(Note: I have toned down this post as much as I could, but it still focuses on the subject of over-violent media. Although there's nothing in here that may offend per se, I accept that it might get deleted for being a bit too descriptive. Or just for being rubbish.)

"These games are training our children to become efficient killers."
"This film contains scenes of a violent nature, and is not suitable for younger viewers."
"Select blood colour: red/green/none"
"You got a chainsaw. Find some meat!"

All-too-common quotes and nearlyquotes in and about the current state of the media. There has been a lot of talk about desensitisation, and how our overexposure to gruesome scenes on an almost daily basis has increased our tolerances for shock and disgust. Here's a task for those who have grown up around gore. Think back, way back, to a moment in which you were genuinely unsettled by the amount of claret on display on some screen. A bloody scene from which you had to look away. Chances are, if you can think of a recent example then it's a very extreme one. The point is, you probably discarded scenes that some people would find absolutely revolting, yet you considered to be nothing special.

That's not a problem. The world is full of surgeons, while lots of people can't even stand the sight of real blood. Not being squeamish isn't really something to get worried about. Or is it? Recently, a number of things happened to me that made me question my own levels of psychopathery.

Case Study 1: Serious Sam

I remember when I first bought this (really rather good) game and shot at some of the monsters. I noticed a blood splat on the wall. Not uncommon in a modern game, as gibs have been flying and leaving their mark for a long time. The thing is, that this was no ordinary splat. It was distorted along the wall. It was the result of a close-range shotgun blast. I looked at it, and I smiled. "Cool," I thought.

"Cool." Not "ew." Well, strictly, I did make a kind of laughing "eww" sound, but it wasn't serious. I certainly wasn't repulsed.

Case Study 2: Untouchables

Said film was on the other night, and I watched it. Lots of guns, lots of shooting, lots of hats. At one point, two characters are shot in the head at point-blank range inside a very small room. We don't see anything, of course, just the usual movie "quick cut to black - BANG, BANG" thing. A bit later, however, we see the aftermath.

It was, being a movie, far more realistic than Sam's garishly-coloured sprites. But I wasn't disgusted. At all. In fact, my first and only thought about the violence level was "that's far too much blood." Not only was I not affected by it, but I was even criticising the quantity! Quite something, considering how little I know about the bullet impacts and wallpapering.

Case Study 3: Doom III

I saw the awesome "fiend in the toilet" screenshot. I won't post a link here for obvious reasons, but it suffices to say that anyone who knows about Doom III will have seen it. What did I think? I questioned its composition. There were two left handprints on the floor, and no right. I cast my eye over the scene to try to explain this, testing various theories on how it would have progressed. All this without even thinking an "ick."

And that's when it struck me just how little I am affected by sanguinious excess. I told Ell about the pic, and her first reaction was "OH MY GOD EWW." It never even occured to me to think that someone else might be put off by it.

My question is this. At what point does desensitisation (reducing shock responses and promoting calm under extreme circumstances, good) become dehunamitisation (not a real word, bad)? I don't actively look for gore, nor am I attracted to it. I didn't patch Carmageddon to restore its red flavour, but I did buy the game. I have never used a "more gore" patch, but I don't turn down the blood levels when I play a game. If I wanted more gore, would I be "to be worried about"? So am I "normal," because I accept the default levels of gib? Or do normal people turn down the gore levels?

And just what is the deal with the dead guy's right hand?

Matthew