There were plenty of reasons to steer clear of England's rioters last week. We count fire, blunt weapons and an unedifying proximity to Foot Locker at the top of our list.
They were, to borrow the Express's choice phrase, "toxic youngsters". (We didn't see any of their podgy faces glowing in the moonlight but, let's face it, KFC does strange things.)
With such a troubling threat looming/looting, the Express has turned to guest columnist Jo Frost, aka Super Nanny, for answers. She has a "plan to save" these virulent punks, apparently. She can "fix" them.
We're all ears, Jo. Your country needs you.
She writes: "I felt for a moment as if we had stumbled into a real-life violent video game of the kind that so many of those involved are addicted to."
Of course, "addicted". So "addicted", they'd rather spend three nights kicking the windows of JJB. In the cold.
Sounds like a rubbish "real life video game", by the way. We'd rather play Zumba.
She continues: "These horrific games where points are given for burning, shooting and killing, where the graphics are so realistic you believe that they're real scenes of carnage, where those who play fantasise they have the power of life and death, are so brutal they completely desensitise anyone taking part."
And she was doing so well. Completely desensitise? Now, we'll admit, certain entertainment media has left us enfeebled and bewildered - little more than husks lying paralysed on the lounge carpet. Don't judge: Supernanny's an alluring programme.
But we're here to talk games. Go, Jo, go:
"Research shows that within 15 minutes of playing one of these games young men become highly aggressive and lack empathy in normal situations. It is not too fanciful to suggest it's a short step from being immersed in this war-like world to taking that nightmare mindset on to the streets with all the consequences of anarchy and violence we saw rip apart cities."
Research also shows that squirrels have successfully debated the socio-political merits of government ownership, and are now implementing their own Trotskyist acorn regime. Research we just made up. Without a credited source, just like Jo's.
Supernanny then offers her own solutions to the rioting problem, all the while maintaining that it "foolish to suggest there are easy answers".
She adds: "Those horrific video games which I mentioned earlier must be brought under control. Their content should be subject to censorship and the age at which they can be bought tightly controlled.
"Shopkeepers should demand proof of age and where they ignore this and break the law by selling them to children they should be fined."
Like. They. Do. Already.
Jo plugs her show - "Channel 4 television programme Extreme Parenting" - so now we have too.
Our tuppence: the less extreme the parenting, the better.
Comments
85 comments so far...
STEVONYMO on 17 Aug '11 said:
Blah Blah! Yeh and in the 80's when they rioted it was because of books...Nothing at all to do with the tory toss pots in government again of course lol!
chuffster on 17 Aug '11 said:
Does she want rioters sent to her`naughty step`?Silly cow.
Never take parental advice from some fat arse who can't even be arsed to have her own kids!
OriginalJonty on 17 Aug '11 said:
The rioters should all be put on the naughty step. That'll teach 'em!
Reality Check on 17 Aug '11 said:
Er blame the Labour party! Bunch of idiots they where. Going soft on the Law for the past 10 years. These people(the thugs)could do what they want & get away with it. When they stopped 'stop&search' i knew the UK would go down hill & it did :-/
Carpet on 17 Aug '11 said:
You need to change those glasses, love... or get a better telly...
Imaduck on 17 Aug '11 said:
Wow, Supernanny setting a bad example for kids. You know .... if she blamed it on say ... gays or something, she'd get ripped apart by super PC nutters, she would literally lose her job. But this? Nope, this is all the rage these days!
Llandamaar on 17 Aug '11 said:
My problem with this is this. People say kids enact things they see like video games because they "Get into character" playing the games.
On the other hand people say the best form of entertainment are book because they take to to different times and places and you feel an attachment to the characters.
Now I agree with the second sentiment as I love reading and have become emotionally attached to characters in the past (long before Harry Potter and Twilight btw lol).
Now the reason for the book statement with regards to s**tnanny's idea?
If it is to be believed that kids emulate what they get involved in, where are all the nerd with swords killing Sauron's evil hordes on our streets. Where are the boys shooting the streets up to defeat the Martians? Where the hell are the kids drowning each other off the plank of their pirate ship?
