Friday, November 12, 2004

Headline of the Moment

'Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas' is violent, exhilarating game



Imagine the same style of headline applied to film:



'The Godfather' is violent, exhilarating movie



or music:



Eminem's latest is violent, exhilarating



or theater:



Local troupe puts on violent, exhilarating performance of 'Romeo and Juliet'

4 comments:

  1. I'm pretty sure The Godfather got reviews that focused on the violence when it was released. Perhaps it even made a headline somewhere.

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  2. I don't think this should necessarily be viewed as a negative thing. Sure, it's kinda derogatory towards the gaming industry, but it's the kind of headline that's necessary for as young of an industry as this.

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  3. I can see the headline being used to describe Quentin Tarantino movies.

    Walter

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  4. While this headline stands out, it does not go so far as to say "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is exhilaratingly violent" or "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is violently exhilarating". There is a clear separation between the words.

    You could make an argument that the words "violent" and "exhilarating" were juxtaposed to get people's attention. However, the review contains the word "violence" only once more in the phrase: "The game isn't for everyone because of its graphic violence and coarse language..." The only other use of "exhilarating" is in the phrase: "One of the most exhilarating moments in the game is taking the plunge, spreading your limbs and free-falling toward the ground before pulling the rip cord." These are both informative statements that help the consumer decide on a purchase of the game (the reviewer's job, according to most people). The second statement is very positive.

    It would be a shame for people to form an opinion of the article by the headline alone, just like it's a shame for politicians to crusade against violent games without seeing/playing them.

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