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Thursday's Bulls*** takes on game-violence link

Last month, the magic comedy duo of Penn Jilette and Raymond Teller, aka Penn & Teller, revealed that they would address the link between violence and video games in the next season of their Showtime series, Bulls***. But while the program was revealed via several brief shots of the Electronic...

Last month, the magic comedy duo of Penn Jilette and Raymond Teller, aka Penn & Teller, revealed that they would address the link between violence and video games in the next season of their Showtime series, Bulls***. But while the program was revealed via several brief shots of the Electronic Entertainment Expo and a statement from anti-game activist Jack Thompson, it was unclear when it would actually air or what, specifically, it would cover.

Now, the official Bulls*** site has revealed that the episode, titled simply "Video Games," will begin airing this Thursday, July 9, at 10:00 p.m. EDT/PDT. The program's synopsis reads as follows:

Politicians and other alarmists claim that playing video games leads to teen violence. Penn & Teller attempt to debunk that theory by handing over a real semi-automatic weapon to a nine-year-old to see if playing video games will turn him into a human killing machine.

Showtime, which is owned by GameSpot parent CBS Corp., is also offering a preview of the episode on the Bulls*** site. (Clip contains coarse language--viewer discretion is advised.) The clip shows game-violence opponent Chris Cooney explaining how he believes the intersection of guns, troubled teens, and "mass-killing simulators"--aka first-person shooters--are the key ingredients in any school shooting spree.

"All you are is looking down the barrel of a gun going 'kill, kill, kill, kill,'" says Cooney. "It's a shame you couldn't just be running around finding sick people and hitting them with a magic wand that will make them healthy, or something like that."

60 Comments

  • Spikedjester

    Posted Jul 8, 2009 12:38 pm GMT

    "All you are is looking down the barrel of a gun going 'kill, kill, kill, kill,'" says Cooney. "It's a shame you couldn't just be running around finding sick people and hitting them with a magic wand that will make them healthy, or something like that."

    lol, and this is the exact reason why I can never take anti-videogame activists seriously at all. With garbage like that coming from his mouth, why would I ever take his side. Hes an obvious extremist, who else would want us hitting people with magic wands and healing them. Sounds like some toddler bulls*** to me.

  • 0Aragorn0

    Posted Jul 8, 2009 10:29 am GMT

    The Hotspot had a really good point a few months ago on one of their shows regarding studies and arguments in regards to violence and television/video games. One of the major problems with the media aspect of this is that only the extremists are being heard on both sides. The side that says they've PROVEN effects of video games on kids is done/funded by a biased person who already believes video games causes kids to be violent. Many studies supporting "evidence" on that claim can be tracked as either researched or funded by that person. And the same goes for his main opponent:

    In the end, as of now they really can't prove that A=B because you have so many other non-controlable variables that might influence the outcome. So instead of spending the time and money debating if it does or not, why not use that money to help already troubled kids???

  • lamprey263

    Posted Jul 8, 2009 5:33 am GMT

    what a coincidence, I just upgraded my cable plan to include Showtime so now I can watch this

    and for those that might be interested, they've a few seasons of Penn & Teller on Netflix that you can stream on your X360 or PC, I've got those all queued up to watch any episodes I haven't already seen

  • Jedilink109

    Posted Jul 8, 2009 1:06 am GMT

    This show should be pretty entertaining. I'll definately check it out.

  • JGoWild

    Posted Jul 7, 2009 1:29 pm GMT

    Not this Violent Game SPAM again. Sometimes I feel like I'm in a forum or something when m in gamespot, like when somebody out of nowhere starts a "Bull****" spam thread just like this one just to make his/her post count increase. I think we should stop talkin about video game violence once and for all because we know there are stupid ignorant people in this world who have to find a flaw in anything or everything, including games. So why even bother, rather lets show them that we are not stupid like them to start a conversation on this topic but would rather spend those quality time playing games.

  • vf21x

    Posted Jul 7, 2009 12:25 pm GMT

    Magic Wand?????????