Kids don't emulate video games, video games emulate life! If a game allows you to steal a car and shoot a cop, that is only because that is what happens, not the other way around.
Ooh, actually, I wonder if Bonnie and Clyde played Mafia on the PC?
c3dpo on 17 Aug '11 said:
For a woman who constantly blames the parents in her shows, I find it hillarious there was no mention of bad parenting.
Even blaming the retailers, when I know for a fact parents go and buy the latest cod or 18 game for little Johnny who's balls are yet to drop.
This being said, I've played all the violent games since barbarian on C64. I currently work in the games industry and have done since I left school. What enabled me to achieve this: Bunking of 6months for FF7 and a week here and there for every quality game.
In fact, my scientific evidence suggest; that those who play uber violent games in a team deathmatch, actually build empathy towards their team mates and feel hurt when they are downed on the field, and rush to their assistance.
I better stop writing this now as I need a quick fix of videogame replacement therapy. Yes, I'm a recovering addict only playing 60 hours a week now. Please help fellow CVG readers, I can't do this alone!
ensabahnur on 17 Aug '11 said:
Nah mate, it was an addiction to Yars Revenge and the fury over the ET game that caused those. Any rioting from the 70's can be blamed on Pong addiction. Anything before that we can blame on "Ball in a Cup", and swingball.
HarryJack on 17 Aug '11 said:
The name 'Supernanny' may also suggest that Jo 'Fat' Frost is also addicted to games.
Laughlyn on 17 Aug '11 said:
Said it before n al say it again.
When the innevitable zombie apocolypse or alien invasion comes and its us gamers saving their asses from all the experience we've had, it's gonna be a f***in different storry aint it. Yeah you just watch daily mail as we string together a chainsaw n a salami from tesco to make the ultimate zombie dicing machine yeah you heard it SALAMISAW!!
DAEDALUS79 on 17 Aug '11 said:
Yes Jo and im sure the Spanish Armada was caused by Shakespeare's toxic use of the English language...
TheLastDodo on 17 Aug '11 said:
No point sending the rioters to the naughty step, they'd be making off with it the minute you leave the room.
As for "the addicted", well they're clearly not or they would've been at home rioting in GTA or Saints Row or whatever their riot simulator of choice is.
TheCrimsonFenix on 17 Aug '11 said:
I'd rather kick her face in than a JJB store window.
The only link games can have to violence when news items like the riots are concerned is when a gamer such as myself gets infuriated with this disregard for games. But for as much as I get infuriated, I still wouldn't kick her face in like a brick through a window because I like many many other gamers have every regard for the law and my own patience. A supernanny who does not have children and tries to show others how to treat their kids? I think her title should be altered to "last resort fat arse for children who behave like any other kid when they don't get what they want". I wonder who the next clueless "expert" will be to voice their opinion on this rioting business.
y2jimbob_2001 on 17 Aug '11 said:
The Supernanny formula has worn thin and Jo Frost is looking for a new pitch for Channel 4. By divine right I should have been down there with the rioters if particular games are to blame.
Instead the well rounded, law abiding citizens who enjoy the occasional rampage on GTA get dragged down with the scum. I wonder how many of those rioters have an iPhone? Decent people who can't life's little luxuries just accept they can't afford them instead of stealing them.
Queen Skillage on 17 Aug '11 said:
I see she's still eating her own s**t. When the hell did Nanny Jo get out of the mental institute anyway?
I'm curious as to what games she's played that are so brutally realistic, and where can we get them!
apalmer28 on 17 Aug '11 said:
Well I've played GTA, Call Of Duty, Mortal Kombat in all there forms over many, many years, as well as tons of other violent and bloodthirsty games ( I even played Manhunt!), and I didn't get the urge to smash up the local newsagents or pile into Tescos and steal all the crisps.
I think Supernanny should stick to small children and let the grown ups have a serious conversation instead.
TheLastDodo on 17 Aug '11 said:
She's definitely talking about Call of Duty, and lets face it, it's a scientifically proven fact, only scum plays Call of Duty.........
iucidium on 17 Aug '11 said:
Really? Why bring her weight into it.
