Sometimes, people are very fond of asking the wrong questions. When I was much younger, my friends would trump me with the ultimate question: Can God create a rock so big and heavy that even He can not lift? There is no answer to that question because the premise invalidate the ability of a creator either way. The real issue is: Why would He? If He really did that, then this God is not very bright, then. There is a ancient Chinese story about an armorer who was selling spears and shields. He claimed the spears are made of superior metal that they can pierce any shield, and that his shields are so strong that no spear would pierce them. Someone soon asked him, “If you are to attack your shield with your spear, which one will prevail?” The Chinese word that translated into “dilemma, or conflict” is the Chinese word used for spear and shield (??).
Some questions are just “wrong” because it is pointless and focuses people’s energy on a controversy that is fruitless and serve no ultimate purpose. At the end of it, we have expended a great deal of energy, and have not progress, nor increase our understanding. This kind of controversy mostly stems from “gut feeling” and strong belief system. No one is really going to give way, and there is nothing “intelligent” about the debate in the first place. They are often driven by some other hidden agenda, that is either best hidden, or too sensitive to discuss because it is going to open a can of worm. For example, the question about “Are Video Games Art?”When the film critic, Roger Ebert, said that video game is not art, he got flamed… He later wrote a second article when Clive Baker took up the debate. I like his response to Baker, “Anything can be art. Even a can of Campbell’s soup.” – See R. Ebert’s
Games vs. Art: Ebert vs. Barker (July 21, 2007)
Are you surprised that many gamers do not like what they hear? So they criticized him as a non-gamer, a movie buff who know nothing about video games. Mind you, I said many gamers, not
all gamers.So what do you think gamers will say, when video game guru, Hideo Kojima (creator of Metal Gear), said “video games is not art”? (In the February 2006 issue of the Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine, Kojima explained why games aren’t art, even though it incorporate arts.)
Metal Gear Solid on PSP, by Hideo Kojima
It is almost hilarious to read the comments. “Kojima should stop talking,” they said. How strange it is that people refuse to listen when what was said is not what they want to hear. So Kojima became an ammunition for the other camp, and this is such a shame to the gamers’ community… hence, he should keep quiet. Doesn’t it even make everyone reconsider their stand? That may be, video games are not art? Why even question, if video games are art? The real motivator behind it is to hide behind that statement and then claim first amendment rights, so that the 14 to 16+ year old can say we are merely appreciate an art form when we play certain video games, and that companies like RockStar can say they are an Art dealer, contributing to the society’s good by making thrash. If I am an artist, and I used manure, maggots, and bloody remains of roadkills to create a sculpture, is it art? Well, it depends on why you ask. To everyone else, it is something to be avoid by all means, and should be hauled off to the junkyard immediately. But if you are going to pay me; then sure, it is art!
