Jon Stewart blasts Congress' ignorance towards video games
by Conrad Quilty-Harper 
{ Jun 22nd 2006 at 3:25PM }
One of the most poignant parts of the show is where Jon responds to a clip of a seemingly helpless Lee Terry pleading to the hearing that "as a father of three young boys... who are avid gamers, I am very concerned about the content included in the games" by deadpanning "and as I stand there, watching them play these violent games, helpless to do anything about it, I can't help but wonder where the system has failed". Also worth a look is the end of the segment interview with Samantha Bee, a Senior PlayStationologist, from within San Andreas.
It's the typical Daily Show mix of poking fun at the ignorance of people with power, coupled with an "OMG the 'House of Representatives filled with insane jackasses' might screw up my favorite past-time" hangover.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
jc @ Jun 22nd 2006 3:40PM
Great find Conrad, this is one of the funniest clips I have seen in a while.
Revadarth @ Jun 22nd 2006 3:40PM
The part with the guy reading about Civ: IV was the best part. Classic.
Derbeste @ Jun 22nd 2006 3:40PM
awwwwww.....I was just about to send this story in. A little late I guess.
It's a really funny bit, but congress isn't the only one he blasts. He blasts gamers with the "immature kiddy" label as well. Luckilly, you can tell that was more tongue in cheek as I do believe he plays games as well.
His comment about "standing there watching my children play these games..." was so funny I about got in trouble at work.
Honestly....this man is a genius and is destined to be the next Johnny Carson.
Amir @ Jun 22nd 2006 3:42PM
Watching this now on more4! hilarious!
ck @ Jun 22nd 2006 3:44PM
Yeah I just watched the show this morning and you can't help but wonder how these people get elected into congress. Don't we have worse things to worry about? Like that war in Iraq or unemployment. Certainly video game violence cannot possibly be more important. The episode before that had a guest on who wrote a book, "Fight Club Politics" and how many of these representatives are getting re-elected by creating their own district lines that favor them getting the vote. No wonder...
I'm just waiting for a No violence/gay marriage/abortion law to make it to congress and it'll pass because of these insane "family-oriented" congressmen/women. By then I'll be living in Europe, at least where they're trying to progress as a civilization.
GunForHire @ Jun 22nd 2006 3:47PM
Ahh, for once I can say 'God bless Europe' and mean it.
There's none of this video games hysteria over here in Europe, or at least certainly not on the scale there is in the US.
'Bout time the US legislators took off their rose tinted glasses and realised things aren't like they were back in the days of The Waltons anymore isn't it?
dvddesign @ Jun 22nd 2006 3:53PM
Tsk, tsk... So sad. Maybe if congress weren't so hopelessly addicted to Pong and Civ4, they'd realize that they need to hold parents accountable for their children's actions instead of blaming the media.
OTAM @ Jun 22nd 2006 4:06PM
I actually watched this last night and remembered sitting there thinking "I wonder if this will show up on Joystiq tomorrow?"
Sure enough,I was correct :)
GlitchCog @ Jun 22nd 2006 4:10PM
Jon Stewart plays video games. At least he plays Doom. He had that big guy who was in the movie on and was talking about how much he enjoys playing Doom.
Mat @ Jun 22nd 2006 4:12PM
ck, if all of the rational thinkers leave to Europe (in your case) or Canada, where does that leave our country?
I think that if more people would just watch The Daily Show, comedy or not, they'd become a little more educated about a lot of problems are country has and maybe do something about it (like write your congressman or senator).
minus_273 @ Jun 22nd 2006 4:14PM
" Ahh, for once I can say 'God bless Europe' and mean it."
are you kidding. Its even worse there. Lots of games that we play every day are BANNED in Europe.
sev4 pri1 @ Jun 22nd 2006 4:15PM
I remember these arguments, except it circled around Marilyn Manson. Cyclical media bashing at its finest.
jabbertrack @ Jun 22nd 2006 4:24PM
The sad part is that these morons don't know they look stupid. They really have no clue.
It actually makes me sad.
Sagan @ Jun 22nd 2006 4:24PM
There was an article about this hearing on digg a week ago or so:
http://articles.gaminghorizon.com/media/1150488840.86.html
billychaos @ Jun 22nd 2006 4:27PM
I'm totally with you ck. I can't believe our horrible public education system, high unemployment levels, and a damn war in Iraq and all they do is sit around and complain that gay people wanting to get hitched, and computer animation being too violent (what about the damn war, that's not violent????). My goodness, our taxes pay for these politicians?????
Anthriel @ Jun 22nd 2006 4:46PM
But who would want to talk about such unpleasant things as unemployment or war, when you can also bash gays or video games?
And besides, think about it for a moment. How many people were killed last year by war?
Now, how many were killed by video games or game marriage.
