Little Disc of Violence

Little Disc of Violence

Alexandra Hendrick
Little Disc of Violence

The street is dark and abandoned, ominous shadows cutting into the halo of light emitting from the streetlights shining like gods in the blackness. All of a sudden gunshots ring out from a previously silent house, flashing red lights, screams, bang, bang, thwack, silence. Quick! Retreat! Left, left, right, down, right, up, X! The pattering of machine gun fire streams out of the 5.1 surround speakers mounted to the walls of the apartment. The speakers run to a small television screen displaying a CG blond man walking through a creepy corridor framed by peeling wallpaper, the sound of soft, menacing breathing can be heard through the eerie rhythmic Avant-Garde, danger waits around every door. This fantasy world of horror and murder is all contained on a little spinning plastic disc, imprinted with the words ‘Silent Hill 4’ over the image of a screaming face shadowed over a chained door. What a horrible thing, isn’t it? A world in which sick and twisted minds can play out their darkest fantasies, delighting in the murder of CG monsters and even humans, why such a thing is only feeding the desires of the undesirable, or so it would seem. Try it for yourself, take the controller into your own hands, feeling the smooth plastic fit into the curvature of your palm as though it was modeled just for you. Slide your fingers over each little button, carefully memorizing their placement and functions. This comfortable feeling is exhilarating yet relaxing, it can’t be that bad after all. Just for a moment question what the announcer on the television feeds you about this electronic world, lose yourself in a brand new world, feel the adrenaline running through your veins like electricity through a wire. Possibly this supposedly mindless violence had a beneficial side to it after all, just maybe.
Thanks to the technology of companies such as Konami, EA, and Activism the fascinating delight of splattering the blood of your...