I bet she has a hairy arse.
iucidium on 17 Aug '11 said:
Well I played and own Thrill Kill :p
I'm still practicing sub-zero's 'Skull Rip' on my wife's cat.
lordirongut on 17 Aug '11 said:
Well, aren't we better off knowing this. I know that I must be a murderer too - in fact I probably murdered twelve people last night because I played GTA.
I just found out something really cool, too. You know Julius Caesar? Apparently he was a hardcore PC gamer and he got inspired to do all his conquests because of Rome: Total War. How interesting is that? I know I'll never play any of these demonically evil pieces of murder-simulating devil-spawned games ever again. Maybe I'll go read Catcher in the Rye.
KILL JOHN LENNON! KILL JOHN LENNON!
iucidium on 17 Aug '11 said:
She might have polycystic ovaries. Or the 'turkey baster' method isn't working.
KK-Headcharge78 on 17 Aug '11 said:
Scum indeed!
As for this fat whore; meh and double meh, get back to forging a highly dubious living making tv shows about how to control children, which tells you all you need to know about f**k all.
y2jimbob_2001 on 17 Aug '11 said:
snipeshotsamurai on 17 Aug '11 said:
Seems someone at CVG has been watching too muck X Factor.
TheCrimsonFenix on 17 Aug '11 said:
Nice typo but also true.
nathar on 17 Aug '11 said:
This is why nannies, no matter how super they might be, are not hired as scientists or researchers. The kind of b*****ks they spout only appeals to the under 10's and Express readers but has no place amongst adults.
gmcb007 on 17 Aug '11 said:
Silly fat bitch. Her out of all people should be able to see the bad parenting reason.
BardseyCelt on 17 Aug '11 said:
There are some celebrities you expect to get involved in the clamour to blame something, anything, after any kind of disaster. I expect out-of-touch politicians, or pompous news readers to treat us all to their rhetoric on the evils of video game culture and how it is warping our fragile little minds and turning us all into violent, sociopathic destroyers-of-worlds. I even expect to hear from 'outraged' parents, church leaders, police chiefs and talk-show hosts. A nanny though? A glorified babysitter? This is unexpected.
Jo Frost talks about games with all the authority of someone who knows nothing about anything. Her egomaniacal self-obsession-mobile, cleverly disguised as a program about helping asshole brats, provides all the evidence one could ever need to determine that she is a sad, desperate person whose desire for fame would see her turning up to the opening of a f**king envelope if there was a camera there. We shouldn't be surprised that someone who has clearly never played a game in her life sees fit to make a public statement on them, after all she's not got any kids either and has made a big fat career out of telling those who actually do how to deal with them.
Rioting and looting and young people being stupid assholes has been around long before games—a point that anyone making this ludicrous point fails to notice. In any case, is she seriously suggesting that an entertainment medium can be quite so directly influencing? I mean, it's fairly safe to say that television, Ms brand's own medium of choice, is far more directly influential than games have ever been, right? Yet, we don't see young people examining each others s**t after a meal after watching an episode of You are What You Eat, nor have we seen a drastic increase in regular people becoming superheros (sadly) despite there being many a show about that on the 'tube'.
Then again, with all these people going around being complete dicks to one another and acting like self-entitled tossers, maybe they have been watching too much Supernanny?
spacehog_kuba on 17 Aug '11 said:
What really makes me laugh is that I work in a prison for young offenders and most say they never really played games until they got locked up (yes they have ps2's and 3's). so supernanny, your full of sh.it.
only_777 on 17 Aug '11 said:
Not sure about the looters, but I'd still smash her back doors in
richardgeefe on 17 Aug '11 said:
still would.
but only if she wears the glasses.
cooloneuk on 17 Aug '11 said:
Why do people insist on blaming computer games for the violence that happens? Who's fault was it for the Poll Tax riots in the 80s? IT MUST BE THAT PONG GAME, REALLY BOILS YOUR BLOOD DOESN'T IT?!?
You gonna blame Call of Duty for both world wars? What about when the human race were just savage hunters? Yeah right! Neanderthols playing GTA before goin out to club themselves a woman???