Exactly. As long as gay marriage and video games are not eliminated, now American can feel safe.
Gemini @ Jun 22nd 2006 5:24PM
I have also played Gran Turismo... VROooOOooOm!! VROooOoooOm!!!
I watched this last night, so funny yet sad.
Kallini @ Jun 22nd 2006 5:30PM
High unemployment? You must be talking about Germany (11-12%%) or France (10%) as opposed to the US, where it's currently 4.6%, lower than it's been in ages.
Nothing wrong with the US' economy... Just do a little fact-checking.
PhantomVI @ Jun 22nd 2006 5:31PM
Sabre, it's called a joke. Or was the laughter that followed not clear enough?
And it's easy to make unemployment levels look like their dropping when you change the definitions/qualifications of the term "unemployed", as this administration did. They cut the amount of time a person can receive unemployment assistance, hence dropping a lot of people off the lists.
Greg @ Jun 22nd 2006 5:32PM
Screw this im moving to canada....I guess this is evidence as to why we are still at war....the REAL terrorist wins again.....
n8dogg @ Jun 22nd 2006 5:43PM
The Representative didn't actually say that, Sabre. That was Jon finishing the sentence for him which is a common gag used on the Daily Show. But it pretty much sums up the mentality that a lot of parents have on video games.
The ZeroCorpse @ Jun 22nd 2006 5:56PM
Pastime.
Not past-time.
They mean two completely different things.
Joshi @ Jun 22nd 2006 5:58PM
"I stand there, watching them play these violent games, helpless to do anything about it, I can't help but wonder where the system has failed."
You're the fucking parent. You ARE the system. The "system" failed with YOU.
I'm sick of people being so dependent on the government to raise their fucking kids for them. You call yourself a parent. Be one.
That said, this videogame witch-hunt sickens me. Games are the new comic books. Read the Wiki on the Comics Code Authority. It was ridiculous. Europe didn't have any problems with comics - because they were smart enough to realize that comics, like games, weren't just for children.
God, I want to puke. Sorry about the rant.
The American government depresses me.
Joshi @ Jun 22nd 2006 6:01PM
Ack. I reread the article, and the part I quoted was Stewart finishing the quote in deadpan. Whoops.
Way to go, Stewart.
One Guy Nick @ Jun 22nd 2006 6:17PM
All the talk about Europe being better or such, lets not forget that in Germany you were not allowed to purcahse wolfeinstein or to play games depecting nazis. In australia GTA was banned. The rest of the world is the same way. Get off your high horses and travel the world before opening your mouth. I say you should all move! SHEESH!
Mike B. @ Jun 22nd 2006 6:19PM
Cool. The Daily Show mentions gaming stuff pretty often. If the MSM was paying attention, they'd know stuff like this is why the DS has a target market audience (18-35). There's a ton of people working in media who "get" games, yet the only people who blast this political like it should be blasted are game sites, bloggers and, occassionally, the Daily Show. Why?
pixelator @ Jun 22nd 2006 6:25PM
The DS target market isn't as high as 35. They may hit some in that bracket, but that's PSP range. Nintendo always has and always will be (mainly) catering to the low-teen range with a big emphasis on the sub-13ers.
"There's none of this video games hysteria over here in Europe"
Excuse me, did you not realize blood has to be green in Germany? Or that most games with military action and violence in them are banned there, outright? Last I checked, Germany was in Europe. Dumbass.
Jose @ Jun 22nd 2006 6:47PM
You know, as soon as Jon Stewart said, when referring to attempting the stereotypical Italian Mario accent, "Rendering in real time" I knew he wasn't just bullshitting that he played games to seem cool with his demographic (18-35 year old males are the most avid gamers, as well as viewers of Comedy Central shows like Chapelle, Daily Show, Mencia, Colbert, and not David Spade) but he probably pays attention to gaming news. Think about what they have said in all the fancy demos for next-generation consoles. Yes, they render the images in real time. Slip of the tongue of a true gamer, wierd coincidence, or someone just done their homework?
theiloth @ Jun 22nd 2006 6:52PM
No need to get so touchy, every country has it's quirks and it's not a very good idea to generalize like that.
There are a lot of countries in Europe other than Germany. Bringing up examples centering solely on Germany with reference to WW2 etc. or common wiki/recent news knowledge does not make one well-traversed.
Look to Finland, can't we all just wish we lived there (or not)?
BTW: The Daily Show guy, is he affiliated with any party or is he neutral? I'm guessing he's neutral if he's on 4, or even better he's liberal?
bazald @ Jun 22nd 2006 6:54PM
Yeah, Jon is a gamer alright. Too bad he does it on an *Apple*. Kind of... limiting.
Jamie Flournoy @ Jun 22nd 2006 6:54PM
This is all just government theatre designed to polarize voters around emotionally charged issues to keep their place in power, while the real work of obeying lobbyists and serving the moneyed special interests takes place much more quietly.