  • SMUNirvana1

    Posted Jul 7, 2009 12:18 pm GMT

    @ZIMdoom

    There have been hundreds of studies done and now even many Meta-analysis done on aggressiveness and violent media. Of course causality is too difficult to identify. However, I will list a few articles. I will concede and accept the fact that children who have a personality type that is not predisposed to aggressive behavior most likely will have no effect...but without proper discussion of media or as I said before parents being parents, there is a correlation between aggressiveness and viewing of violent media.

    1. Surgeon General’s Scientific Advisory Committee on Television and Social Behavior. Television and Growing Up: The Impact of Televised Violence. Rockville, Md: National Institute of Mental Health; 1972.
    2. Pearl D, Bouthilet L, Lazar J, eds. Television and Behavior: Ten Years of Scientific Progress and Implications for the Eighties. Rockville, Md: US Dept of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Administration, National Institute of Mental Health; 1982.
    3. Murray JP. Results of an informal poll of knowledgeable persons concerning the impact of television violence. Newsl Am Psychol Assoc Div Child Youth Fam Serv. 1984;7:2-3.
    4. Paik H, Comstock G. The effects of television violence on antisocial behavior: a meta-analysis. Communic Res. 1994;21:516-546.
    5. Anderson CA, Bushman BJ. Media violence and societal violence. Science. 2002; 295:2377-2378.

  • Barighm

    Posted Jul 7, 2009 11:57 am GMT

    I take it Chris Clooney never played a priest in WoW.

  • Yuck_Too

    Posted Jul 7, 2009 11:21 am GMT

    They are funny, usually make some excellent points, tend to swear...and do their best to include naked women...television programming at it's finest!

  • PiNwOrM

    Posted Jul 7, 2009 11:06 am GMT

    @Paul_GameFury Don't worry, Penn and Teller will

  • Madrak_Arakeen

    Posted Jul 7, 2009 9:50 am GMT

    It's good to see someone in the greater media scheme standing up for us. I think I might get some friends together for Thursday's program. Almost busted out laughing just watching the preview.

  • necronaux

    Posted Jul 7, 2009 9:02 am GMT

    P & T have done great jobs (?) de-bunking a lot of BS in their past episodes. Can't wait for this one.

  • XXMadManVII

    Posted Jul 7, 2009 8:49 am GMT

    We are still talking about this?? I figured some troubled teen influenced by GTA4 would have went on a Mountain... oops "Mtn" Dew fueled rampage and killed all these people by now. Oh, wait... that s**t doesn't happen in the real world. What happens in the real world is some crazy mother f**ker influenced by being fired because of cut backs goes on a meth fueled rampage and kills his family. Show me the games that Domer, Gacy, and Manson played that turned them into mass murderers and I might reconsider the whole games = killers argument. Until then.......

  • Quezakolt

    Posted Jul 7, 2009 8:43 am GMT

    as long as guns are sold.. or whatever.. its just dumb crap..

    im sure the world was as violent.. the same.. if not more..in the past.. we just now have media to spread the disease..

  • Balo_the_Gamer

    Posted Jul 7, 2009 8:10 am GMT

    Cooney's last comment; "It's a shame you couldn't just be running around finding sick people and hitting them with a magic wand that will make them healthy, or something like that." Makes for a good Wii game. Point the remote at sick people and cure them!. Quick Cooney, go and copyright your idea!!

  • bschroth

    Posted Jul 7, 2009 8:05 am GMT

    i hate the violence to videogames argument. it's completely pointless. videogames don't kill people, just other people do that. if you're dumb enough to let a game convince you to, then you have other extremely large problems in the first place.

  • sieg6529

    Posted Jul 7, 2009 7:35 am GMT

    wow, Mr. Cooney lives in a fairy land of lollipops and rainbows. I can't wait to see P&T evicerate this theory. But seriously, if there were a real link between violent video games and school shootings, there should be a lot more school shootings because we are now on what is, at least, the second generation raised on FPS (aka mass murder simulators, ROFL).