I mean c'mon WTF!!!
gearyboy on 17 Aug '11 said:
I knew it!
I knew I shouldn't have played my favourite game of 'World of Wal-Mart Craft' before a gentle stroll down Tottenham Court Road...
On a more serious and mature note, I believe the rioters acted the way they did due to an overdose of 'supermarket sweep'.
JakeyBaby on 17 Aug '11 said:
This woman claims to be a nanny, but it's a front to psychologically bully parents into submission until they fold into her regime. If she wants to save humanity so badly, she should sort herself out first as there is no way I'm listening to a tubby middle class know it all and self proclaimed saviour.
slick loose on 17 Aug '11 said:
I wish, graphics aint that good yet luv!
REALLY!? Yes because after 15 minutes of playing GTA, I punch my Wife in the face when she asked what I wanted for dinner. And then when I went outside for some fresh air I seen a poor kitten helpless on the floor, it had clearly had been run over...so I walked over to it a laughed in it's face because you know, video games made me this way
This coming from a woman who tells parents how to bring up their kids, yet has none of her own. That's like reviewing a film without actually watching it.
And what is it with these people and making up 'research'!? Surely that can't be legal, it's blatant misinterpretation!
sjholland87 on 17 Aug '11 said:
Sadly, research is based on theory and not fact.
For example, I could ask 100 people if they have sex in the morning. Out of those 100, say 25 say yes.
I can then "theorise" that my research claims 25% of people in the world have sex in the morning.
Great isn't it!
Reminds me of the global warming thing. Apparently 75% of people world wide will continue using their cars when oil becomes scarce. The sample was 1000 people. Hence why we now get taxed for a potentially man made myth.
PandyBear on 17 Aug '11 said:
Chances are said rioters would take a s**t on her naughty step, and then set it alight.
mogel94 on 17 Aug '11 said:
Bullsheet, I think that time with Cartman f**ked up her brain right and proper
budobear on 17 Aug '11 said:
If they were all so addicted to games.........why weren't they smashing their way into Game to feed their addiction?
almanac2015 on 17 Aug '11 said:
I blame the Jews. I think they still have some life left in them as a scapegoat before we have to move on to another group.
LoadedForBear on 17 Aug '11 said:
in my day we used to slaughter children at birth, that kept them on the straight and narrow.
only_777 on 17 Aug '11 said:
http://dudelol.com/img/london-rioter-posts-his-loot-on-facebook.jpg
martinawatson on 17 Aug '11 said:
Your all talking about the woman i love, button it, stern looking bitch, she could put me on the naughty step thats for sure
Bigalstevens83 on 17 Aug '11 said:
Hey i play violent games and I didn't riot, what a shock people who don't know what the **** they are talking about using video games as a scapegoat for the countries problems. Also actually who the hell is this super nanny bird anyway?
Goldjit on 17 Aug '11 said:
Anyway to connect her and directly confront her about her Bulls**t views?
jon2mil on 17 Aug '11 said:
I would love for her to name any game like this, where "points" are awarded for these actions, I would laugh as she struggles to name it.
JD_Method on 17 Aug '11 said:
f**k off, Jo.
Bigalstevens83 on 17 Aug '11 said:
I would love it if the gaming journalists took a more aggressive stance by actually writing to these people that claim this BS and go "So go on name 10 games that does this then" and watch them struggle... The interview would end up being a whole lot of "Umm"'s as they struggle.
TheLastDodo on 17 Aug '11 said:
*cough* Call of Duty: Black Ops.
Bigalstevens83 on 17 Aug '11 said:
[quote="TheLastDodo"
*cough* Call of Duty: Black Ops.
Ahh but does it encourage rioting and looting which is the main question
Red Hal on 17 Aug '11 said:
Yeah. I'm going to be Mr. Unpopular for this one, but can we add the Hitman series, Total Overdose and Stranglehold to the list of videogames giving style points for killing. Oh and while I think Ms. Frost is way off base with her comments, I have to take issue with your article here. There *is* a credited source for Ms. Frost's opinion. A meta-analysis published in the Psychological Bulletin of the American Psychological Association 2010, Vol. 136, No. 2, 151–173, which states, and I quote:
[quote="The paper's authorsThe evidence strongly suggests that exposure to violent video games is a causal risk factor for increased aggressive behavior, aggressive cognition, and aggressive affect and for decreased empathy and prosocial behavior.
