Moral Combat

Moral Combat is a documentary presenting both sides of an argument on the subject of video game violence and their effect on modern society.


Shot entirely in high-definition video, the full-length feature documentary studies the controversial, polarizing subject of the video game controversy through a series of interviews with experts on both sides of the matter – some believing that violent games should be banned, others supporting their protection under the First Amendment.The film makes extensive use of green screen technology to blend the subject matter being discussed (games, characters, archival news footage) in the background, while keeping the interviewee actively in the shot.


The trailer was uploaded to YouTube on December 27, 2006 and was met with overwhelming concern and dismay from gamers around the globe who felt it sensationalised the topic and serves as a rhetoric piece for anti-games and anti-gamer activists and political figures. The trailer was viewed over 100,000 times in the coming weekend and spurred debate on scores of websites.


Interviewed in the film are leading politicians, journalists, academics, consumer advocates and special interest group executives, game developers, retailers, trade associations and publishers.

                                                                                       - Wiki


My own thoughts on the documentary were that it was fairly unbiased, though I am still sure myself that video game violence is only as bad as the parents of the children playing the games let it become, and that the actions of one radical individual who may take the influence of a video game too far do not accurately represent the majority of gamers. I grew up drawing pictures of people getting their heads cut off and all sorts of violent things; I played violent video games and watch violent films. Yet I'm the least violent person I know, and I have a sense of self responsibility; I don't drink, or smoke, I'm not unhealthy and I see video games as an inspiration. It isn't proper to blame the video game when it is the responsibility of the individual player to decide how they react to it. 


Firstly, game violence is reacted to much more negatively than violence found in any other media; films, books, comics and radio to name some examples. The problem with people buying underage games lies with the parents, and as reported in the documentary, 80% of people playing underage games do so because their parents bought the game for them. It is the parent's responsibility to make sure that the games they are buying are adequate for their child to play.


I myself am familiar with this; my brother's copy of GTA San Andreas was taken back to the store by our parents after they read an article about how the developers removed a sex mini-game. I didn't agree with it back then but I can respect my parents decisions now.


The documentary did provide some good points though. Violence in video games like Postal 2 is agreeably pointless, and does not contribute much to the game. I am a firm believer that violence is dramatic and often necessary for story and narrative, or as part of character development, but when it is involved in the game for nothing but the violence, it shouldn't be involved at all.