Professor says videogames promote stereotypes in youth

02/20/08 - Dr. Anna Everett, the chairwoman of film and media studies at the University of California at Santa Barbara, said videogames convey stereotypes during a multiculturalism lecture in the Chafee Social Science Center last night. However, Everett described herself as a videogame enthusiast, and said she played "Super Mario Brothers" while working on her master's degree.

"We don't want to censor games. That's not what this kind of work is about," Everett said, referring to her research on technology and socioeconomic factors. She also said there is "no direct correlation" between videogames and violent behavior.

But a wider variety of videogames with other genres and characters would reduce videogame stereotypes, Everett said.

Everett began her lecture with pictures from "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas," the primary focus of her thesis. The urban "ghetto" setting and story line of GTASA acts to "seed and construct racial identities," Everett said.

Other games, like "Bully," a game set in a prep school that came from the same company as GTASA, also perpetuates stereotypes, Everett said.

"Why I'm talking about these things is because, number one, I love videogames; and, number two, I hate videogames."

Everett said videogames have benefits. They improve performance in math, computer programming and life skills, she said.

But videogames also carry risks. Everett said most videogames are intended for entertainment, and when young people play them, they retain some of the messages. She called the retention a "documentary effect."

"For better or for worse, kids use videogames as filters," she said, noting the guns and alcohol in a picture of GTASA. "Kids will learn what lesson is in a game," she said.

Another game Everett displayed was called "Ethnic Cleansing," and it was released on Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday about seven years ago, Everett said. The game features a white male trying to prevent his race from becoming extinct.

"The race war has begun," the game's introduction said. "Your skin is the uniform . the white race depends on you to secure its existence."

Everett said she visited a web forum for fans of GTASA to discuss stereotypes and racism. Everett said she entered a forum titled "What the Hell is Everyone's Problem?"

A person Everett called Respondent One said "you play someone who deals drugs and is in a gang. You know, your average black guy." Everett said a second respondent said, "Your ignorance is hilarious."

Everett said the forums had posts about many races.

"The racism isn't always one way," Everett said. "As we look at these games, we need to think about how race is discussed."

However, the technology on which those forums are based is also leading to new solutions. Everett said kids in Georgia used social networking websites, such as MySpace and Facebook, in addition to text messages and YouTube to fight racism.

"One of the things I find interesting today is that young people recognize the power they have. They are seeing that what they want to say and what they can do matters," she said. "I welcome the shift that's occurring."

Everett said the technology alone will not combat racism.

"We can't rely on the technology. We still need our own bodies on the line," Everett said.