Call of Duty 4 Triggers Iraq Flashback in Marine Veteran

[admin]

It was the movie Rambo that may have drawn our popular culture's attention to post-traumatic stress disorder. It was also widely reported that certain dark, realistic films like Apocalypse Now and Platoon may have brought on symptoms of the disorder in veterans.

Discuss "Call of Duty 4 Triggers Iraq Flashback in Marine Veteran" here. Read the article.

 

[mike c]

it's too bad that he was injured, lost a friend, has post traumatic stress disorder, is maybe "unpaid" for his disability benefits ...

but if you have post-traumatic stress disorder - why TF would you play war games.

oh, and since i'm on the 'insensitive' road already ...

anybody else think that pic resembles the SHERMANATOR of american pie?

http://imdb.com/media/rm2104269568/nm0654104

 

[obscbyclouds]

but if you have post-traumatic stress disorder - why TF would you play war games.

I think you read my mind! It's called personal responsibility. If I had peanut allergies, I sure wouldn't eat peanut butter!

 

[The Chukker]

It was the movie Rambo that may have drawn our popular culture's attention to post-traumatic stress disorder. It was also widely reported that certain dark, realistic films like Apocalypse Now and Platoon may have brought on symptoms of the disorder in veterans.

Of course the substantive difference here is that watching a movie is a passive activity whereas playing games, especially those of the FPS variety, put you squarely "in" the action so to speak. I can think of no other game (with perhaps the exception of the grittily realistic ultraviolence of "Condemned: Criminal Origins") where the player is completely immersed in the action. I am no psychologist but it doesn't take a frickin' genius to conclude that returning vets from Iraq or Afghanistan probably shouldn't play COD 4 as a means of escapism .

 

[Jack Hammer]

it's too bad...

...anybody else think that pic resembles the SHERMANATOR of american pie?

http://imdb.com/media/rm2104269568/nm0654104

I don't want to be a d**k, but...


...totally.

On a serious note, sometimes people feel uncontrollable drawn to what they are troubled by. He may have felt compelled toward that type of game or even had been trying to face his demons on some level.
It's unfortunate that his family and friends didn't take the game from him before he had a relapse.


Jack

 

[Wayde Robson]

He may have felt compelled toward that type of game or even had been trying to face his demons on some level.
Jack

Agreed.

Who knows if Hall understood the risks, maybe that's exactly why he decided to play the game.

I have to disagree with the earlier statement about the difference between playing a game and watching a movie. I am no psychologist but if there are risks of PTSD you should lump movies and games in the same category as potential triggers.

But then, there could be an active form of therapy that says you should face what you fear most. I'm sure it works differently for different people.

He's only 24 and has a lot on his mind. When the going gets tough - the tough go camping. Maybe he's just taking some time away to sort things out. It's not like he left his children at the grocerey store and hasn't shown up for work in days.

 

[Matt34]

I know from some of my personal experiences that ordinary, everyday things can cause some adverse reactions after experiencing the kinds of things this kid did.

I've noticed since my last trip I've become very desensitized to otherwise graphic violence and death but for the longest time(about 4-5 months after coming back) a slamming door, fireworks, etc would trigger some intense fear. Of course every experience is going to be different as with the way that individual is going to deal with it.

Who are we to judge?


-There are defined signs and syptoms to PTSD though and families of returning soldiers should get themselves smart on the military programs available. It's too easy to blame his condition on a video game.

 

[dnice555]

I just wanted to chime in and agree with Mike C on the sherminator comment

 

[The Chukker]

I have to disagree with the earlier statement about the difference between playing a game and watching a movie. I am no psychologist but if there are risks of PTSD you should lump movies and games in the same category as potential triggers.

Fundamental differences aside, I do not disagree that movies and games are potential triggers, but that doesn't change the inherent difference between movies (which are a passive experience), and games (you are an active participant in). In a game like COD 4 which isn't necessarily realistic, after all most vets will tell you that real war is ~99% boredom and ~1% holy sh!t, it's subject material (especially the American campaign) is awfully close to what our men and women are dealing with in country: AK-47's, RPG's, and room clearing in an obviously Arab city. Don't forget that the player is tasked through his own actions, through his own senses (eyes and ears), with pulling the trigger and killing other realistically rendered humans in this game. I have finished this game on Veteran difficulty and it is one of the most intense games I have ever played. It utilizes modern weapons that sound and act like their real counterparts. And your buddies die a lot in the game. I am a great believer in escapism, I'm just not sure that this game is all that appropriate for our returning soldiers looking to unwind. Maybe something less grounded in reality like Halo 3 or Half-Life 2?

 

[Wayde Robson]

Hey Chukker

I hear what you're saying about the difference between passive and interactive entertainment. I agree with you on that and maybe there is something to the interactivity adding to the mind-trip aspect, if I may be so bold as to use a technical term from psychology.

However...

I don't know how old you are. I'm pretty old. But not too old to play COD 4 on Vet difficulty. Yes, it was intense. The visuals and emersivness was amazing. Voices, language, I'm sure it would put people into the middle of Bagdad for a moment when they start playing.

But - games are ritualistic. Our brains compartmentalize the skillsets required to get through the next level.

As good and emersive as a video game's visuals, sound and overall detail can be... it only lasts so long before you're left with the bare elements of "gameplay". Eventually you're turning corners - engaging targets - securing an AO - ending that level. It doesn't matter if the target is a well rendered mid-east religious fanatic or a Donkey Kong monster, you're performing the same repetitive tasks.

I am also old enough to remember when Apoc Now was released. Back in the day movies were said to have significant influence on behavior. In fact, you can take what they say about video games today and replace it with grindhouse cinema of the 70s.

When Apoc Now was released it was almost an 'exploitation film'. It went somewhere that most Americans weren't prepared to go. It was a risk for everyone involved including Coppola and Brando.

I was too young to actually go to it when it was released but I remember this sense of forbodding, that it was widely considered a dangerous movie.

There were intense scenes in that movie I don't think ever occured in Hollywood before. Soldiers performing operations so - out of uniform they'd be up on charges today. Open drug use in the field and all the confusion as to who exactly the enemy is. Comparing Apoc Now with John Wayne's Green Beret is a quantum leap.

I happen to be a veteran of the US Army myself. I was in a LRRP troop with the 2/1 Cav the Blackhawks. Fortunately for me it was only during peacetime. But we were training for the desert. Operation Desert Shield came soon after I ETS'ed.

I don't think going to a movie has any more significant effect on the psyche than playing a video game. But I'm not convinced of that statements converse either.

I think that we make whatever we want out of it. If you choose to be adversely effected by one or the other you will.

There you have it Chukker, I don't even think we disagree at this point. I'm just rambling cause it's late and I just played hockey and am trying to wind down so I can get some sleep.

-g'nite

 

[The Chukker]

All valid points Wayde, thank you for your well thought out response; obviously the issue is controversial and I think it will get more so as games get more and more sophisticated. Incidentally, I thank you for your service to our country, it is much appreciated.
Take care!