28 votes

A gallery of 80s political cartoons condeming video games

10 comments

  1. [5]
    cfabbro
    (edited )
    Link
    Moral panics are one of those phenomena I can't help but find incredibly confusing (but also pretty hilarious and depressing at the same time). I honestly don't understand how anyone falls for...

    Moral panics are one of those phenomena I can't help but find incredibly confusing (but also pretty hilarious and depressing at the same time). I honestly don't understand how anyone falls for them. Is confirmation bias really that strong in people, where they can ignore such blatant manipulation just because it conforms to their already established beliefs... or do even the people who make and promote these morsels of moral panic propaganda know how truly ridiculous they are, but just rationalize the spreading of it to themselves somehow (e.g. it's for the greater good)?

    p.s. IMO, this is a perfect example of what a high quality image based topic can be. I wish we had exemplary votes for topics already implemented so I could use it on this. Thanks for sharing, clerical.

    17 votes
    1. [2]
      clerical_terrors
      Link Parent
      Political cartoons in general seem to be a realm where old people not understanding the younger generations come to air their grievances, I can't count the number of politoons which appeared last...

      Political cartoons in general seem to be a realm where old people not understanding the younger generations come to air their grievances, I can't count the number of politoons which appeared last year mentioning Pokémon Go and Tide pods. In a certain way I think you're right: part of it is confirmation bias, and part of it is that it validates their gut feelings that deep down something is wrong with the world around them, but they can't look for systemic problems with themselves or society at large so clearly it's those dang kids and their vidya games.

      8 votes
      1. cfabbro
        (edited )
        Link Parent
        The amount of times I have heard an older person in my life (Boomers and early Gen X) mention the Tide Pod Challenge as if it definitively proves that "millennials are all idiots" (even though...

        The amount of times I have heard an older person in my life (Boomers and early Gen X) mention the Tide Pod Challenge as if it definitively proves that "millennials are all idiots" (even though they are referring to gen Z), not realizing it was largely just a meme being spread by them to troll older folks and only an absolutely minuscule amount of people actually followed through with, is honestly astounding and incredibly aggravating to me. And the ultimate irony of it all is that by falling for the joke and being convinced it actually was a serious challenge and widespread epidemic, many of the older generation actually proved they are the ones who are really idiots because they have no effective media filter and just believe everything they are told is true. :/

        7 votes
    2. [2]
      Deimos
      Link Parent
      I've recently started listening to this podcast called Pessimists Archive. I've only listened to the first couple of episodes so far, but it seems like it will be really interesting as a look back...

      I've recently started listening to this podcast called Pessimists Archive. I've only listened to the first couple of episodes so far, but it seems like it will be really interesting as a look back at previous technology and the history of people's dramatic reactions to it.

      3 votes
      1. cfabbro
        Link Parent
        Neat, thanks. I will check it out. I am always on the look out for more podcasts, since I tend to burn out on the ones I listen to pretty quick, so prefer to switch it up frequently if I can.

        Neat, thanks. I will check it out. I am always on the look out for more podcasts, since I tend to burn out on the ones I listen to pretty quick, so prefer to switch it up frequently if I can.

        2 votes
  2. [4]
    nothis
    Link
    Boy they really hated Pac-Man!

    Boy they really hated Pac-Man!

    5 votes
    1. [2]
      Hypersapien
      Link Parent
      It's just that as far as they knew, Pac-Man was the only video game that existed.

      It's just that as far as they knew, Pac-Man was the only video game that existed.

      8 votes
      1. Akir
        Link Parent
        Much like every video game system was "the nintendo".

        Much like every video game system was "the nintendo".

        6 votes
    2. Thrabalen
      Link Parent
      When you need a central figure for pitchforking and torching, you go for name brand recognition. It wouldn't have the same impact had they all featured Q-Bert.

      When you need a central figure for pitchforking and torching, you go for name brand recognition. It wouldn't have the same impact had they all featured Q-Bert.

      4 votes
  3. Catt
    Link
    Great share. I especially liked the Justice one. I do wonder how it was viewed when they were first published. Guessing their reception is probably similar to our current GTA causes moral...

    Great share. I especially liked the Justice one. I do wonder how it was viewed when they were first published. Guessing their reception is probably similar to our current GTA causes moral corruption. Just seems so ridiculous to see PAC man as the subject.

    2 votes