They're not going to "wise up" until the entire voting public stops being a bunch of suckers for this sort of ploy. (Terri Schiavo, abortion, gay marriage, immigration, the various wars against inanimate objects or abstract concepts that happen to involve blowing up foreigners, etc...)
Shagi @ Jun 22nd 2006 7:00PM
"5. Ahh, for once I can say 'God bless Europe' and mean it.
There's none of this video games hysteria over here in Europe, or at least certainly not on the scale there is in the US."
Really? In Germany you can't even have the killing of humanoids or blood in a game. Did you guys kick Germany out of Europe and not tell us about it? You guys are slick!
Wideruled @ Jun 22nd 2006 7:27PM
If you are really all so distressed about it then write to your congressman/woman and tell them that this is an important issue to you and educate them on how things really are in the country. Also tell them that if any leglislation is proposed and they vote the wrong way on it that they will be out of thier position in the next elction. That will get them listening, and hopefully youll be able educate them on the ways of a Video Gamer.
Sure some of us are immature and others are higly educated, but we have to take the good with the bad. We have to acknowledge the fact that video games CAN influence a certian type of person, but we have to stress that other forms of media can also influence that same type of person just as easily.
I consider myself a republican (maybe more tward libritarian) and i find the stuff that those republicans were talking about pretty dumb (except for the old guy, mad props on even attempting to play CIV 4) as they clearly dont understand anything they talk about.
Also to the person who stated that Nintendo is only targeting the sub13 catagory: Have you been living under a rock? That is all.
Flame away!
Hurmun @ Jun 22nd 2006 7:34PM
"Rendering in Real-time."
He knows his stuff.
nintendo fan @ Jun 22nd 2006 7:40PM
It's funny because it's true.
EgoTripping @ Jun 22nd 2006 8:03PM
That clip of our leaders proves once again that the majority of adults don't get gaming. I'm 30 years old and I have many friends and coworkers in their late 40's to early 60's. They do not understand why young people like videogames. In fact, I think they are scared by videogames.
Make some noise. Don't let our idiot leaders make laws about something they don't understand.
Oh yeah, I'll be a parent for the first time in about 6 months. There's no way I'm letting my child play a game like GTA in the near future (not that he or she would have the ability to anyway). It's not a kids game. Be a parent. Don't look to the government to do your job.
Juan Garcia @ Jun 22nd 2006 9:00PM
Poor Video Gamers: Stupid and Criminals.
Good news. Bad news. The bad news is that, according to Representative Joseph Pitts, poor people become violent criminals simply by playing video games. The good news, according to representative Joseph Pitts, rich kids can play Grand Theft Auto and not become violent criminals. The comments from the Pennsylvania representative remind us how stupid poor people are, not because they are easily influenced by games, but because white collar crime is less dangerous and equally profitable, costing the US close to 300 billion a year.
On the one hand the video game industry must act responsible and create games that teach our kids how to grow to become NON-violent criminals like Jack Abramoff, and Kenneth Lay, or corrupt congressmen like Tom DeLay.
On the other hand we commend Representative Joseph Pitts for reminding us how stupid poor people are. I mean if they weren't stupid they wouldn't be poor. Given that the representative also opposes gay marriage maybe he will take a similar stance; rich homos may marry other rich homos but the poorer homos can't marry.
If you want to congratulate super representative Pitts (not related to Brad Pitt) write to:
Rep. Joseph Pitts
221 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
(1st Street and Independence Avenue)
202 225-2411
202 225-2013 (fax)
PS. Joseph Pitts is also against net neutrality. Against campaign reform and he hates puppies, I think.
Read at: http://brooklyn22.com
GTG @ Jun 22nd 2006 10:05PM
Don't worry, Congress still takes care of the "important" stuff too...
http://edition.cnn.com/2006/US/06/20/dobbs.june21/index.html
neale @ Jun 22nd 2006 10:09PM
10: "are you kidding. Its even worse there. Lots of games that we play every day are BANNED in Europe."
what have you played that we have banned?
germany is surrounded by other countries, the whole of Europe is region PAL, i can order games off the german or french (to name a few) amazon if i want and lets not forget the amount of games that are now region free (when i got my 360, i couldnt find a HDD, so i was ordering them from the dutch, german, french amazons). if it really bothered you/the germans that much, you wuould just buy from across the border. not so easy in the huge america, with your own NTSC
" In australia GTA was banned." last time i checked, australia was the other side of the planet. unless you know this and ive just misunderstood.
idioteraser @ Jun 22nd 2006 10:11PM
You may want to learn how the unemployment figures are gotten in the United States. Big hint a large portion of unemployed Americans aren't counted if they are not looking for work for more then four weeks. A good number of people would work if they could get a job but after a few months of not getting a job they stop looking. So in reality unemployment is a lot bigger when you count people who can work but cannot get a job instead of people still looking for works after four weeks of searching. Also since it is from samples in certain communites it can be quite inaccurate due to a number of factors.
