Super Columbine Massacre / Catcher in the Rye

re: Super Columbine Massacre / Catcher in the Rye

Alissa — Fri, 15 Sep 2006 22:14:22 GMT

I used to think it was crazy to blame video games for things like this - and i still do to some extent. The problem arises when you get someone, particularly the young and impressionable, who is so severed from society (for whatever reason) that they come to view these games as reality. The problem is not with the games themselves (or TV or movies or the news for that matter), but rather with the certain hands and minds they fall into. They can give you a sense of power that you might not have in your real life, and they're so lifelike that for someone who's already got mental problems it might be hard to draw a line. (Or just easier not to.)
As to how to solve that problem, i have no idea and i doubt there even is a way, totally. But it really hits you the kind of world we live in and the things we are exposed to, when something like this happens.

re: Super Columbine Massacre / Catcher in the Rye

alpenliter — Sat, 16 Sep 2006 02:19:34 GMT

the guy was a loser. it looked like they had ample warning signs with this guy, anyone downloading that game plus making threats online should be watched closely

re: Super Columbine Massacre / Catcher in the Rye

Buzz — Sat, 16 Sep 2006 05:49:28 GMT

I hardly think Catcher in the Rye and Super Columbine Massacre are comparable examples of media influencing sociopaths. Lennon's killer derived some twisted sense of validation from Holden Caulfield, which fueled his dementia in ways that an average reader would never comprehend. Sadistic, hyper-violent role-playing games like Super Columbine give nihilistic loners like the Montreal guy a chance to indulge and explore their creepy fantasies in an almost literal way. All that's missing is the smell of gunpowder -- and real bodies.
Not all media are the same. You should be able to recognize that some extreme examples of fringe media products like Super Columbine Massacre have real potential to enflame the darkest impulses in some people, and to make the most horrific behaviours seem almost mundane.
J.D. Salinger must have been horrified to hear his novel linked to Lennon's murder. But I'll bet the makers of Super Columbine Massacre weren't surprised in the least by this week's news.

re: Super Columbine Massacre / Catcher in the Rye

Wayde — Mon, 18 Sep 2006 14:05:27 GMT

You raise good points Buzz!

I certainly agree SCM and Catcher are two different things, one is legimate art while the other aspries to be.

I heard the developer of SCM interviewed on the radio. He fancies himself akin to a maveric film maker, a kind of digital Kapra challenging his audience. As pathetic as that "game" is I am leery of the fallout from the media lumping not only video games but goth metal and loners in general.

re: Super Columbine Massacre / Catcher in the Rye

Dave — Mon, 18 Sep 2006 14:21:59 GMT

I think this guy was a ticking time bomb and if a book or video game didn't push him over the edge, them something else would have. The only way to stop a guy like this is to have someone close to him recognize that he has issues and get him professional help. SCM is just a bad video game.

re: Super Columbine Massacre / Catcher in the Rye

*** — Mon, 04 Jun 2007 16:32:43 GMT

its stupid to think a videogame can be blamed its sicological there past drama its becaus of what happened to them be it bullying or parents its something bigger than a videogame!