Vice City 111 is the name of an electronic computer game. It features a fugitive criminal shooting his way into the city who then begins to commit every kind of crime — murder, kidnapping, wrecking cars and other acts of violence. Judging from its name, the city is a place of evil, degradation and immoral practices, including even prostitution.
The message that this game sends to children is one of serious moral failing, one of physical defect and weakness. It is one of the many media games seeking to achieve success at any price. This is a media that seeks to implant into the minds of small children the desires and propensities of people in their 20s. It is a media that seeks to create a society of its own — telling people how to think, what to do and what to say.
Imagine what happens to a child playing a game like this. His mind will definitely be influenced by the scenes before him. The basic idea behind the Vice City game is that you can kill anyone and do away with him or her without fear of being caught. It is simple — anyone can commit any crime, including murder, kidnapping, and rape, as long as there is no deterrent or punishment.
It is a media that seeks to shape the minds of children from as early as 10, planting these ideas in their minds. The implicit message is there: You can do whatever you like with no fear of the consequences. This is the media which now controls our children’s minds, taking them in any direction it wants or fancies. It has even succeeded in attracting the public who are encouraged to join in the game. This is not our media; it is some foreign import.
What about ours? What about our Arab media? It — especially television — is so bad that its programs are a waste of time. Even when the programs discuss an issue, the focus is on specific points designed to cause laughter at someone else’s expense. The good programs, if any, are aired only after people are fast asleep or about to go to bed. Most coverage amounts to competitions and prize distribution programs, constantly-repeated news which no one believes, decades-old cartoons produced by some other media and silly commercials, focusing mainly on junk food. There are even channels that give free lessons on dancing and how to build a relationship with the other sex. Is this the media that we really want?