  • ZIMdoom

    Posted Jul 7, 2009 7:07 am GMT

    @SMUNirvana1

    There has never been any proven connection between violence on TV/Videogames/music and real life violence. Not one single study has found any connection. However, there have been a bunch of studies that have found a "correlation". Those studies found that children who were considered "bullies" or having a bullying personality (in other words children already prone to acting aggressive or violent) were more likely to act violently after watching violence on tv. However, no study has ever been able to show that kids who are predisposed NOT to be violent became violent after exposure. Therefore, no matter how you look at it, you can't blame TV or videogames or music or anything else. If a kid is already violent it is most likely caused by some other factor and TV or games are just an excuse after the fact.

  • gameweasl

    Posted Jul 7, 2009 5:41 am GMT

    I don't even know why they wasted there time, look where Jack Thompson is now. He is a bum...

  • Excedra

    Posted Jul 7, 2009 4:10 am GMT

    haha cool

  • dumpkoff

    Posted Jul 7, 2009 1:40 am GMT

    Haha, I don't think a game where you beat sick people with a magic wand is going help very much either. If shooters makes people shoot people, then a game where beat people with a wand to make them healthier is going to make people hit other people who are sick. "Why aren't you healed? HEAL DAMNIT!"

  • coruscant

    Posted Jul 7, 2009 12:20 am GMT

    I wish I lived in the U.S so I could watch this, this looks like it could blow the anti-game lobby wide open.

  • robbieeeeee

    Posted Jul 6, 2009 10:49 pm GMT

    Hahaha.

  • Pablo620

    Posted Jul 6, 2009 10:01 pm GMT

    I freaking love Penn and Teller's Show. It will be interesting to take a look at their stand

  • wiirkokonuts

    Posted Jul 6, 2009 7:31 pm GMT

    @Khasym

    At the time, the Crusades sounded like a brilliant idea. Why? Because the religious groups held the most power over the people. That doesn't make it a downward spiral in their time. Now since religions aren't nearly as once powerful as they used to be, we look at the Crusades as "horrible and an uncivilized act". At their time, it was the right thing to do. FYI, the Crusades were launched by the Christians, so it was everyone that wasn't Christian.

    Society isn't in a downward spiral, and it never has been. Right now, most people consider the microchip a brilliant idea, just like the Crusades was during the time. Anyway, what everyone else needs to understand is that it's just that there are just a tiny amount of people who can't get their head out of the digital world when they enter back into reality, that's all.

  • WholeDarnShow

    Posted Jul 6, 2009 6:44 pm GMT

    Age Appropriate Shirt.

  • etai79

    Posted Jul 6, 2009 5:12 pm GMT

    Cooney has a very naive view of video games, and violence in general. It's a shame we can't have accredited sociologists making statements about these "problems."

  • Khasym

    Posted Jul 6, 2009 5:03 pm GMT

    Dogpigfish


    It isn't the people committing these crimes that make the assertion. It's overprotecting PC groups. According to them, society's been in a downward spiral since the invention of the microchip.


    Apparently, they miss the fact that before there was electricity, there such wonderful devices as the Iron Maiden, the Brazen Bull, Crucifixition, Slavery, the Spanish Inquisition, the religions Crusades that were designed to kill anyone who wasn't Christian or Islamic.

  • phil-_-meh

    Posted Jul 6, 2009 4:40 pm GMT

    I play alot of shooting games, and u don't see me running around with a knife killing ppl or spraying with an assault rifle, play a game is one thing, replicating the game in real life is WHOLE DIFFERENT STORY,

  • dogpigfish

    Posted Jul 6, 2009 4:21 pm GMT

    What does video games have to do with people taking responsibility for their own actions? You can blame other things for your violent behavior, but the truth is you play violent games because of your violent behavior. Naturally someone who is violent will find something that appeals to them, like violent games. The games didn't make these messed up kids violent, it was their parents. Their games didn't spark or trigger something in their mind, it was their intent before they bought the game. Did you get that,.... Intent.

