Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Their aim is to deceive parents and educators and to promote the sale of
media products: harmless games like Sims and FIFA, or violent games like
World of Warcraft (online) and Call of Duty, which present a glorification
of war. Nintendo is primarily responsible for entry-level programs such as
the Mario series for Game Boys. In particular, the racing games already
train the kids how to win at the expense of others; shooter and strategy
games invent a defensive situation around the killing in order to calm the
parents and to please the Defence Minister. Microsoft as a leading
hardware supplier is also a sponsor of the Federal Ministry for Family
Affairs. The company initiates campaigns such as "Schools on the Net!",
which provide for the computerization of schools and for a sustainable
brand loyalty. Or it advertizes successfully with supposed educational
offerings such as "Smart Mice", a computer program which is allegedly
designed to promote the language skills of children in kindergarten.
Minister von der Leyen is the patron of the "Smart Mice" program.
Scientifically proven is the opposite, i.e. the continuous decrease of the
2
If you follow the cash flows of companies like Microsoft, Nintendo, and
Electronic Arts, which are represented in the BIU [Federal Association of
Interactive Entertainment Software], many things become clear. The BIU
drives a sophisticated PR strategy: self-financed studies, supported
"scientists", contests and prizes, and good public relations coupled with
lobbying at government level and in the Bundestag.
The MPs Dorothee Bär (CSU) and Jörg Tauss (SPD) have made it their
task to represent the interests of the BIU in Parliament – e.g., in 2007
with the initiative "Promote valuable computer games, strengthen media
competence", which is primarily concerned with economic development.
"Protection of minors" and "media competence" are merely a fig leaf.
Dorothee Bär's "commitment" does not only refer to "the discussion about
how to deal with computer games", as she affirms on the homepage of
the German Bundestag. She is also a substitute member of the
Broadcasting Council of the Deutsche Welle and member of the Board of
Trustees of the Federal Center for Political Education.[3] An expert hearing
made clear how she actually deals with the risks of computer games. After
a conference in May 2007, Bär told the press that there was no scientific
evidence of the relationship between playing computer games and
violence - immediately after experts had presented in detail precisely this
connection! One of the scientists, Prof. Dr. Christian Pfeiffer, Director of
the Criminological Research Institute of Lower Saxony, explained in detail,
"The underlying data are ... the findings from our student survey in 2005,
which revealed that every second boy at the age of 10 has experience
with games rated 16+ or 18+ ... This alone shows that there is reason
enough for action. ...
games for the market. This is not acceptable to us. Both empirical
evidence of media effects research and the basic values of our society
suggest that those games should be placed on the Index or even be
prosecuted."[4] But Ms. Bär does not see any need for action. In his
résumé, however, Christian Pfeiffer clearly demonstrates the connection
between intensive use of violent computer games, poor school
performance, and increased violence.
Since 2000, SPD member Tauss from the constituency district Karlsruhe-
country, has been the speaker of the Working Group for Education and
Research; for six years, he has been the chairman of his parliamentary
party in the Subcommittee New Media. A specialist? As an author, Tauss
writes for the journal Politik und Kultur[5], a publication of the German
Cultural Council[6], which claims to be scientific and is dedicated to the
study of PC games beyond the aspect of violence. Under the title
"Computer Games – an Important Cultural and Economic Asset", Tauss
declares the virtual fighting games to be of a protective value that is,
regrettably, "still missing the necessary public recognition".[7]
The booming games industry in Germany has long fought for this
recognition - with corresponding "expert reports" and with dirty tricks.
