Video Games

I have been doing a bit of reading about some new video games. I am not an advocate of them, in any form, really, as I see them as a major waste of time, but some headline caught my attention, so the search for information was on. There's just really nothing like spending time learning about something you think is a waste of time, now is there? Back to my information though. Actually, it's a question that covers not just video games, but movies, and TV as well. I'm not much of a movie fan, and to be honest, I just don't have time to own a TV, but I have a real concern about the "virtual interest" of the American observer regarding entertainment. What has happened to us, to make violence so entertaining? I remember when video games began as Atari, and the days of the Mario brothers. There was always a special household that had the latest and greatest in techno-toys and that is where the neighborhood children gathered. I was a mom by then and what I recall of these video games at the neighbor's, was a goal to get somewhere or rescue a princess or something. Albeit, there were some battles and dragon slaying and various forms of aggression, it wasn't the point of the game. The prize or the princess's rescue was the point! Somebody tell me, how has it happened that video games had to get more grotesque to be interesting? Why is more violence needed to sell the games? And do the children playing these "virtual" games become desensitized to violence and gore? I'm not saying there isn't still some sort of a goal involved in these games and movies, but must the quest be so fraught with violence? Perhaps I'm missing the intended goal, as many recruiting stations are right next to arcades and video exchanges.
Gone are the days of the blood baths in the coliseums, the public executions, and community viewed duels.
Does our society view itself to be more civilized and less barbaric that other cultures or ancient civilizations simply because our interest in violence, blood, and gore is neatly packaged in the entertainment industry? Is this really the legacy our sophisticated society intends for our children?
. . . take forth the precious from the vile . . . a prophet of Holy Scripture