Also I would consider eight to ten million people at least in the US a huge number compared to the numbers you would get from Germany and France. Considering the number of people in poverty who cannot get jobs in the US the unemployment number is a lot highter then people think.
intel @ Jun 22nd 2006 10:27PM
make some noise -
But let's remember no one can tell a person what to do. You can provide evidence, in facts, and truth, through reason, but you can't take a person's will and hold them by the hand through their decision making process - that is one of willful choice, from lines of thought - and is in all of us but unique in each. Good here would be realization concerning the effects of unproductive interaction with others.
+ Good point, ieraser - and well stated. This evidence leads somewhere highly relevant to the topic at hand.
The Friendly Soviet @ Jun 22nd 2006 10:30PM
Hmmmm... Did I hear "Riot" by the Dead Kennedys in Congress' video or was that just me?
Diskoboy @ Jun 22nd 2006 10:36PM
Attention Lee Terry - If you're so powerless to do anything about the content in the games your kids play - QUIT BUYING GAMES FOR THEM!!! DO SOME FUCKING PARENTING!!!
Now how hard is that?
Every word in his quote is a contradiction. The United States needs a new government - period.
darkbhudda @ Jun 22nd 2006 11:12PM
"last time i checked, australia was the other side of the planet."
Really I thought it was next to Germany. Oh wait, that's Austria.
Dude, he was referring to the fact that plenty of countries have politicians as dumb as the US.
Metacore @ Jun 23rd 2006 1:53AM
I actually wrote something about the "renedered in real time" thing, but it didn;t get submitted for some reason. And yeah, he sayd he played doom 3(and I think he mentioned doom 1 and 2) so I was pretty sure he was a gamer(if he has a rig that could run that, hells yeah he is) but maybe I am getting the dooms mixed up. And, yes, he said the rendered in real time thing on purpose. I don't belive no one in the audience cought that!
Judd @ Jun 23rd 2006 2:54AM
Even though I do appreciate "The Daily Show's" rip on Congress, his rips on gamers still reflect a sterotype among non-gamers, even the ones that don't care about censorship. He categorized gamers as either Dropout's, Waistoids or Child in Man's Body. When John Stewart argued the Congressman's point that the violence from video games only happens to poor kids, he stated the commonly held view that the Columbine shooting was because of video gaming. Also the skit with Samantha Bee taking place in San Andreas, reflects the view that adults would agree with, that most video game worlds are similar to Grand Theft Auto. I'm kind of playing the devil's advocate here because I do realize that most of the skit was making fun of those who are against gamers, but we still have a long way to go before gamers get respect from the mainstream media.
Dalavita @ Jun 23rd 2006 3:09AM
Stupid politicians can't be avoided. They're everywhere where there are people who can vote for them.
Except that in Europe (Sweden), we don't have politicians speaking about the evilness of games. Instead, it's some other stupid bullshit that should be dropped alltogether.
Karl Rove @ Jun 23rd 2006 4:20AM
"You may want to learn how the unemployment figures are gotten in the United States. Big hint a large portion of unemployed Americans aren't counted if they are not looking for work for more then four weeks."
That's an interesting theory but you'd have to show that the difference is significant. But more importantly you can look at other employment indicators such as jobless claims and payroll data that show a much better employment situation than France and Germany. GDP growth has also been better in the U.S. which leads me to believe that our country is in fact producing more jobs.
A lot of people seem to think that watching the Daily Show and hating Bush makes you some kind of political savant. It doesn't, so please pull your head out of your ass. Thank you.
DocR @ Jun 23rd 2006 4:25AM
Here's the thing, to all the Euro-bashers out there. The difference is that Europe has its own approach to games rating, and is pretty happy with it.
Whilst there may be issues over game content in Germany, what Germany doesn't have is politicians blaming games for society's ills or Mrs Lovejoy style "won't somebody please think of the children!" screaming. Same goes for the UK, where we already have the kind of legally enforced age-rating system that the USA wants to introduce (i.e. you have to be 15 to buy a 15 rated game like Resident Evil 4). Everyone's pretty happy with that and parliament isn't trying to censor game content.
So you see, the difference isn't the censorship, it's the hysteria and the demonising of games/blaming games when other factors (factors which politicians should really be concerning themselves with) are far more important.
Seriously, GTA will harm a kid who's brother's dealing drugs and who's dad's in prison? I think the harm's done by something other than GTA there!
Nicolas Redfern @ Jun 23rd 2006 5:06AM
You can get loads more Daily Show clips at their website: http://www.comedycentral.com/shows/the_daily_show/videos/most_recent/index.jhtml