The president Squid got involved in a big controversy with the gamer community on the last April 18, 2023. After winning points with a good part of the population by returning with the rule that exempts taxes on imported purchases with a value below US$ 50, he blamed games gunshots, violence and the like as one of the reasons why several attacks on Brazilian schools and day care centers have been taking place.
The head of the Executive Branch also mentioned that “there are no games of love” and that parents prefer to give a tablet to talk to their children about the subject in a serious way. Understand the case right now.
President opens controversy over shooting games
At a meeting about the recent attacks on schools, which have claimed several victims, Luiz Inacio da Silva, president of Brazil, cited that one of the main reasons why this has happened is the success of shooting games that incite violence. He also commented that there are no games that talk about love or any other topic. Check out the snippet:
The gamer community was completely against Lula's pronouncement and, quickly, the video began to be shared on social networks with comments criticizing the position of the president of Brazil in relation to shooting games. Many people saw this as a huge attack on titles that deal with themes other than the “death” of opponents.
There is no game talking about love. There is no game talking about education. It's a game teaching kids to kill. And each time much more death than in the Second World War. Just get the game that these kids [play]. He is my son, he is the son of each one of you. He is [sic] my grandchildren, he is the grandson of each one of you
President Lula on shooting games being famous
The agenda of the meeting was the creation of measures to prevent attacks like the one that occurred in Blumenau (SC), when a man invaded a school and ended up killing four children, and social media was taken over by negative comments about the video. Lula's son, Luis Lula da Silva, even went against his father's pronouncement and mentioned that "video games are much more than violence, they are art, they are leisure, they are entertainment".
You can also check out Lula's entire meeting with various government representatives nthe TV Brazil channel on YouTube. The president starts talking about the games at 02 hours, 29 minutes and 29 seconds.
Are there love games?
The problem surrounding the speech of the president of Brazil is precisely in the generalization of titles currently available in the gaming market. There's no denying that yes, shooting games like Fortnite, Counter Strike e Garena Free Fire are quite popular and have one thing in common: opponents need to be eliminated with shots.
Just take the kid's game, my son, the son of each one of you. My grandson, the grandson of each one of you (…) I doubt there is a kid aged 8, 9, 10,12, XNUMX who is not used to spending a great deal of time playing this crap.
President Lula on shooting games being famous
But at the same time, there are many other games that do just the opposite. A good example is The Last Of Us, which despite taking place in an apocalyptic scenario, shows the demonstration of love and affection in all its forms. Other genres, such as construction, exploration and even fantasy, prove that, not always, only shooting games are available for entertainment. And yes, there are also games focused on education and developed just for this purpose.
Another problem is the use of shooters as a scapegoat for a much bigger problem. Many studies have already been developed to analyze the relationship between “more violent” titles and actions that take place in real life, and there has been no confirmation that gender influences possible attacks. During a survey done in 2020, experts from the US Psychological Association agreed that actually making this association only diverts attention from other factors, such as a history of violence.
Brazil may be going through a “dictatorship of games”
On the last April 10, 2023, the Deputy Zé Trovão asked that games with themes considered violent be banned from Brazil. He made the same correlation as President Lula: the release of this can influence cases in real life. In the document sent to Ministry of Justice and Public Security, he suggests a suspension of shooting games in Brazil to investigate a possible connection of cases of attacks in schools with the themes of famous games.
In addition to the suspension of shooting games in Brazil, he also mentions the creation of a commission of criminalization mechanisms in cases where violent games are found on the computers of terrorists involved in attacks involving deaths. It is a measure similar to what happens with cases of pedophilia in the country.
They also recommended the creation of rules that supervise and, in more serious cases, even prohibit the sale of shooting games in Brazil. Titles like Grand Theft Auto (GTA) would no longer be allowed in Brazil.
The connection between violent games and the attack on the day care center in Blumenau was made due to the terrorist having an account in a “shooting games chat”, but no link was found between the attack and what was discussed in the conversations. An inspection carried out by Federal police also found no evidence of games on the cell phone of the perpetrator of the massacre.
The proposal still needs to be sent to the Câmara dos Deputados for a possible vote and the implementation arrives only in a second moment. What do you think of the statement by Squid e Zé Thunder? tell us Comment!
See also other features
Government decides to maintain exemption for international purchases
With information: TV Brasil l Câmara dos Deputados | Games Industry
reviewed by Glaucon Vital in 19 / 4 / 23.