What's that you say? Who the hell am I? A lifelong gamer who cut his teeth on Elite on the BBC Model B and NCSnipes.
gmcb007 on 17 Aug '11 said:
*cough* Call of Duty: Black Ops.
Ahh but does it encourage rioting and looting which is the main question
Yeah it does! The PS3 players couldn't play online so they had to do something to release their anger!
TheLastDodo on 17 Aug '11 said:
*cough* Call of Duty: Black Ops.
Ahh but does it encourage rioting and looting which is the main question
Yes. Yes it does.
Research* has shown that all CoD players are violently thieving scum.
*Research provided by DKB R&D.
ducadan on 17 Aug '11 said:
I'm surprised she can write, let alone speak with her head so far up her own arse.
ducadan on 17 Aug '11 said:
I'm suprised she can write, let alone speak were her head so far up her own arse
Bigalstevens83 on 17 Aug '11 said:
Ahh but does it encourage rioting and looting which is the main question
Yes. Yes it does.
Research* has shown that all CoD players are violently thieving scum.
*Research provided by DKB R&D.
Is this research funded by the Tartan paint corp and Glass Hammer Inc
slick loose on 17 Aug '11 said:
I'm now more annoyed about how badly you guys are quoting each other!
TheLastDodo on 17 Aug '11 said:
Dodo Knows Best: Research & Development is 100% funded by TheLastDodo
Our research also shows 99% of people who haven't bought Shadows of the Damned yet are fools.
Bigalstevens83 on 17 Aug '11 said:
I haven't just yet (it's down to having no money at all)
MANYOO4EVA on 17 Aug '11 said:
What a load of b*llcks!! The main reason is down to BAD PARENTING.
If a game or a film is 18 rated then the person playing or watching it should be 18 or over. I have been in GAME loads of time where mummy is buying little 12 year old Johnny Call of Duty or Gears of War.
PARENTAL RESPONSIBILITY - lack of it and what you get is what was seen on TV in London along with the lack of zero tolerance policing the government won't adopt due to the HUMAN F**KING RIGHTS ACT and the NANNY STATE we are now living in.
GAMES HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH IT.
TheLastDodo on 17 Aug '11 said:
That's acceptable. Just
.
Osiris25 on 17 Aug '11 said:
That comment is nearly as retarted as Jo's
(This is a knock on effect of labour taking away everyone's authority meaning these people known they can pretty much do what they like!)
She is just another complete moron making totally uneducated remarks about our pastime and its just getting rediculous now. Surely its time to just blame everything on videogames like both world wars, JFK shooting and any other horrible events through history.
amazingdweezo on 17 Aug '11 said:
this is a comment from a women who offers parenting advice, yet has no kids of her own................
SoupDetective on 17 Aug '11 said:
One day I'd like to try and make the game that these anti-gamer types keep referencing... it sounds awful, but i'm really looking forward to not being able to tell that the realistic graphics aren't real.
WHERESMYMONKEY on 18 Aug '11 said:
As soon as she said points i knew she didn't have a tossing clue what she was talking about. there hasn't been a points system in GTA since it looked like micro machines with more buddhist monks.
Unless shes talking about State of Emergency, now that did have a points system, but also an incredibly cartoony art style.
FatChickThriller on 18 Aug '11 said:
If CVG continues to print every attack on our favourite pass time are they not (CVG) part of the problem themselves. This ISN'T gaming or computing news it just another misguided and biased opinion from from someone who isn't related to the gaming industry what so ever. CVG please stop printing rubbish like this to pad out the website.
indytim on 18 Aug '11 said:
Should have gone to Specsavers.
G_R7 on 18 Aug '11 said:
2 years, around Xmas, my little brother who is under the age of 18 walked into a shop a got a game without being asked for ID.