  • Paul_GameFury

    Posted Jul 6, 2009 4:16 pm GMT

    Why does no one ever look at video games the other way around; as an outlet for already violent children? If they can't come home and kill droves of Nazis or aliens then they just will continue to keep their rage deep inside until they snap. It's quite possible that video games have saved us from even more school shootings than have already occured.

  • EcksBocks360

    Posted Jul 6, 2009 4:13 pm GMT

    I believe that video games can trigger violent activity, or build it up depending on the game. However, the only people that this has happened to are Attention-deprived, troubled teenagers. And where do those come from? That's right, the parents. Whether games can cause violence or not, though i believe they can, the problem isn't the games, its the F***ing parents for not looking at the BOX for an M rating.

  • Tandem_Toad

    Posted Jul 6, 2009 4:11 pm GMT

    SMUNirvana1, I totally agree with points 3 and 4. I am also a teacher. However, points one and 2 are erroneous. The supposed link between Monday Night Football and violent behavior cannot be summed up that easily. Human emotion leading to specific behavior has myriad of inputs in a given day. If you look at the statistics MOST people who watch Monday Night Football do not get violent. You being a teacher should know that this is a negative correlation, which means there is more reason to believe the reverse. Just because there is an increase in violent behavior on Monday night does not mean that there is therefore a positve correlation. However, since we are both teachers, we should both know that correlation does not and never will mean CAUSE and EFFECT. So, NEITHER of us could argue case and point no matter the correlation. The increase in violent behavior could simply be due to the stress that typically accompanies the begining of another work week. There are too many inputs to suggest a real link.

  • Paul_GameFury

    Posted Jul 6, 2009 4:01 pm GMT

    Here's my fire triangle: Having a belt that is longer than you are tall, complaining about video games that you have never played, and going on national television will all cause you to become a laughing stock that no one will ever take seriously.

    His one example that he comes up with happened ten years ago. How many people have died from over-eating since then?

  • Wula_

    Posted Jul 6, 2009 3:59 pm GMT

    Disappoints me that so many of you guys think video game violence isn't connected to real life violence. Last week I just robbed 4 banks, shot over 50 different people, killed 3 hookers to get my money back, got into 8 high speed pursuits and avoided the cops every time, firebombed 10 night clubs and kicked a puppy off a skyscraper. If that isn't proof to make you guys change your minds that video games drive me to commit violence. Then I don't know what will.

  • mrklorox

    Posted Jul 6, 2009 3:57 pm GMT

    @ wslstomper
    "i wanna see a game that actually tries to piss people off by telling kids its ok to shoot someone if you dont like them or satan is cooler than god etc."

    Kids don't need a videogame to let them know that satan is way cooler than god. 30 seconds of the Disney channel should be plenty evidence.

  • mrklorox

    Posted Jul 6, 2009 3:55 pm GMT

    OH NOES!! I CAN STILL SEE A LETTER BEFORE THOSE ASTERISKS AND FROM THAT I CAN DETERMINE THE WORD!! WARNINGS ALL AROUND FOR NOT COMPLETELY OBSCURING BANNED WORDS!!!

    But seriously, Gamespot, way to be complete hypocrites about your own rules.

  • SMUNirvana1

    Posted Jul 6, 2009 3:46 pm GMT

    I am a teacher and a video game fan... I feel very strongly about this topic and would like to add a few things.
    1. There is no definitive connection between video game violence and real life violence yet...(it will come).
    2. Violence and Aggressive entertainment has been proven to increase aggressive behavior (case and point - the worst night for domestic abuse is Monday Nights...Monday Night Football has been linked to increases in violence within homes).
    3. Despite possible connections - the thing that needs to happen (a novel idea) parents need to act as PARENTS!!! With proper conversation / discussion about media being witnessed or video games being played; any possible link to real life actions can be avoided. You chose to be a parent, now be responsible enough to act like one!
    4. There are age restrictions in games for a reason; just like ratings on movies (despite them being biases and horrid). I think there should be games out there made for kids and I would love to play some over the top Adults Only violent video games...Parents and retailers need to work together to make sure media that children use is age appropriate...
    5. finally and most importantly, I cannot wait for Dead Rising 2!!!

