work

1. Theory Essay Final
I am researching the effect of violent videogames on an audience, more specifically Call of
Duty. I will try and discover the effect that these games cause on its entire audience but
focus on how it will affect a young developing mind. I will also see how the media have
presented this information to the public and if they have missed out key information or if
they include every detail. I will carry out my research by finding articles based on the subject
and I will also give my own opinion on how I feel.
The theory I am using to research this product is the Hypodermic Needle theory, this is a
theory about how the media and companies use different methods to inject a certain
ideology or make someone believe something, this originated in the first World War with
propaganda posters encouraging soldiers to join the war. The main belief of this theory is
that the media use it to make the general public feel a certain way about something. The
main criticismis that over time people have become more aware of this and can avoid it
better so it’s less prevalent.
The focus of my essay is the effect of violent video games on an audience. The product I
have chosen to analyse is a popular first-person shooter, Call of Duty. This series was first
started in 2003 and has been one of the most popular video games to date. The game since
2009 has three different developers making a new game every year in a cycle but the
company that produces the game is Activision, COD (Call of Duty in short) is by far their
most successful game as they series has been going strong for 18 years. COD is an extremely
violent games, making players fight against each other in PvP maps, the game has a Pegi age
rating of 18 which makes sense due to the game’s violent nature. Lots of people (especially
parents) believe COD and similar games should be banned due to the amount of violence
they believe can be brainwashing the players into thinking they can do what they see in the
games. This is more likely to affect a younger generation as they are more influential, this
has given Activision a bad representation in more recent years as they continue to produce
these games which children can easily get their hands on them.
Some of the games in the series are specifically designed to replicate realistic war scenarios
in a more fun arcade way. Every year, they improve the graphics making the game
seemingly more realistic each year as well, this helps create the illusion of making the player
feel they are involved in this real-life scenario which can be sometimes quite stressful for
someone, especially if its someone that suffers from a mental issue such as PTSD. The colour
schemes of the modern and historical themed releases tend to be quite dull and bland as
that perfectly replicates what warfare is and was like. Every game in this series (apart from
the futuristic ones) like to create a world that’s as similar as possible to real life warfare but
also making the game replayable at the same time. The game is branded and advertised to
be a realistic military shooter and in certain ways it is, but it does steer more towards fiction
making it a little more friendly, this helps to reduce the intensity of the product but doesn’t
change the nature of the actual game. In the campaign (single player story) part of the
game, you get to play as a set character and are introduced to other non-player characters

2. Theory Essay Final
(npcs), the npcs characters are developed throughout the campaign, developing storylines
and making the player connect with certain characters and hate others. In this way, it’s like
a film where you can be put through emotional scenes such as character deaths and other
losses, much like a film. This section of the game tends to be the most realistic as all your
teammates and opponents are controlled by ai and you have objectives to complete with
story driven cutscenes in between. However, it’s the multiplayer part that tends to receive
the most negative press and is the most attractive part of the game for most players, the
multiplayer PvP allows players to play against and with each other in attempts to kill each
other. The reason this has gained a lot of negative press, is the aggressive and violent nature
the game possesses which people believe can drive people to insanity and encourage
murder, there have been articles upon articles ‘blaming’ games like COD for the murder of
certain people, but they always fail to mention the backstory of most of the people having
mental disorders, depression, etc. and decide to scape goat the video games instead.
The way my theory relates to the product is that violent video games, (with COD being one
of the main ones) is that they are believed by the media to encourage and enforce violent
behaviour onto the players. The game is played by a wide range of age groups with the
younger ones being the most impressionable and this is where the theory mainly comes in.
It’s believed that if a young child spends multiple hours a day playing these violent video
games, the effect will rub off onto them and give them a skewed and possibly dangerous
view on life. This can be detrimental for a young child to experience as there have been
multiple cases and articles talking about this and real-life events that have happened.
Another group of vulnerable people are the mental disabled. It can be difficult for them play
high intensity games such as COD without it taking a toll on their unstableness. However,
when articles talk about mass shootings and similar incidents, they fail to mention the
backstory of the criminal and their mental health issues and instead use the video games as
scapegoats for their actions. Whilst the violence of these games may have played a huge
part in their actions, the unstableness of their mental state is usually the main reason as to
why they were driven to these actions. There was one case where a man with severe mental
issues attacks a naval base, murdering twelve people. However, the media failed to mention
the man’s mental issues and instead talks about how he spent “Eighteen hours a day playing
violent video games” and used that as the reasoning. Whilst the games may have played a
small part to this insanity, there is no evidence to support that this was the main reason as
to why this man went on to murder 12 people. This is a way of the media using the
hypodermic needle theory themselves to scare people into thinking video games are
dangerous to scare them into thinking twice before buying them for themselves or their
kids.
The hypodermic needle theory will relate to my FMP work later this year as I plan on doing a
car documentary/ montage video which may relate to the hypodermic needle theory as car
shows tend to have an element of this theory in the way that they can possibly brain wash
people into believing a car is perfect and can encourage viewers into believing this. This is a

3. Theory Essay Final
good way that producers can build a credibility by swaying viewers into listening to them
about car recommendations and if they seem reliable and credible, then viewers will keep
coming back and listening to what they have to say. I plan to do a similar systemto this in
my FMP work. This shows how the hypodermic needle can be used in a positive way rather
than just brainwashing people into believing a certain statement or ideology. This will be
useful to incorporate as it has been proved to be effective and work in other sources of
media such as news articles and other documentaries.
So overall, I learnt that the hypodermic needle is a way that the media can attempt to
brainwash and make people believe certain statements or ideologies by using different
methods such as scaring the public, only telling half the story, etc. In most cases its used as a
strategy for the media to scare the public so they start possibly talking about the subject,
bringing more attention to that certain article, documentary or whatever it is. The example I
looked at (Call of Duty) has been seen multiple times in the media usually receiving bad
press as certain journalists try to scare people by saying that certain criminal activities were
committed due to a direct result of the game whilst failing to include a lot of other
supporting information. This is to influence the readers into believing exactly what they are
saying. The theory doesn’t directly link to my FMP project very well but will still be a
decently relevant part of my work when I come to doing my FMP.
References:
Hermann, P. (2013). Navy Yard shooter Aaron Alexis driven by delusions. Available:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/crime/fbi-police-detail-shooting-navy-yard-
shooting/2013/09/25/ee321abe-2600-11e3-b3e9-d97fb087acd6_story.html. Last accessed
7th Jan 2022.
Lamb, B. (2013). The Hypodermic Needle Theory. Available:
https://lessonbucket.com/media-in-minutes/the-hypodermic-needle-theory/. Last accessed
7th Jan 2022.