And, in the summer of 2008, received for that the honorable reward of the
German Cultural Council. The Federal Association of the Developers of
Computer Games G.A.M.E. was admitted as a member in the section Film
and Audiovisual Media. For Olaf Zimmermann, managing director of the
German Cultural Council, it is clear: "Art and games are no separate
worlds. Computer games are a cultural asset. They must be treated as
such and deserve public support."[8]
Thus, the orientation of the Federal Center for Political Education in this
area is not surprising. As part of its self-declared mission to strengthen
democratic awareness, it publishes educational media guidelines and
suggests an open scientific debate. But here, too, industry is hidden
behind: The graduated game researcher Christoph Klimmt (lecturer at the
Academy of Music and Drama in Hannover, advisory board member of the
eJournal GameScience, and also a writer for Politik und Kultur) is well-
known for his very positive assessments of computer games. At the
Federal Center, he can claim in an article, "Games give pleasure - and this
is important" [9] He himself likes to play "Battlefield 2" - a network
shooter game, in which a war in the Middle and Far East, under
participation of the United States and the European Union, provides plenty
of victims through the use of best military equipment.[10]
One of the main venues for the games industry is the "GamesConvention"
in Leipzig. Till the end of 2008, the BIU was its honorary sponsor; from
2009 on, however, the BIU will host its own Fair under the name of
GAMESCom in Cologne, where Electronic Arts and the Spielraum-Institut
are also located. Not only are the Federal Center for Political Education
and the Spielraum-Institut regularly represented at the "Games
Convention" - the Fair is also supposed to introduce children and young
people to the virtual world. There is a special area called "GC Family"; in
the sections "Children's and Family Games", "Learning & Knowledge", and
"Media Competence", providers from the industry present themselves and
their products - according to his own statement, in order to come into
direct contact with the "core target group", the children.
The sponsoring of AOL and CompuServe for the German Association for
Media Effects Research [DGMF] also fits into the picture, because the
DGMF has the task to relativize long since proven effects, especially those
of violent games. Those who claim that there are not sufficient long-term
studies available to prove the negative consequences of the (interactive)
electronic media in children's daily life, should be advised to check the
independence of the conflicting studies.
[1] cf. the latest results of the "Computerspiele und Gewalt" Conference,
November 20, 2008, in Munich.
[2] Christiakis u.a. (2004): "Early television exposure and subsequent attentional
problems in children." In: Pediatrics, 113(4): 708-713. Pfeiffer u.a. (2006):
"Mediennutzung, Schulerfolg, Jugendgewalt und die Krise der Jungen" In:
Zeitschrift für Jugendkriminalrecht und Jugendhilfe 3/2006 (s. www.kfn.de);
Robinson u.a. (2001). "Effects of Reducing Children's Television and Video Game
Use on Aggressive Behavior." in: Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med., 155: 17 - 23. (sog.
Stanford-Studie); Anderson, Craig (2006): Violent Video Game Effects on
Children and Adolescents. Oxford Univ-Press; Hüther u.a. (22007):
Computersüchtig - Kinder im Smog moderner Medien, Padmos-Verlag; Spitzer
(2005): Vorsicht Bildschirm! München, ders: (2005): "Computer in der Schule?"
In: Nervenheilkunde 5/2005: 355-358; Grossman/DeGaetano (2002): Wer hat
unseren Kindern das Töten beigebracht? Stuttgart.
[3]
http://www.bundestag.de/bundestag/abgeordnete17/biografien/B/baer_dorothee
.html
[4] http://www.kfn.de/versions/kfn/assets/offenerbrief052007.pdf
[5] http://www.kulturrat.de/puk_liste.php?detail=57&rubrik=puk
[6] http://www.kulturrat.de
[7] http://www.tauss.de/index.php?
mod=content&menu=1002&page_id=5363&level=1
[8] http://www.sz-online.de/nachrichten/multimedia/artikel.asp?id=1914392
[9] http://www.bpb.de/themen/6Y8B15,0,Spiele_machen_Freude_
%96_und_das_ist_wichtig_so.html
[10] http://www.bpb.de/themen/SGJ2ZO,0,Die_Spielsaison_ist_er%F6ffnet.html
[11] http://www.kfn.de/versions/kfn/assets/Textvergleich-Synopse.pdf
[12] http://www.pcwelt.de/start/gaming_fun/archiv/136814/
medienexperte_fordert_ende_der_gewaltdiskussion_um_computerspielen/
7
[13] It is no coincidence that the bus of the German Armed Forces tours the
country in search of young cannon fodder with a rich offering of such games on
board.
[15] http://www.sin-net.de
[16] Berg, Achim 26.10.2008 "Mit dem PC kommt die Gerechtigkeit" Frankfurter
Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung
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Source: http://www.hintergrund.de/content/view/319/136/