  • wslstomper

    Posted Jul 6, 2009 3:40 pm GMT

    i wanna see a game that actually tries to piss people off by telling kids its ok to shoot someone if you dont like them or satan is cooler than god etc.

  • zintarr

    Posted Jul 6, 2009 3:40 pm GMT

    I have a stable marriage of 15-years and 2 children. If anyone of them is going to make me go on a killing spree it would be the wife, the kids, or a combination of them. Not my video games.

    Furthermore, if the fat guy in the picture up above is the game-violence opponent Chris Cooney, can someone tell him I DO NOT NEED OR WANT him raising my children. I can do it on my own and it will be I, not some fat slob telling me what when and how I should expose or refrain from exposing a game to my children.

  • spudster007

    Posted Jul 6, 2009 3:35 pm GMT

    If there was a game where you could heal people with a magic wand, religions would shun it and claim it to be witchcraft just like they did to the Harry Potter books.

  • PSdual_wielder

    Posted Jul 6, 2009 3:32 pm GMT

    The biggest argument these social anti-gamers have is actually their most fundamental flaw. Playing violent video games is actually the exact reason teen violence is low, because clearly there are more gamers NOT committing crime than those that are.

    I wish this is addressed someday, similar to how the theory of evolution is actually in favor to arguing the existence of god in the philosophical world.

  • ali_manslayer

    Posted Jul 6, 2009 3:30 pm GMT

    i think violence is due to lack of faith and discipline... maybe greediness if we talk about the government

  • Patatopan

    Posted Jul 6, 2009 3:27 pm GMT

    Any person against violent videogames has an invalid argument. If they are so worried about shielding kids from mature stuf, why don't they attack the porn industry or violent movies?

  • rtcs1986

    Posted Jul 6, 2009 3:25 pm GMT

    isnt there a couple games for wii where you do work in a hospital and heal people? i think that fat f*** should get his facts straight and his cholesterol levels down.

  • Tallwhitemocha

    Posted Jul 6, 2009 3:23 pm GMT

    The problem with with this view point is that otherwise intelligent people buy into it. My Media Law Professor, a very intelligent woman who has two publishes books under her belt, tried to make the case that First-
    Person Shooters helped the Columbine kids train. She cited the hours of Doom they played on the computer and the impressive accuracy they displayed while on campus. She even tried to use the fact that our armed forces use similar "simulations" to help them train. I and a former Marine in my class had to explain to her that these "simulations" are used to improve teamwork and co-ordination. Not to teach soldiers how to shoot or improve accuracy.

  • killer_rabbit20

    Posted Jul 6, 2009 3:22 pm GMT

    So video games are causing violence, yet the Government is at war, yet the Government doesn't play video games.

    I don't get this. Would someone like to explain?

  • ZIMdoom

    Posted Jul 6, 2009 3:21 pm GMT

    I am a firm believer that there is ZERO connection between videogames and real life violence. Science backs me up...they are still looking for a link between TV and violence for crying out loud and the net will be the next target for morality zealots looking for an excuse to censor anything they don't like. However, despite my own P.O.V. I fully expect that this episode of BS will be just like the majority of their other episodes. The biggest amount of lies, misinformation and BS will be that coming from Penn and Teller themselves.

  • Devouring_One

    Posted Jul 6, 2009 3:21 pm GMT

    Going around hitting people with a magic wand? If they really did do that, then they would blame mass beatings on video games.

  • rtcs1986

    Posted Jul 6, 2009 3:19 pm GMT

    i bet he hasnt seen his balls since the atari lol

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