This is probably the most complete work to date on the subject of games and what they mean.
Start with Eric Zimmerman's and Katie Salen's book Rules of Play.
#FILM BULLY PS2 HOW TO#
You taught me how to read - so now is my chance to return the favor. We'll talk about its contribution - or lack thereof - to our body of knowledge and to our emotional experiences as human beings - as relates to bullying.Īs a primer - since you are probably not terribly literate in games - you might want to start doing some homework. We'll talk about what it says and how it says it. Think of it like a book-club, but instead of reading Jane Austen we'll play a game - and then we'll talk about it. So, to Ms Noble - and to her counterparts in the coalition of teacher's unions - I extend an open invitation to play Bully with me, and once we have all finished we can collectively engage in an informed dialogue about the merits or failings of the game. Perhaps even a work that students should be playing in school as a part of their education in order to safely explore notions of bullying while having to neither engage in, nor be subjected to it. On the contrary - if Bully does illuminate the social realities of Bullying within the reasonably defined scope and capability of the medium, then not only is it more than sensationalist junk - it is arguably an important work. If the concerns of these individuals - our de facto authorities on bullying - are not explored in a game like Bully, then perhaps Bully is nothing but sensationalist junk. Instead, I am going to invite Ms Noble and her counterparts to examine it with me, and to enter into a critical discussion of its merits and the difficulties it may or may not pose to students and to teachers who clearly and irrefutably have to deal with the daily reality of bullying in our society. So, no, I'm not going to defend Bully at all. Those who create art or other media such as films, novels or games that engage the issue are also part of society's attempt to deal with the problem. While our teachers are certainly on the frontlines of the battle against bullying - they are not the owners of the issue and they are not the only ones entitled to examine or discuss it. It is doubly unethical if Bully might in fact actively contribute to broader and deeper societal understanding of the very serious and real issues of bullying. Noble, President of the CTF, (nor probably have her counterparts in the coalition of teacher's unions in Canada, the United States, Britain, South Korea, Australia and the Caribbean who are mentioned in the article) I wonder if we even can contribute anything? Ought we enter into debate about public access to media that we have not even engaged ourselves? That seems unethical to me - especially given our roles. So, what is it that I or the CTF could contribute? Since I haven't even played Bully - and probably neither has Ms. I think that with a little bit of effort, I can come up with a better contribution than that. Reactionary cries to ban a critically acclaimed game like Bully are doomed to failure and involving myself in the debate on these terms contributes to nothing but a minor validation of the fears of the fearful. I'm not going to get sucked into the debate on your terms. I'm not going to stand up and say 'you can't ban me - I have rights'. I am not going to attempt to champion the freedom of expression of game creators. This is also not going to be a defense of Bully on principle. Therefore, this is not going to be a defense of Bully by saying 'the game is great, you should play it' - simply because I don't know if that's the case. Unfortunately, circumstances have conspired to delay my attempt to play the game, but this will not last forever.
#FILM BULLY PS2 PS2#
I never had an opportunity to play the PS2 version and was eagerly anticipating the X360 version. So there you go G&M, you've gained a reader. While I don't typically read The Globe and Mail, this article reminds me that I should get off my CNN junkfood diet and start giving a shit about what news media I consume. It is a rare treat indeed to read an article about topics like violence in games, or the banning of games and not be left with the dreadful feeling that the reporter, editor and publisher of the article are in fact terribly biased in favor of the complainant and against games and the game industry. Middle of last week, The Globe and Mail published an interesting and well-written article about the Canadian Teacher's Federation (ironically abbreviated ' CTF') calling for a ban on the X360 and Wii release of Rockstar's Bully: Scholarship Edition.īefore getting into it I want to praise the unbiased and seemingly well-informed writing of the article itself by Jill Mahoney and Unnati Gandhi.