More in-depth compared to the other Bandura essay on Lara Croft.
QUESTION: To what extent are video games harmful to society? Use Bandura’s media effects theory to explore the video game you have studied. [30]
To what extent are video games harmful to society? Use Bandura’s media effects
theory to explore the video game you have studied. [30]
Video games can vary in their genre and content. Different content will obviously impact
audiences differently. In the study of ‘Tomb Raider’, it is evident that video games can affect
an individual both positively and negatively. It can be proven that video games are beneficial
in further progressing a society, nonetheless, in extreme circumstances which happen more
frequently than one would like, video games can also be proven to be extremely harmful.
Bandura once stated that ‘both children and adults can acquire attitudes, emotional
responses and new patterns of behaviour’ through observations of models in social settings.
Lara acts as the model. However, it can be argued that it is not just her attitude, responses
and behaviour that affects an individual but also the community surrounding ‘Tomb Raider’
players.
Lara exhibits incredible resilience through the course of many games. In ‘Tomb Raider’
(1996), the ‘Palace Midas’ stage, players are required to jump onto many platforms to get to
certain locations. This is not certainly easy, as it requires time and accurate control of Lara’s
character and often players will have to restart because they have fallen off the platforms. In
accordance with Bandura’s theory of acquiring attitudes, players learn from Lara to not give
up so easily as they repeat the process when they have fallen off. Overtime, the player will
improve. Players may then apply this skill and resilience to real life situations. Bandura
states both ‘children and adults’ can acquire this attitude. In a child’s case, they are still
going through development in which they would come to learn and adopt different attitudes.
It is crucial for a child to have the sources in which they can exercise these attitudes. When
they grow, they can become a more resilient adult. Although, it is important to keep in mind
that ‘Tomb Raider’ games are rated so they are not suitable for children. That does not mean
to say a child cannot gain access to the game and therefore cannot learn from Lara.
Regardless, resilience is very beneficial to a society as it can push individuals to evaluate
their mindset in the way they function and encourage them to work to their full potential.
Over the years that the game franchise has existed, it is clear to many audiences in their
young teenage years and young adult years that Lara is sexualised. But it is not just that she
is sexualised, she is also held to a position mostly agreed upon by men, in which she is
deemed the standard for possessing a conventionally attractive face and an ideal hourglass
body. In accordance with Bandura’s theory, audiences, in particular young females, will
require similar attitudes to that of a male who believes that Lara is the standard, as well as
the attitude of other young females who despise the way they look simply for the reason that
their bodies do not resemble Lara’s. In 1997, it was reported that teenage girls were out
seeking breast implants to enlarge their chest size so that they could look like Lara. Bandura
states that ‘it is not uncommon for people to display strong emotional reactions towards
certain things or classes of people on the basis of little or no personal contact with them’.
This is obviously a very harmful impact as it reinforces an unrealistic beauty standard that
can physically impact an individual’s body and mentally impact them to develop ill feelings
towards themselves. The self-hating attitude can limit a society’s mindset and its abilities to
grow, to shift in the right or positive direction. Women will feel less confident in themselves,
and men will look down on a woman simply for her appearance.
In the time that ‘Tomb Raider’ was released, Lara had become the first female character who
was not only strong and educated but also provided with the same privilege as a man. In a
cutscene of the ‘Tomb Raider’ (2013) reboot, Lara is seen recalling the moment when she is
on the ship discoursing with Dr. Whitman, an experienced yet arrogant male archaeologist
regarding which direction the ship should head – east and not west. Bandura describes that
emotional responses can be developed by ‘witnessing the affective reactions of others
undergoing painful or pleasurable experiences’. To see Lara standing up for herself against
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