UK Culture Department Distances Itself From Medal of Honor Outrage

[UnravThreads]

I'm glad to see the department stepping in and saying, in a roundabout way, that Liam Fox needs to STFU. Liam Fox should not use his position to call for a ban on a product that doesn't need banning - it's not his responsibility, it's not his job, it doesn't have anything to do with him.

He should shut up and get back to getting our troops out of there.

 

[Cartographer]

I do not see what the big issue with getting to play the bad guys is, neither in single nor multiplayer.

You do not become any less patriotic by playing as (what most players will identify as) the bad guys.

I mean we play as the Scourge in WarCraft3, which are one of the games bad guys. And yes they are of fictional origins, but I think everyone that plays the game can distinguish them as the bad guys.

Just as I think we can distinguish that the taliban are bad guys in Medal of Honor.

That's a pretty ignorant post, if I might say.

I doubt any member of the Taliban wakes up in the morning, looks in his mirror and thinks to himself:
"I'm a real nasty piece of work, I'm a bad person who's only motivation is to hurt, injure and maim people, who thinks nothing of indiscriminate slaughter".

Chances are they think they're the "good" guys standing up to the evil foreign powers who have invaded and enslaved their country.

Regardless of the right or wrong, the good or bad, the conflict is ongoing and to portray it as entertainment is in poor taste and disrespectful. I sincerely doubt the "story" of the game is meant to open people's eyes to the "real" nature of the conflict so they can make an informed decision as to the morality of the whole thing.

 

[gh0ti]

Since this new Medal of Honor game looks just like a MW clone, if British patriotism is your bag it's probably best to stick to Call of Duty.

 

[Booze Zombie]

No, he's referring to allowing people to play the Taliban as "un-British". Nothing to do with whether anyone from the UK is actually in the game.

I know that, but I'm saying that the term itself leaves it quite open to be used on anything, for instance:
"That American candy is un-British!"

Overall though, my point was that it just makes Fox sound like a bellyaching bellend to me.

Regardless of the right or wrong, the good or bad, the conflict is ongoing and to portray it as entertainment is in poor taste and disrespectful. I sincerely doubt the "story" of the game is meant to open people's eyes to the "real" nature of the conflict so they can make an informed decision as to the morality of the whole thing.

I don't know if anyone goes into battle thinking about the morality of it all, you're there with a gun, other people with guns are shooting at you and you kill them or you die.

 

[Cabisco]

I like this outcome, Fox has his opinion which he's more than titled too but It doesn't make a difference to the actual sale of the game.

 

[Danpascooch]

Fox is going to be pissed

Yeah, he's gonna go POSTAL

 

[Not G. Ivingname]

Snip

A government taking a position against the ravings of their resident "video games are the devil's work" and say it should an adult's decsion, NOT the governments?

 

[shirin238]

Fox is going to be pissed

Yeah, he's gonna go POSTAL

That was a terrible pun x]

 

[Aurgelmir]

I do not see what the big issue with getting to play the bad guys is, neither in single nor multiplayer.

You do not become any less patriotic by playing as (what most players will identify as) the bad guys.

I mean we play as the Scourge in WarCraft3, which are one of the games bad guys. And yes they are of fictional origins, but I think everyone that plays the game can distinguish them as the bad guys.

Just as I think we can distinguish that the taliban are bad guys in Medal of Honor.

That's a pretty ignorant post, if I might say.

I doubt any member of the Taliban wakes up in the morning, looks in his mirror and thinks to himself:
"I'm a real nasty piece of work, I'm a bad person who's only motivation is to hurt, injure and maim people, who thinks nothing of indiscriminate slaughter".

Chances are they think they're the "good" guys standing up to the evil foreign powers who have invaded and enslaved their country.

Regardless of the right or wrong, the good or bad, the conflict is ongoing and to portray it as entertainment is in poor taste and disrespectful. I sincerely doubt the "story" of the game is meant to open people's eyes to the "real" nature of the conflict so they can make an informed decision as to the morality of the whole thing.

Even a "better" reason for them to be in the game.
Would you rather they be called rebels or terrorists, and speak in an arabic accent? When everyone know who they are trying to portray?

Never said they themselves call themselves bad guys. Just as I doubt any "bad guy" deem themselves bad. But that doesn't make them any less bad.

 

[Mana Fiend]

Well played culture department. Well played Speaking sense.

 

[Iffat Nur]

I cant say much about this, since Mafia 2 got bad reviews T_T
before we know it, Medal of Honor has a 6.9

 

[szaleniec1000]

Isnt being British basicly emotional reservation and incredible tolerance for stuff we dont like.

Stiff Upper Lip and all that jazz.

This. The proper reaction, if you don't like the premise of a game, is DON'T BUY THE FUCKING THING! It's not that hard to understand. Speaking of not hard to understand: as the EA rep put it, when you play cops and robbers someone's got to be the robbers.

Also, surprised we've not heard from Passports-R-Us Vaz yet. He's normally first aboard any video game controversy bandwagon.

 

[x -- A L P H A prime]

honestly i don't see what's so bad about being able to play as the bad guys in a video game. i mean yes we are at a war with the taliban, but multiplayer in a shooting game does need at least two different opposing factions. so getting pissed that you get to play the "bad guys" in one game shouldn't change just because its the taliban. we get to play as the covenant in halo, the op for, nazis and japanese soldiers in CoD games, the Zurg in starcraft and the list honestly goes on. so come on, one player skin difference in multiplayer shouldn't be such a bad hype

 

[darth gditch]

Oy vey-I don't understand why he's singling out MOH. What about say every war movie ever made? Or any book about war? Or every COD game? If I recall British soldiers are depicted in these. True, MOH is based on a real war. But so was every WWII game.

 

[Treblaine]

Video game developers:

"DON'T mention the war!"

 

[Treblaine]

Isnt being British basicly emotional reservation and incredible tolerance for stuff we dont like.

Stiff Upper Lip and all that jazz.

And how would one go about achieving that? By suppression, censorship and a library load of laws limiting what you can and cannot say, publish or even talk about not to mention a culture of secrecy, lies and avoiding talking about issues... bottling them up till they are forgotten or become irrelevant. Hide behind cliches and conformities.

You know even STAGE PRODUCTIONS were routinely censored up until worryingly recently. We have no culture of freedom, liberty or truth. Individual freedom and power for every person rich or poor have never been English ideals (and by that extension, nor so for Scotland or anyone else under British rule), only the masses count.

If we have any culture it is a culture of "peace and quiet" at any cost. Don't rock the boat, don't break tradition, just keep calm and carry on. There is a national obsession with a fantasy England that likely never existed, a rural, benign and eternally stable paradise. Just read the lyrics of the song/anthem "Jerusalem" and that'll give you a clue of what many expect of Britain.

Back in the good old days productions showing this perspective wouldn't just be banned, but no one would even talk about it. See English (especially those of the establishment) are like Vulcans, they DO have emotions, very strong emotions but they control and suppress them just to not "rock the boat". Far easier to ban a game than dare makes you think for a second about the enemy's position.

We are living in much more liberal times but we shouldn't kid ourselves that we don't still have a long way to go.

 

[x -- A L P H A prime]

Oy vey-I don't understand why he's singling out MOH. What about say every war movie ever made? Or any book about war? Or every COD game? If I recall British soldiers are depicted in these. True, MOH is based on a real war. But so was every WWII game.

Exactly my point like seriously, being a nazi is fine but taliban are taboo. we'll always have some media based on war. occuring or passed