The Ongoing Assault on the Entertainment Industry

Is the entertainment industry truly to blame for society's problems? Behavioral problems linked to video games? A destructive youth caused by the music industry? Not at all. People love to point fingers, just to have something to blame something else on, and this is no different. It is entertainment, but I do not have to reinterate to people a thousand times because they still would not understand. So I'll just have to define it like you are all in elementary school again.
I actually find it quite sad to start off an article with a definition, a rather simple on at that. But it is necessary because it seems the people of America have either lost or never embraced the meaning of the word "entertainment"

en-ter-tain-ment (ntr-tnmnt)

NOUN:

1. The act of entertaining.

2. The art or field of entertaining.

3. Something that amuses, pleases, or diverts, especially a performance or show.

4. The pleasure afforded by being entertained; amusement.

Now if America embraced this definition for what it is we would not have disputes over what causes violence in children because when it all comes down to it. its the person who watches and or exposes themselves to these alleged sources of evil, and their ability to separate the entertainment aspect from reality. Example, every who's anyone has played the "Grand Theft Auto" series. That title as well as others (i.e. Mortal Kombat) has had a ton of video game controversy. Mothers love to put blame on titles such as these, but are these truly to blame for violence or is it to failure to discourage that the source was solely entertainment based and created for nothing more?

Thats the problem. The kids (or whoever) claims they are effected by these are dramatically incorrect. If this title was created for "the act of entertaining" or "something that amuses, pleases, or diverts" then why should they be the the blamed for someone taking them out of their context. Entertainment is as it is defined and nothing more. The fact that the users take it out of context is purely the users fault, don't you think so? Just like substance abuse, if a pill is designated to used in particular circumstances or in certain doses and it is used beyond it is specified it is know as abusment. Violent video games, violent movies and explicit music is defined as entertainment. To enjoy for one's amusement. Nowhere on the pack or in the game does it state "you win so go kill someone in real life for extra points", if it does inform me because I would like to see that. So apparently if anything that has designated parameters are used or breached in any fashion, it is a type of abuse and the users fault.

It seems that the failure to discourage gives them a reason to place blame. WRONG! The inability to determine what is right and what is wrong, especially when it comes to entertainment based sources, is an apparent illness. To allow yourself to become vulnerable and able to be swayed by these instances could be personal weaknesses and not the product of a video game or movie.Personally I play the most violent of games, go to the most goriest of films and listen too some of the most explict lyrics out there on the market. But the difference is I know it is meant for the sake of entertainment and entertainment purposes only. I have the right state of mind to enjoy explicit content for the sheer entertainment of myself and nothing more. The people of today should understand that entertainment is what it is, and not responsible of anything more.

Some Publicized tragedies

- On April 20, 1999, American high school students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold killed 13 people and themselves in the Columbine High School massacre. The pair had been fans of the Doom and Wolfenstein 3D video games, said their mothers.

- In November 2001, 21-year-old American Shawn Woolley committed suicide after what his mother claimed was an addiction to Everquest.

- On June 7, 2003, 18-year-old American Devin Moore shot and killed three police officers after grabbing one of the officers' weapons following an arrest for the possession of a stolen vehicle. At trial, the defense claimed that Moore had been inspired by the video game Grand Theft Auto III.

- On June 25, 2003, two American step brothers, Joshua and William Buckner, aged 14 and 16, respectively, used a rifle to fire at vehicles on Interstate 40 in Tennessee, killing a 45-year-old man and a wounding a 19-year-old woman. The two shooters claimed to have been inspired by Grand Theft Auto III.

- On February 27, 2004 in Leicester, UK, 17-year-old Warren LeBlanc lured 14-year-old Stefan Pakeerah into a park and murdered him by stabbing him repeatedly. Leblanc was reportedly obsessed with Manhunt, and his actions had been chillingly reminiscent of scenes in that very game. His mother Giselle Pakeerah has been campaigning against violent video games in the UK ever since.

- In July 5, 2004, Cody Posey killed and buried his parents after being inspired by Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.

- In October 2004, a 41-year-old Chinese man named Qiu Chengwei stabbed 26-year-old Zhu Caoyuan to death over a dispute regarding the sale of a virtual weapon the two had jointly won in the game Legend of Mir 3.

- In December 2007, a Russian man was beaten to death over an argument in the MMORPG Lineage II. The man was killed when his guild and a rival guild challenged each other to a live brawl.