There are some people that are more familiar with war than others, and they include TIME photographer Ashley Gilbertson. For many of us, real world conflict is something that we see on the news and in books, but fortunately we’ve never actually experienced it firsthand. Gilbertson has, having taken snaps in Iraq among other places. So, how does he feel about The Last of Us Remastered on the PlayStation 4?
In a fascinating article that has this editor searing with jealousy, TIME assigned the prolific picture taker the task of taking snaps in Naughty Dog’s award winning game – but his perspective on the job is fascinating. He points out that because he’s able to freeze time, the shots come out too perfect – so he intentionally tries to sabotage them by rotating the image or bringing it out of focus.
However, more importantly, he notes that it’s impossible to capture any real emotion on the characters’ faces; “their emotions mimicked that of the zombies that they were killing,” he writes. As such, he concludes that it’s games like this that are making his job harder, as we are largely desensitised to the brutality of real war.
It’s a fascinating conclusion, made all the more potent by the fact that this title is widely acknowledged as the very best of its kind. If it says anything of importance, then, it’s that video games still have a long, long way to go.
[source lightbox.time.com]
Comments 16
I dont think any game can 'desensitise' to the brutality of war. Even good movies will never manage to do that.
I dont get what he means by ' it’s games like this that are making his job harder,' unless it was just about capturing real emotion which is by definition impossible
Is he saying that these games are desensitising us? or have I read that wrong?
It maybe just me but in no way at all do I feel games have dumbed down my view on the world. If parents do their job and pay attention to the age ratings on games then I can't see how this can be so.
The world as a whole is more desensitised because of people like this guy who are willing to go into these situations, but unlike 20 plus years ago everyone no matter who they are or if they choose too gets to view the images. I would say internet and social networking are responsible for desensitising us. For me a game is an escape from the cruel world we live in.
History = War, History = Tedium, there are 7 billion people on earth, a whole lot of wars and a whole lot of nasty, I have better things to dwell on than what many many vile humans happen to get up to in this time in history. Therefore desensitised, no, its a choice not to care, how can anybody care enough to feel empathy for all the wars and all the death, the hate that causes this would send one insane, no thanks. I choose not to be a voyeur of murder.
@owenstodstill @N711 Here's a direct quote from the article: "Yet, I left the experience with a sense that by familiarizing and desensitizing ourselves to violence like this can turn us into zombies. Our lack of empathy and unwillingness to engage with those involved in tragedy stems from our comfort with the trauma those people are experiencing.
"It’s the single largest issue I face as a photographer. How do we reach a readership that is accustomed to seeing people dying en masse in war zones as a result of games like this one?"
I only read the quotes on this article.
To compare actual war zones to game just doesn't make sense to me. I've gamed my whole life. I would class myself a serious gamer. I certainly not desensitised though. I get a completely unique feeling when viewing anything related to conflicts. Last month I visited a Holocaust Museum, not at any point whilst walking around did I feel like gaming had equipped me for the things I was seeing and reading about.
I disagree a game like TLOU is desensitising us. It places weight on every action you make. Honestly I was in tears by the first 10 minutes (we all know why . I was torn with emotion throughout the entire experience. It's rare games like these that I will stick through till the end because it tugs and pulls at my emotions. Games like COD and every other basic shooter could be considered desensitising people but still, games don't make people kill people. Nor do they prepare you in any shape or form for the horrors of actual warfare.
Games are desensitising people. This has been thrown around a lot lately. :/
I think the photographer meant that playing a game like this desensitizes people because we have no problem pressing the square button and putting a bat to someone's head. The fact is if we were actually in the situation we would have so many emotions running through our minds that we might question that decision forever. But again, it is a video game. A form of entertainment. Just like movies, the creators of these games are trying to give us a unique, story-driven experience rather than making sure we know how brutal war and death is. And it's also why it's rated M.. No kid should play this because of the brutality.
I have been gaming for a very long time.. alot of hours put into motal combat as a youngster, and i am far from desensitized. I feel its people like Ashley who give gaming a bad name. I would assume he has seen some horrific events on the job though and could see why he would think this way. If put in a situation such as TLoU presented you better believe people would not feel desensitized because they played a game and i for one do not want to have to cause physical harm to anyone.
@N711 I think he meant desentive in the sense that we don't truly understand brutality, pain, etc. We kill people/clickers and move on.
And of course that's not what happens in war. We can't experience true human emotion in a game.
I have gamed my whole life and I have also seen a couple of people really get hurt. It is completely different when you see it for real. You get a terrible feeling that no game or movie can give you. I'm so sick of people trashing video games because they don't understand them.
The photographer is clearly missing the point of the game, but worse, perpetuating the usual stigma against gamers and reinforcing the myth that violent games somehow desensitises us in real life.
Jimquisition sums the situation up far more eloquently than I ever could: http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/jimquisition/6692-Desensitized-to-Violence
Like most people here, I've played games, many of which were violent, since the tender age of two. Yet I cannot stomach watching the news when they show little kids being carried bloodied up by their grieving parents. Nor can I stomach the suicide in that video...
@Cowboysfan-22 @wittypixel
No, I believe he really was trying to say violent games desensitizes us to real violence. Read the quotes @get2sammyb posted, particularly the second, hes implying desensitization from simulated violence directly impacts his work.
I have to give him credit for admitting his problems with the game is just how his brain is wired, thats a pretty big deal admitting your own faults. Its an interesting experiment but I don't believe fake/simulated violence desensitizes people to the real thing. By his logic if you enjoy murder-mysteries, crime-dramas, and the like then your also a desensitized zombie.
That Jimquisition @seeafish posted is what exactly comes to mind, I'm an aspie and even I had knots in my chest watching that. This is just someone who doesn't game, has no interest in the medium, having a gut reaction to something he isn't accustomed to or understand.
You can see that when he described being killed by clickers as "pseudo-sexual". Yes, thats actually a thing, but thats not what that is. He also seems to expect an almost human-level of detail and emotion out of the characters. He doesn't try to look at why things are the way they are at all.
Websites such as liveleak are desensitizing us with videos of real life beheadings and friendly fire incidents.
And kids who see that repeatedly will become accustomed to it.
However, these games are just that, games.
And if you were to read into the last of us, there is a clear message that by commiting the kind of acts that Joel does/did, you dehumanize yourself, that because the world is brutal that doesnt give you the right to just take life when you want. Thats a positive message.
"The only thing neccessary for the triumph of evil, is for good men to do nothing" - Edmund Burke
Lol, that magazine will be gone in our lifetime
I'm 43. I've been gaming since I was 7, including - as you'd expect - many violent 'adult' games. Has it desensitised me? Well, let's see...
If a character has repeatedly killed me in a game, I take great pleasure in finally overcoming them. I have even yelled expletives at my TV and reloaded my virtual weapon specifically to empty an entire clip into their fallen body.
I have sat there with a big, stupid grin on my face as Joel repeatedly smacks someone with scissored iron pipe or wooden plank in TLOU, even wishing that I could keep hitting them after they're dead.
And in the real world, I've often felt that there are some people - kiddie fiddlers, people who beat/rape old ladies, people who harm animals, etc. - who I could happily put down with little or no remorse.
But when I see certain things on the news, such as earthquake victims, plane/boat disasters, people jumping from the burning towers on 9/11 etc., I can sit there with tears in my eyes.
So no, I don't agree that games desensitise. It's not all about what you see, it's about what you know. Unless you have some mental defect, you know that one is real and one is not, and that is what makes the emotional difference.
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