British censors have banned a violent video game from the UK for the first time in a decade. The video game 'Manhunt 2' was rejected for its "unrelenting focus on stalking and brutal slaying", the British Board of Film Classification said. The game is slated for global release on July 10th.
Should 'Manhunt-2' be banned in the United States -- like it has in Britain and Ireland?
Or is such a ban pointless? Won't a ban even create a lot of free publicity?
Yes, it should be banned. Even if the ban creates curiosity, it tells children that the adults do not condone the use of violent images and ideas as a form of entertainment.
I think banning it might make it more appealing. They need to have parent approval in order for a child under 18 to purchase it.
Personally I think the game and the people who made it are wrong in doing so. I think it is just another step in the way a civil society is declining. We are becoming so violent and uncaring to others.
Ban it and all violent video games. I'm also tired of the censorship card being pulled. It's bunk like this that ruins it for artists who are lumped in with those who are simply exploiting violent images for financial gain.
Nothing is more ridiculous than banning video games. People who are motivated to perform violent acts because of a game will snap due to anything. So you might as well start banning everything from motion pictures to religion.
Games like this should be banned and have no place in a civil society, and only degrade the social morals of the people who play them. Seriously, what is the point of having "games" like this? I don't have kids yet, but know that when I do, they will not be exposed to usless violence like this.
Who decides what games degrade social morals in civil society? Should it be you, or maybe me, I know why don’t we let Hitler judge what games should be banned? You have to remember people whose moral center is affected by a game are so unstable as to be offset by anything under the sun. I just wanted to ad for people who constantly put down violent video games should try playing one once. I got my 58 year old very stable and kind mother to play Grand Theft Auto 3; she loved it and found it to be a huge stress reliever, with the only complaint being that her arthritis limited how long she could play. All I’m saying is those who cry the loudest are those who know the least.
Banning something like a video game is absurd. It doesn't accomplish anything, and is free publicity besides. Our social and cultural woes are so far beyond silly band-aids like this.
Well, if we're going to start banning video games we might as well start banning free speech and free press, to start with then more freedoms later. I should have the right to play whatever video game I want to, and if it's too violent for children, then their parents should be doing their job, being parents and paying attention to their childrens actions and activities.
We have too many people that are influenced by video games and other make-believe entertainment. They are not all children. To introduce not just a violent video game, but a perverse video game, like manhunt where the players are the insane serial killer will be devastating to our society. In my opinion it is one step away from a video game of rapist or molestation. However, we live in a free world, or so that is what America is supposed to be and we all have the right to sell or buy what we will. It is for that reason that I believe manhunt 2 should have adults only, or whatever rating that would keep this out of regular store, as well as out of the reach of our children’s hands.
Modesto, Ca
It most certainly shouldn't be banned! Free speech isn't there to protect just the concepts you already like. So long as a work doesn't actively encourage criminal behavior or commit a crime of its own, adults with full legal rights should have access to it.
And while I haven't played Manhunt 2, I've played the original and it's clear that there is nothing that would cross the line. It's still very clear what you're doing is wrong, even if there is a certain layer of "cool" applied (the theme of the snuff film is played up to strong effect).
Besides, we've yet to see conclusive proof that games can instill dangerous behavior in youth that weren't already on the edge. A mentally ill child with violent tendencies will use many things as an excuse to lash out. Why punish the rest of society for something a very small fraction of the population can't even control?
Please, please ban this. As a teacher, I am suppose to have some sort of standards for behavior and language in my classroom. I feel this is a loosing battle for students. How is this classroom an island from what a student hears and sees outside the classroom? Can't I get a little help from society? Is there no responsibility that society has in raising our children? And don't tell me that because it will have a different rating, children won't see it. I hear from my students what they see. We now have preschoolers telling another student that they look sexy today. Apparently, our society thinks that is okay. - Donna
Of course not! What happened to freedom of speech?
What motivation do you have against it? The fact that some child will play it then go out and repeat the actions in real life? If a child does that, his parents are the ones to blaim, not an inanimate video game.
Besides, there are internet sites that show you how to make a bomb out of household items. If that is legal, why not this? Which has the potential to cause more damage?
It should absolutely be banned. The most effective and stabilizing tool in child-rearing is the firm, repeated definition of boundaries, even when the child is old enough to render the boundaries' enforcement difficult, and the child temporarily or perhaps permanently defies them. The message still gets imprinted; positive socialization gets reinforced. Since there is nothing in this game but gratuitous violence, all human boundaries within it have been grossly transgressed. Not only should children not be immersed in that level of gory violation--it certainly can't help adult psyches either.
Anyone who really supports "free rights" for our society should be supporting the "free rights" of the innocent people who become victims in the REAL WORLD from brutal acts like those in these videos. How about we all spend some energy supporting the safety of innocent people and not the MONEY MAKING creatures who will never cease to make a buck out of the nastiest offensive scum they can invent. I am repulsed that people are even debating this.
I have always believed in freedom of speech, but our society is slipping more and more back to the days of the lions killing Christians and other atrocities, and the crowd roaring for more blood. Parents are allowing TV and video games to babysit their children; they are not parenting. We don't let children drive cars or fight in wars. Why can't we ban this video at least from children?
I know! Why is it so difficult for parents to notice and say NO.
People are getting so de-sensitized by violence that it will seem to be normal behavior. Acting without conscious or thinking of how my behavior is affecting others. Not all but the number is increasing as time goes on but we simply don’t care about one another and we like to blame others for our mistakes. Obviously by all the frivolous lawsuits there are nowadays
06/20/2007 3:32:27 PM
