The Big Lie of Brandon Crisp

[laserwulf]

I know that this is just a cycle, like how comic books and Elvis were demonized when they were new to the scene, but this "award-winning" news program doesn't help their credibility by pandering like this. And like Andy suggested, watching the show got me riled up enough that I sent a message to the program. ( http://www.xfire.com/blog/laserwulf/ if anyone's curious.)

 

[BillBarilko]

Haven't watched it yet, and not sure I will... sounds like I'll end up being a little ashamed of my home and native land.

Funny, you don't get this kind of bullshit attitude towards gaming here in the Czech Republic. Well, at least not yet - we're a bit behind the curve when it comes to entertainment, interactive media, and touchy matters like this.

Besides, who needs video games when you've got hooliganism and, at the opposite end of the spectrum (though just as stupid), pseudo-anarchism?

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

Something worries me here in that we all might be falling for some Machiavellian ruse. Let's face it, if someone condemns lorry drivers for allegedly killing prostitutes, then there's lots of angry letters.
If someone accuses videogames though? Hordes and hordes of angry slathering...stereotypes. Let's face it, for every one of us normal looking people, there's at least two "Comic Shop Guy"s out there who just help to boost the shows ratings.

The interesting thing would be to have said TV company contact a Mr. Obama about his Wii.

 

[Xyllar]

I keep waiting for these sorts of articles to go away now that video games have been around for a few generations, and have become more or less mainstream (even the so-called hard core ones these news people are so fond of criticizing.) When is the media going to wake up and realize that not only is this stuff mostly harmless, it's a large part of our culture now?

 

[DMShade]

So...Video games are responsible for him falling out of a tree? Say What?

How much you wanna bet the last thing his parents said to him was "Go play outside like we did when we were kids!"?

Not just in games, but our culture as a whole, the notion has spread that the people who should be looking out for children includes everyone EXCEPT their parents. When the child does wrong or seems odd, the parents had nothing to do with that development, and why wasn't someone essentially doing their work for them? But if the child should excel, who's the first people looking for high fives when they had absolutely nothing to do with the field the kid's doing so well in?

Though I know it won't happen as businesses like TV producing companies must preach to their choir constantly or they may get bored and walk away, it's time to start holding People and not Items or Concepts as responsible for stunted development.

Billy's doing badly in Science because he's playing video games rather than doing his homework? Maybe he's doing that because you're watching poorly-made TV rather than trying (just TRYING) to help him when he's stuck.

 

[beddo]

Well, isn't this just the kind of ignorant crap that removes my faith in humanity.

Did you watch the programme?

 

[Ronwue]

To quote Bill Hicks : "One more retard dead? How am I going to sleep through the night". If he was such a bright kid as his friends claimed, he would have known to make the difference between what's really important and what is not.

 

[Aedwynn]

I know that this is just a cycle, like how comic books and Elvis were demonized when they were new to the scene...

Yes, I'm definitely seeing parallels with the demonisation of Dungeons & Dragons that happened during the late 70's and early 80's. I'm just hoping that as soon as everyone either plays video games or knows someone who does who isn't an Axe Crazy type then it'll all pass.

It looks like video games may have to go through their own version of Pat Pulling.
http://www.rpgstudies.net/stackpole/pulling_report.html

 

[Syntax Error]

This... this is just... Ugh.

I think I'm gonna have an aneurysm from too much STUPID.

I see what you did there.

I wonder when Videogames will transcend its status as "For Kids" in the eyes of the unwashed. You see, the only reason stuff like these happen is because Gaming is labeled as being "For Kids". And when something that is clearly "For Adults" enter that realm, bad shit will happen. It's all a farce, and what's difficult to swallow is that there are not enough people who will be the standard bearers against this type of idiocy.

 

[Clemenstation]

Pretty terrible stuff.

The CBC actually did a documentary a couple years back called Gamer Revolution.

http://www.cbc.ca/doczone/gamerrevolution.html

Not nearly as overtly negative as this Brandon Crisp garbage, although there are a few subtle jabs (LAN parties portrayed as endless rows of computers, people hunched over screens, nobody talking to each other in the dark, etc.). It was rather insulting, now that I think about it, but was probably the closest thing to an even-handed perspective as I've ever seen on TV. That's sad.

Screen media hates video games, because video games steal attention away from them.

 

[chenry]

As a Canadian, I have to say it's really disappointing to see some of my tax dollars go to drivel like this. Yeah, the CBC gets money from the government to this bullshite.

This is the actual show...
http://www.cbc.ca/fifth/2008-2009/top_gun/video.html
...now register your disgust, people. ;-)

"This discussion is now closed"

Lol.