Once he was home me, him and 2 friends started to play the game. Once we started it we found the point of the game was to move though the mission, killing everything using any means we had, including shooting fire in incinerate the opponents in Hell Fire and using our Dinosaur captives to eat them alive without mercy. Also, we had to destroy the homes of the people we were killing in the hopes of newer ways to kill them. Since playing this game none of us have been the same and see the world in a whole different light….
We were, of course, play Super Mario Bros. Wii so Jo can feck off for all I care.
krazykunal85 on 18 Aug '11 said:
True... I think she needs a good seeing to! Any takers?
IndySandbagT on 18 Aug '11 said:
My first post...
SuperNanny can squat on a large over-cooked sausage,
kind regards,
Indy Sandbag Trick.
BADcloud on 18 Aug '11 said:
Given that only a few months ago a report, from a proper bona-fide Professor no less, stated that football games made people show more violent tendencies than those that played shooters. You'd think that maybe she'd have gotten someone to do a bit of research before publishing (like PEGI and BFI ratings being on games).
But obviously facts are nothing compared to blind mudslinging antics.
mental_mick on 18 Aug '11 said:
I'm sure we'd all like to see this research. Time and time again we see 'experts' making reference to research...please, what are your sources? I'd be interested in reading the findings of such an experiment.
Violent media is in no way connected to real world violence...and I base that on absolutely nothing
cam123 on 20 Aug '11 said:
And therefore we are left with rioting teens in London. The government really ought to ban that 'Street cleaning simulator' to prevent outbursts such as this in the future. Too many teens have a problematic fix on 'Street cleaning simulator' that needs to be controlled!
I SAY BAN 'Street cleaning simulator'
Crossblade_2000 on 20 Aug '11 said:
Who is this SUPERTRANNY dude? And why should we listen to him?
rbt2 on 21 Aug '11 said:
'Rioters addicted to toxic games'. And this from a heifer addicted to cake.
Her only raison d'etre is to discipline kids and yet she's hardly diciplined herself with regards food. Alive or dead by the looks of her fat arse. More nonesense from z list celebrities.
A woman definitely worthy of having her vagina kicked in.
Lots.
paul on 21 Aug '11 said:
TheCrimsonFenix on 21 Aug '11 said:
I'm sure she loved that game they made of her, what was it called? Fat Princess was it?
ClydeBaneheart on 23 Aug '11 said:
And here I was under the impression that you Europeans were more intelligent than us Americans. She's a poor ambassador on that front. Reminds me of a certain lawyer we disbarred in Florida a few years back. In her own words, "Absolutely unacceptable."
Red Hal on 25 Aug '11 said:
And here I was under the impression that I would find a reasonable level of discussion rather than vitriol and polemic. Now my previous post has finally been approved, I suggest you go and read it.
cjw101 on 25 Aug '11 said:
She put you on the naughty step, didn't she?
TheCrimsonFenix on 25 Aug '11 said:
After the "exciting" introduction, I have to say getting to the actual comment was.. disappointing at best. I think I'd much rather take the logical step with the link between video games and violence in the real world than get overexcited over research that suggests it applies to every single person on the planet. We're not all easily effected impatient troglodytes with potentially violent tendencies.
Red Hal on 25 Aug '11 said:
Full disclosure, I don't know Ms. Frost, have never met her and am not employed or paid by any organisation that would stand to gain from her activities.
Having said that you are right when you say we are not all easily affected, I have to say that that wasn't the point I was making, which was that there was research which supported Ms. Frost's position. Now, whether that research is significant, accurate, flawed or downright fabricated is a whole other debate which we don't have the tools to properly have here, but if it is shown to be significant, reliable and accurate then as an industry and as consumers we would be extremely unwise to ignore it. Because if we don't do something about it then governments will. I'm looking at Germany and Australia here.
TheCrimsonFenix, thank you for a reasonable response.
prof_crunchy on 4 Sep '11 said:
Jo Frost is the definition of toxic, how apt.
omegaXsnow on 21 Sep '11 said:
Stupid cow, she should get a proper job