Wednesday 7 March 2007

Blog 2
Discussing Rhetoric and Moral Panic (Metal Gear Solid)

James W. Chesebro and Dale A Bertelsen in their “Analysing media communication technologies as symbolic and cognitive systems” describe rhetoric as a set of symbols or signals which can be verbal or non verbal and are used to stand for some physical existence, physical characteristics and/or a “physical function of a referent or entity”. These symbols or signals are there to reveal values and beliefs. The symbols and signals can be expressed by speaking, writing or even by behaving in a certain way which shows a personal belief.
Often through effective use of rhetoric, a strong message could be delivered, sometimes strong enough to effect other’s personal believes. A term closely related to rhetoric is the idea of “moral panic”. Stanley Cohen in his “FOLK DEVILS & MORAL PANICS” explains moral panics as when a society is subjected to certain periods where a condition, episode, person or a group of people emerge as a threat to society by their beliefs or ideas. Cohen explains that often the panic is about something that has existed for quite a while yet all the sudden “appears in the limelight”. However sometimes it is a new movement or idea altogether. However often the panic passes and is forgotten after a period.
A game I will look at which demonstrates both ideas, is ‘Metal Gear Solid’.

Metal Gear Solid is about a character named ‘Snake’ who’s objective is to set out on his military mission to save the world from this abstract idea of a nuclear weapon. Within the game are the ‘bad guys’ who snake is against, as they try to steal the nuclear weapons to generate them in the “black market” and sell them to the world. The emphasis of the game is on the idea of war, world peace and weapons of mass destructions.
The main value of the game is to achieve world peace by fighting and killing the ‘bad guys’ who are generating these nuclear weapons. So the main rhetoric is that violence is the answer for world peace, hence war is acceptable.

This game clearly demonstrates the recent on going moral panic on terrorism. And the idea of the generation of “weapons of mass destruction” which is threatening the world is clearly shown. The whole idea of America’s “war on terror” is also shown in the way that Snake is an American and all the ‘bad guys’ who are generating this nuclear weapons are foreigners.

Word count per entry 404

Bibliography
Stanley Cohen, FOLK DEVILS & MORAL PANICS, Basil Blackwell, (1980, p 9-12)
James W. Chesebro, Dale A. Bertelsen, Analysing Media, Communication technonlogies as symbolic and cognitive system, The Guilford Press, (p 177-179)

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