Fragged

I saw a preview of the play First Person Shooter last Friday. It goes into the heavy topics of school shootings, racism, and personal guilt. Intense stuff and the director used a clever trick had the actors slam the set pieces around to heighten that intensity. And of course, with the VT shooings it was very topical stuff. The script covered a lot of ground and in a fairly complex way, with some fairly funny dialog as well. Some nice chunky roles for the many of the actors to sink their teeth into. Chad Deverman and Craig Marke were particular stand-outs.

As in any time limited dramatization of complex issues, aspects get left unexamined and I couldn't help but think about some of the issues that would have liked. Even though they provided plenty of examples, I wish the play had at least noted all the homo-erotic/homophobic trash-talking and posturing in the gaming world. Guys will say some stuff that they'd never think of repeating outside of the context of game-play. It's all sort of male-bonding talk, but there probably deeper connotations as well. What I find interesting that a lot of gamers are people that have adopted a role that at least superficially rejected typical "jock" behavior.

Then there's unexplored that school shooting and violence on that level is really a male issue, and the few exceptions only help prove the rule. But rather then just sort of writing boys and men as inherently violent, my take on it is that our society does a great disservice to it's boys and gives them very few tools to deal with and express their emotions. Instead a male culture of violent outbursts is perpetuated and accepted in this country.

Then of course there's the issue of ready access to firearms in this country...