moral compass; the media does not need to add layers of adult content to kids films. We look back on old Disney films and think how morally outdated they are: racism, sexism, a false sense of history. Are future generations going to look at our films and say how pervasively adult our kids films are?
So what came first, the chicken or the egg? Video game developers, films producers, arcade owners making adult themed media and making it more socially acceptable for adults to play games, watch cartoons, get drunk and play skeeball for tickets to buy that big pink teddy bear? Or are adults really drawn to children-themed content? A sad look at our society would say we all are looking for something to cover up or de-stress our adult lives.
Drinking, drugs, escapism into literature, and playing video games are ways in which adults can avoid that one thing they can never escape from: their own boring lives. Adults are always paying bills, worrying about one’s credit, working a crap job, living a life that is not enjoyable, and feeling a sense of hopelessness. Pick your poison. there is feeling of wonderment that has been lost to mundane life, that is recovered through video games and films. This recovery occurs through simple whimsical storylines to far-off destinations, of places no one will travel to. They contain noble characters, with straightforward goals and purposes. They contain magic love, where one doesn’t have to worry about saying the wrong things. Avoiding the problems can potentially be unhealthy, but at what point does one’s obsession become unhealthy? It is completely subjective. If there is no way to directly fix life’s problems, maybe the “de-stress activity” is the only way to avoid going insane. As long as someone is not overly obsessed with said activity, do not judge people for what they do to relax.
