Recently, I read research and lit review done on how stereotypes in video games perpetuate prejudice. Reading this, one of the biggest takeaways is the internet’s relationship with forms of real life activities. The internet alters things such as shopping, social interactions, entertainment, etc. The internet gave birth to video games where you could do whatever you desire. With video games and personal beliefs came prejudices and racial stereotypes. There are many multiple studies showing that most aggression was towards black people. Usually, they were referred to as “hostile”, “gangster”, “black” (Deskins 20). Stereotyping is simply grouping types of people together. “Stereotypical thinking occurs during the social categorization of a group of people” (Deskins 22). These groups are made up of similarities and differences between each group. Our brains tend to associate certain people with certain things. Sometimes the grouping that happens can be a common misconception and a false stereotype. In video games, the stereotypes happen much faster than real life. In some video games, the creators present you with a “typical” non-white character. Majority of the time this character would have an accent and distinguishing features that separate them from a normal white male. Creators of games would “create a spontaneous categorization of African Americans and Caucasians, respectively” (Deskins 21). This allows the audience to learn different false stereotypes. Eventually prejudices start to form; “prejudice occurs when a person holds a preconceived judgment of a group and its members” (Deskins 22). Negative stereotypes lead to negative prejudices and unneeded aggressions. The human brain doesn’t fully mature until about 25 years. The stereotypes in video games that provide prejudice can impact the cognitive development of an adolescent. According to a research done on children’s video games, “87% of heroes were white; Latino characters appeared only in sports. Some 70% of all Asian characters were combatants, and 83% of all African American characters were sports competitors” (Leonard, 2003) (Deskins 29). Although there are many negatives to gaming, there are some positives. If non white people were displayed in a more positive way and treated like equals, the audience’s racial stereotypes could change. This information relates a lot to the games I’ve played because I have noticed a lot of misrepresentation of characters that are not white males. I have noticed that in video games that have a mix of races, they are typically lesser than the white main characters. I do believe that if video games had portrayed non white male characters more appropriately there could be a more significant impact on how the audience reacts.
Source:
Troy Deskins – https://commons.emich.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1062&context=mcnair
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