The Video Game Violence Debate

Almost 3 out of 4 Americans consider it a worthy goal to do something to temper the violence in our media, yet violent movies, television and video games are extremely popular. Do violent games, like the recently updated Grand Theft Auto series, along with other violent entertainment, chip away at our sensitivities about violence and impact our notions about conflict resolution? This time on Peace Talks Radio, the video game violence debate. And it is a debate. While no one is FOR letting very young kids play the most violent games, there ARE authors and academics who defend the presence of violence in the games rated for adults, and question the strength of the research studies that suggest that exposure to violent entertainment correlates with aggression and desensitization toward violence. On the other side, there are those who decry the violence, believe the negative effects research to be true and call for tighter restrictions on violent game sales and content. We hear both sides of the conversation on this program. Guests: Bob McCannon, a media scholar, educator and media reform activist, co-founder and co-president of the Action Coalition for Media Education; Arizona State University Education Professor James Paul Gee, author of "Why Video Games Are Good for Your Soul"; Dmitri Williams, Assistant Professor in the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Southern California. Paul Ingles, Host.