Penn & Teller - BS - videogames

[SenseOfTumour]

Penn & Teller have made an episode of Bullshit about the age old 'do video games turn kids into killers?' debate.

Now I know it's at least a couple of months old, but I just saw and while I think it was interesting, if a case of preaching to the converted ( as many eps of BS are). I've found even when I disagree with their viewpoint I can still enjoy the show.

The final shot made me a little uncomfortable, but, was necessary I think to nail home the difference between fantasy gaming and real life. I just hope the kid doesn't get too much hassle over it, tho if I was him I'd just remind people that I know an ex marine with a lot of guns who has a large piece of woodland to dispose of bodies on.

http://www.milkandcookies.com/link/168812/detail/

Hope a link is ok, I know strictly speaking it's TV and might get pulled for copyright stuff however, and of course, if it's a problem to link it, by all means delete the link.

 

[PurpleRain]

I don't like Penn & Teller at all. They don't do very good documentaries and are horribly cynical and one sided. Maybe they have a target audience of close minded folk wanting something to blame for things but I think people should start checking out Louis Theroux. This man makes wonderful documentaries. This is how reporting should be.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Theroux

 

[Baby Eater]

I don't like Penn & Teller at all. They don't do very good documentaries and are horribly cynical and one sided. Maybe they have a target audience of close minded folk wanting something to blame for things but I think people should start checking out Louis Theroux. This man makes wonderful documentaries. This is how reporting should be.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Theroux

you do realise that they TRY to be biased right?its a documentary but its also being funny

 

[BonsaiK]

Documentaries are not supposed to be impartial and balanced, though. The whole point of a documentary is that it is biased. Many of the world's best documentaries have a very clear, specific agenda.

I agree than Penn & Teller is absolute garbage though, because they tend to nanny their opinions out for everyone like their audience is 6 years old. Also they just have a very poor sense of humour. They don't really understand how humour works in a documentary context. Louis Theroux is 100 times better because he lets his subjects act more naturally and put their own foots in it, rather than trying to make them look stupid with lame immature voiceovers and other stupid tricks after the fact.

 

[Arsen]

Their stuff is purely satire, therefore I don't take it seriously.

 

[tsb247]

If you had to play Desert Bus for six days straight, you would want to kill someone too!

 

[PurpleRain]

Documentaries are not suppoed to be imartial and balanced, though. The whole point of a documentary is that it is biased. Many of the world's best documentaries have a very clear, specific agenda.

Oh yeah. I understand that it is supposed to have a side in which it supports, but P&T are far wing with theirs acting like the other side is an absolute idiot or are full of stupid people.

Louis I find does a good job in covering his point of view and points allowing the viewer to come to their own conclusions.

Their stuff is purely satire, therefore I don't take it seriously.

But a lot of people do. This is where problems arise.

 

[syndicated44]

Ohhhhhhhhhhh this guy. I thought I recognized him then the fact that he kept screaming random expletives to hopefully keep your attention. I saw him rant about Up! the kids movie and Up! a 70's movie apparently with a lot of knockers and I still dont really like him.

On topic though uhh I dont really know. There are a lot of different people that do a lot of different things that are raised a lot of different ways. A video game is most likely not going to be the straw that breaks the camel's back. It is most likely going to be an abusive parent, a frequently bad situation at school, or a series of many problems. To be honest when I play a game I have a hangup killing people. For the most part I avoid as much combat as I humany possibly can. I know they are just a program a series of 1's and 0's but shit if they were real. This isnt their war. Its a war set up by a handful of old men pissed that they dont have more money or more power. So they start wars and destroy things. If anything video games teach kids to fight for what you believe in more then what you are blindly told to do. Games are drenched with Americana and the classic hero stories.

Its the world we live in that causes people to go bonkers. Video games may be a deciding factor or it may just be that the kid played video games. We live in uncertain and uneasy times. Its easy to blame whatever is the most vulnerable especially when it is easier then looking at your own problems and coming to terms with yourself.

 

[BonsaiK]

Documentaries are not suppoed to be imartial and balanced, though. The whole point of a documentary is that it is biased. Many of the world's best documentaries have a very clear, specific agenda.

Oh yeah. I understand that it is supposed to have a side in which it supports, but P&T are far wing with theirs acting like the other side is an absolute idiot or are full of stupid people.

Louis I find does a good job in covering his point of view and points allowing the viewer to come to their own conclusions.

