A Rock Band Case Study
The case study that I chose to present is the effects of the
Rock Band series of video games on
family time. This is worthy of academic
study because on a whole society as seen a decrease in the time spent together
as a family and a decrease in the quality of that time. The Marriage and Family
Encyclopedia states that the average child
spends almost four and one-half hours in his/her room engaged with media, which
leaves little time for family interaction.
Another article
from Vision states that parents are
the primary socializing agents of society, and active teaching is important.
Because Rock Band offers a multiple player mode, the opportunity to play
with an entire family is present. The
case study could raise certain discussion questions regarding the types of
values taught during family play, if there was a reinforcement of positive
social behavior over time, If there was an increase in the value of a job well
done, if there was an increase in self-acceptance (because it is okay to be
yourself and sing off-key, etc.), and if playing Rock Band increases smartness in children, as traditional musical
instruments do. The case study, itself,
would entail collecting data on traditional families via surveys, analyzing the
information, and reporting the results.
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Cody Naylor on A Rock Band Case Study: I don't think that there are s
Susan Carmichael on A Rock Band Case Study: Jeremy, I agree to an extent b
Jeremy Barrick on A Rock Band Case Study: The problem is with Rock Band
Keith Campbell on A Rock Band Case Study: I like that you picked this ga
I like that you picked this game for this topic. I was also going to talk about this game at first and I think this is a very interesting a relevant topic to our culture.
The problem is with Rock Band is that not all songs are parent appropriate. I can see a family using a Wii together. The advertisements show it all, family togetherness. Aw! I like your concept. But in some standards, that's like asking grandma to play Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 with you. It may be a litttle to much.
Jeremy, I agree to an extent because there are many different Rock Band games, including LEGO Rock Band, in which families would enjoy together.
I don't think that there are songs that are "innapropriate" for parents (Harmonix edits out all the really bad words anyway). There are older songs that adults would know and appreciate and more modern songs for the younger crowd. Instead of focusing on the fact that there are some songs that some people in the family won't like, we should look at the fact that there is a little something for everyone to enjoy (after all, family time is always a little bit of a compromise anyway). And there are commercials for Rockband (sponsored by Wal Mart) that advertise families playing that game together just like the ones specifically for the Wii.
I agree with Cody. The nice thing about this game is that it finds a way to work for all ages. Although my parents hate RockBand--they think the drums are really annoying, they do comment occasionally over some of the songs included in the game. And like Susan said, it's great that Rock Band has alternatives for younger audiences, like LEGO RockBand.