War as Entertainment?
Sheilanagig
29-09-2004, 04:19
I just saw an advertisement on TV for Shellshock, 'Nam '67, and I couldn't help thinking to myself that someone was trying to capitalize on the Vietnam war for entertainment value. Then I thought some more, and realized that a whole LOT of people have already done it, and it wasn't just Vietnam. What exactly is it about war that people find entertaining? After all, this stuff wouldn't sell if there were no demand for it.
I guess my own feelings are that it would be made marginally acceptable if a portion of the profits were funnelled to hospitals for disabled veterans, or something along those lines. What do you folks think?
1. Plots
2. Natural human thirst for conflict and competition
3. Self-glory
4. Entertainment
Although I'm sure it's not so black and white, here's the biggest reasons we have so many people watching/playing these war games and movies.
Violence sells. War is a mass of well-concieved, well-armed acts of violence.
BeefyLand
29-09-2004, 04:25
As long as its not showing that war is good then its all good.
Sheilanagig
29-09-2004, 04:26
That brings me to another of my pet peeves...wait. That would be jacking my own thread...
I guess what I object to is that people are making money off the suffering and sacrifice of our soldiers, off of a grisley and unpleasant aspect of our culture. This does not mean that I think it should be free, it means that I object to someone profiting from the misery of others.
Opal Isle
29-09-2004, 04:26
Apparantly, you live in a cave. That is not the first game based on Vietnam, and most definitely not the first game based on a real war.
Sheilanagig
29-09-2004, 04:28
Opal Isle, read my first post. If you'd read it, you would have seen that I understood that it wasn't the first time this has happened.
Ice Hockey Players
29-09-2004, 04:48
Of course, war as entertainment has been around for hundreds of years...if I understand correctly, people watched the Civil War from hilltops the way people today watch sporting events. Just for entertainment. They would show up to watch battles.
Sheilanagig
29-09-2004, 10:09
Ok, I'm getting a number of answers to the tune of "this is the way it is and has been for centuries."
That's not what I'm asking. I know it's been like this since before the Iliad was written. What I'm asking is whether or not you think this is right, or whether or not you think this is fair, or whether you think the people being exploited should be given some kind of restitution.