Well, yeah. P&T is crap though, absolute garbage made by and for eternal adolescents. Make no mistake though, Louis is steering you towards a certain opinion as well. All docos do this. He's just far, far more subtle and clever about it.

 

[THAC0]

while i agree with them on a couple of issues, i really don't like them.

This one was alright.

 

[joystickjunki3]

I like Penn & Teller, but I felt bad for the kid at the end of that episode. I hope his friends don't watch the show. Kids can be mean.

 

[Vivvav]

I've seen a few episodes of the show. Penn and Teller have a definite bias, but it's because that there's a bias that already exists and is accepted by the public, and every issue needs 2 sides.
Also, how about the end of that episode? Powerful stuff.

 

[K03AK]

Jees, this topic kills me.

Documentaries and certain TV shows that are biased on a certain viewpoint?! Well no shit, welcome to the real world. That is is how it is made and that's how it works!

P&T are satirical show in the first place, they are not meant to be taken as a serious documentary. If you fail to recognize that in the first place then you shouldn't criticize it. It is clear that it "preaches to the quire" and uses extremes to prove its point but you should be smart enough to get through that and move on.

On the other channel new FOX news report "Are video game and violence linked?!" Listen to our special report tonight at 6!"

 

[SimuLord]

I don't like Penn & Teller at all. They don't do very good documentaries and are horribly cynical and one sided. Maybe they have a target audience of close minded folk wanting something to blame for things but I think people should start checking out Louis Theroux. This man makes wonderful documentaries. This is how reporting should be.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Theroux

It is exactly this sort of zeal that has caused me to develop as strong a distaste for the P&T/Richard Dawkins/Christopher Hitchens sort of atheist as I have for Christian/Islamic fundamentalists. Of course, they themselves probably think I'm a stupid fool because I myself believe in gods and think that religion makes a very useful failsafe against the natural moral foibles of mankind.

If the "reason" advocates want us to see reason as a viable option on which a society is built, they should stop acting like cultists.

 

[Nu-Hir]

What I've noticed about the entire series of Bullshit is that they take the unpopular side of an argument, and attempt to give their little spin on it. Yes, it's biased. Yes, Penn Jillette is loud, rude, crude, and a little demeaning. That's just part of his act. Just like Teller never talking, it's just part of the act.

The only problem with the show is that he's pretty much preaching to the choir. Most people who watch the show are the ones that agree with him. Bullshit just happens to be one of those things that you either love it or hate it, just like all "documentary" makers. I can't stand Michael Moore, so I don't watch his movies. I love Penn and Teller, so I watch their show and their comedy/magic act, and have plans to see them in Vegas one of these days.

I'm assuming you made the thread to discuss about the subject of the show, do violent video games make violent teenagers? My answer is no. I've been playing video games for about 25 years. My first real violent game was Mortal Kombat back in 93. Then in 95 I got a two pack of Doom and Wolf3d. I've also owned every Grand Theft Auto except for GTA4 (I even have the London Expansion for GTA1). I have many FPS games on my PC, and other violent games for my consoles.

I haven't ripped hearts out of people's chests, set people on fire, shot Hitler in the face, killed hell spawns, stolen cars, shot cops, or anything bad like that. I may have copied that floppy, but that's neither here nor there. Violent video games don't make violent children, bad parenting does.

 

[SenseOfTumour]

I have to say, I really like Louis Theroux's stuff, and while I didn't think much of 'Supersize me', Morgan Spurlock's TV show, '30 Days' was really excellent, where someone with a certain view lives in a way to challenge that view for 30 days, such as a homophobe going to live with a gay couple, an atheist moving in with Christians etc.

Especially his one where he and his girlfriend tried living on minimum wage for 30 days, really swung the whole 'medical care needs to be cheaper or free for those in need' idea for me. OF course I'm in the UK where we have it, but being the baseline workers of America and having to choose between food, rent, and medicine shouldn't even have to be a choice in a civilised country.

As for BS, I've enjoyed episodes where I don't agree with their POV, I personally enjoy their presenting style.

 

[kawligia]

P&T B.S. is the best fucking thing to ever happen to T.V.

 

[Housebroken Lunatic]

They don't do very good documentaries and are horribly cynical and one sided.

I think their documentaries are quite funny and entertaining but tastes differ, like with so many other things. And as for being cynical and one sided, it never seems to have stopped them from making extraordinarily good points with each and every show they have done.