RT Article
T1 Thinking outside the ‘murder box’: virtual violence and pro-social action in video games
JF The British journal of criminology
VO 59
IS 3
SP 737
OP 755
A1 Denham, Jack
A2 Spokes, Matthew
LA English
YR 2019
UL https://krimdok.uni-tuebingen.de/Record/166507485X
AB The ‘murder box’ is a virtual, lawless space where anything goes. According to Atkinson and Rodgers, when debauched and hedonistic experiences are combed-out of our everyday lives as society ascends a gradual arc of civility, voyeuristic, pleasure-seekers can live out their violent, sadistic fantasies. Atkinson and Rodgers apply this popular criminological metanarrative, rooted in Freud, Elias and Presdee, to violence in gaming. In the context of their game of choice (Grand Theft Auto V), we empirically test the idea that given limitless avenues for violence, people will necessarily act out violent desires. We find that player choices are mixed, considered and vary wildly from untamed subjective violence, to more pro-social behaviours. Our contribution is to argue for a more measured understanding of player–game interaction that accounts for the broader spectrum of Elias’ work, including those internalized self-controls directing individuals away from hedonistic decisions. At the same time, this contribution should be read as a response to the often absolutist theoretical positions adopted in cultural criminology more broadly that require closer empirical scrutiny.
K1 Murder box
K1 Deviant leisure
K1 Video games
K1 Violence
K1 Cultural criminology
K1 Videospiele
K1 Gewalt
K1 Abweichendes Freizeitverhalten
K1 Kulturelle Kriminologie
DO 10.1093/bjc/azy067