Columbine: What did the Games do, Exactly?
Once again, I was excited to see Dr. Jerald Block’s publication in the American Journal of Forensic Psychiatry for his article Letters from Columbine: Virtual and Real Rage. As I said earlier, it is a must read for anyone who wishes to speak with any kind of authority on issues of games and violence. I had the chance to look it over again, and some of Block’s insights really hit home for me.
Before I start talking about this, I want to mention my personal reaction to this article. Besides the crazily scribbled journals, the bomb-making, and the school-detonation-plans, these guys struck me as me. When I say that, I mean that I identified with many of their feelings and experiences - I was roughly the same age as them, I liked and still enjoy many of the same movies (The 5th Element, Aliens, The Rock, Predator, Event Horizon), and many of the same games (Warcraft, X-Com, Command and Conquer, Quake, Diablo). I can’t be sure from the scribbling whether they love it or hate it - but they even talk about Mystery Science Theatre 3000 and WWF’s Mick Foley (known as Mankind in 1999). In talking with Block about the article, we agreed that the normalcy of these killers was perhaps one of the most compelling aspects of this story.
X-Com: One of my Personal All-Time Favorite Games
Block goes over some of our most common explanations for these kinds of acts -
He looks at them all with a fair eye - but ultimately concludes that they don’t seem to fully explain what happened. They each make their contributions, but none are quite so pertinent as the relationship that each of the killers developed with virtual worlds. They were deeply immersed in modding Doom, creating their own custom levels, and they prided themselves on their gaming abilities. Nobody, not even the therapists working with them, seemed to fully grasp the relevance. As a result, two people who seemed to want to be caught - never were. This relationship in and of itself with the gaming, the internet, and their real lives (which became increasingly tumultuous as time passed), worked in ways that therapists simply must learn to understand. As Block rightly points out, we’ll never truly know exactly what was going through the minds of the killers. Even if they were alive today - how much would really be extractable?
While this topic strictly, or on the face, may not seem to relate to what we call “game addiction,” the two are connected by a unique and growing disparity and separation of the real and the virtual, and the individual’s ability (or lack thereof) to keep pace. Whether we use Turkle, Castronova, or my own media experience theory in order to understand the new ways in which we live our lives, what’s important is that we continue to explore the new texture of our increasingly digital world.
In English, we need to understand that calling something “virtual” doesn’t mean that it’s any less real.
With Dr. Block’s kind permission, I’m hosting the full-length PDF here [Download PDF]
You can also find it on his personal website here [Jerald Block, MD]
Neils-
Thanks for the kind comments about my paper.
Increasingly, I am seeing the computer being used as a functional defense and/or outlet for aggressive and sexual impulses. As such, it is useful; the computer seemingly allows one to act on their frustration without harming others or their relationships. In a sense, the computer become an ideal partner - a relationship - always available and eager to participate, never judgmental.
In looking at school shooters and troubled individuals, like Klebold, Harris, Weise, and perhaps Cho (if it is true he removed his hard drive from his computer before killing, as as been reported…see http://www.roanoke.com/vtinvestigation/wb/wb/xp-122382), therapists need to start paying close attention to how the computer is used and what is being created there. Many of the activities one engages in while on the computer might be considered “artistic.” As a result, that work might be less inhibited than their more formal interpersonal interactions. Thus, a therapist might get a better sense of what is happening in their patient’s mind by looking at what is happening when they get on the computer. Just look at the two Flash videos that Wiese created to get a sense of this.
Anyhow, Neils, I am looking forward to your upcoming book.
Regards,
Dr. Block
Thanks Neils for posting the journal article, my university doesn’t have access and I wanted to read the article.
Thank Dr. Block, he was kind enough to let me make it available.
And I grabbed some of the episodes of “Welcome to the NHK” that you recommended Janarius - I just haven’t had a chance to check ‘em out yet.