 

[Vorocano]

Great article, but I wish you would've mentioned the fact that the CBC is canadas publicly funded TV channel, and it is us Canadian taxpayers who are literally paying for this garbage. It is also well known that the CBC panders to the government of the moment (currently the conservatives) to ensure more funding, which could explain the bias in this "news" story. Personally, I think we should outlaw trees

That is utter nonsense. The CBC does not pander to the ruling government. It is as red liberal as humanly possible, because it knows that any conservative party that tries to cut its budget or impose any sense of quality control (which it badly needs - now that Air Farce is off the air and TSN has the rights to CFL games, the only things worth watching on the whole network are "This Hour" and "Hockey Night in Canada") will be demonized as "attacking Canadian culture" by the yuppies in Toronto and the granola eaters in Vancouver, as though all distinctively Canadian culture will instantly disappear the second anyone tries to impose standards (or for that matter even the slightest bit of objectivity) on the network.

You want Canadian content that also contains some quality? Watch TSN and CTV.

 

[Mrsoupcup]

Wow I live an hour from his home town. It is a shit storm right now. Danm this is goig to be bad for Canadian and American gamers.

Edit: I have seen the fifth estate (Canadian show) it may help calm things if we could get a spot on it.

 

[Mrsoupcup]

The fifth estate was one of the few decent expose-style news shows on TV, and then they had to fuck with videogames. No news group (North American at least) has ever, EVER made a pro-gaming article. They all seem to jump on the anti-gamer bandwagon like every man and his FOX.

Nowadays, if the name Brandon Crisp is mentioned, you can be sure a shitstorm of half-baked anti-gamer arguments is on its way. Which is a shame cause, from what I can tell, Brandon was a good kid. It's a real shame that anti-gamers decided to try to capitalize on his death. Fucking bastards.

well when my parents split I turned to games for comfort, so what I say is there must be something going on in his life to make him game so much, not just because video games are evil he could have been abused or bullied. (During my parents divorce when I was 6 I must have put 200 hours in pokemon gold)

 

[jimduckie]

the cbc is paid for by the canadian gov which is bad enough but when they don't show both sides of the story that is wrong they have a habit of this , as for the crisp family the loss of there son is sad but he should not have been playing cod in the first place and to blame the game industry is just ignorance

 

[AntiAntagonist]

Lol

CBC correspondent
Pro gaming team

'You know that kids under 17 play M games'
'Yeah but they are getting to it through parents'
'They are probably just going to these tournaments'
'There's a required parental consent form for players under 16'
(cut to next footage)
(voice over)'However those kids can easily play those games online'

Circular logic FTW!

 

[teknoarcanist]

This kind of garbage almost isn't even worth combating anymore.
"MY GOD MAN. We're going to blow the doors wide open on this INTERWEB MURDER-SIMULATOR GAMING BULL-SHIT! These kids will know the wrath of RESPONSIBILITY."
There's no rational way to respond to that. You might as well beat your head against a brick wall for all the effect writing letters to these idiots would have.

 

[onelifecrisis]

"It wasn't easy but I watched the entire show and you should, too. Not because there's an ounce of journalistic value to it but because this sort of damaging nonsense is being fed to a viewing public that in many cases will swallow it whole unless other people take the initiative to counter the half-truths and misleading statements with facts."

Some people are stupid. The people who made that show aren't, but they know that other people who are will watch the show. Writing to them to tell them that we also know that stupid people will watch their show is like telling a weather reporter that rain comes from clouds. People aren't stupid because of the show; on the contrary, the show exists because stupid people exist. In a world full of unstupid people, no such show would ever be made (because it would have no audience).

As a wise man once said: you can't fix stupid. I'm not going to try.

 

[anaphysik]

I'm glad I watched the entire show (quick linky in case no one else posted it: http://www.cbc.ca/fifth/2008-2009/top_gun/video.html). It makes my bitching about how fucked up the media is feel grounded with evidence, rather than speculation.

By the end of it all, the programme finally gets out and says it: gaming isn't a 'real sport' like hockey supposedly is. If the kid had run away over his parents banning him from hockey practice when he was just a bit away from achieving some prominence, I bet the spin on the story would be entirely opposite; namely: 'what the fuck is wrong with these parents, who don't care to support their child's interest and are ashamed of him for being so good at it?' That's what it all boils down to - a tragic incident for this family, who understand they did something wrong, but completely miss the point of what they did wrong: they didn't get involved with their kid, they discounted his gaming interests as rubbish, and they didn't allow their own views to be moulded by their kid. Their regret was in giving their kid a gaming system instead of making him do 'real world important stuff' like hockey (freakin' hockey makes the world go round, of course >_<). They still believe that they were morally right. I wish I couldn't believe that, but I have to.