Ban These Evil Games

The term rhetoric can often be defined as "the art of using language so as to persuade or influence others; the body of rules to be observed by a speaker or writer in order that he may express himself with eloquence" (Oxford English Dictionary, 1989). Therefore rhetoric is simply persuasive language; however it can also be any other form of communication. It can also have cultural values. For example speakers and writers can hold values and beliefs. Rhetoric can also attempt to persuade an audience of the truth or importance of your own values and beliefs.

When applying the term rhetoric to the games I have played, I can also apply the representation of the game itself. For example I played the game Manhunt, which came out in 2003. The game is played from a third person perspective, and tells the narrative story of James Earl Cash. From playing the game myself, I found it to be extremely violent and it was not enjoyable to play. The game was in fact banned in several countries. When looking at Manhunt you could argue that it uses persuasive language. On the other hand, although it is violent it does not necessary mean that someone will go out and kill someone. However these types of games do cause moral panic, for example video games can "teach maladaptive ways of thinking, feeling and behaving." (2006, p.366). When comparing Manhunt to another game I played called Condemned on the Xbox 360, you could argue that the sole objective of these games is to cause violence and kill. This is because the main character is a man trying to prove his innocence and find out the truth about himself. When applying rhetoric to this game, I found the objective was to shoot any man in your way. The emphasis was on killing and aggression. The values were that if a man attacks you then flight back with what you have. Secondly the solution is to use your weapon. Lastly when looking at rhetoric, shooting people is seen as justice in the game as the character is innocence. This type of genre of game has many negative traits attached to it; this could be because computers games are more “intense” than any other media form. Questionably it could also be the “interactive nature of games”. (2006, p.348).

Bibliography :

Oxford English Dictionary (1989) Retrieved on 22nd February 2007 from the world wide web:
http://dictionary.oed.com/cgi/entry/50205926?query_type=word&queryword=rhetoric&fir
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&hilite=50205926


Vorderer, P., Bryant, J. (2006) Playing Video Games, United States of America: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.