Bass Ackwards
The recent flap over Grand Theft Auto has me baffled. Apparently, the game includes a scene with explicit sexual content that can be unlocked by downloading an internet hack (a "mod"). Pressure from Hillary Clinton caused the ratings board to change the game's rating from "Mature" to "Adults Only" which will bring sales of this current version to a screeching halt. A number of things blow my mind about this affair:
1) Aren't there more important things that the United States Senate should be dealing with? If Hillary Clinton ends up being the next Democratic presidential candidate, I certainly hope this is not the typical magnitude of her legislative record.
2) This game doesn't even need a rating. Parents purchase this game for their kids, and certainly must be around when their kids are playing it. It's named after a felony, after all, and a cursory reading of the box should lead one to the conclusion that it's not about law enforcement. It involves running around car-jacking people, shooting them with automatic weapons and buying and selling drugs. But the game is rated. "Innappropriate for children under 17" is printed right there on the box. Why can't parents admit that they are simply unwilling to pay any attention to what their kids are watching or playing and set their own rules about it?
3) Why did it take the revelation of sexual content in the game to cause a national issue? The content known all along renders this one of the most violent and morally corrupt games of all time. This is the game, after all, where you can steal a car, drive to the top of a parking structure and shoot at police officers with a sniper rifle to watch their heads explode. When you hold that type of constant game play up against a single "scene" of two computer generated characters having sex, I don't think there's any comparrison. The American public seems to regard the sex as more objectionable. God forbid little Timmy saw a boob! Seems to me that any kid with enough computer savy to locate, download and install this "mod" is undoubtedly already wading around in the depraved world of internet porn. How out of touch are these parents?
1) Aren't there more important things that the United States Senate should be dealing with? If Hillary Clinton ends up being the next Democratic presidential candidate, I certainly hope this is not the typical magnitude of her legislative record.
2) This game doesn't even need a rating. Parents purchase this game for their kids, and certainly must be around when their kids are playing it. It's named after a felony, after all, and a cursory reading of the box should lead one to the conclusion that it's not about law enforcement. It involves running around car-jacking people, shooting them with automatic weapons and buying and selling drugs. But the game is rated. "Innappropriate for children under 17" is printed right there on the box. Why can't parents admit that they are simply unwilling to pay any attention to what their kids are watching or playing and set their own rules about it?
3) Why did it take the revelation of sexual content in the game to cause a national issue? The content known all along renders this one of the most violent and morally corrupt games of all time. This is the game, after all, where you can steal a car, drive to the top of a parking structure and shoot at police officers with a sniper rifle to watch their heads explode. When you hold that type of constant game play up against a single "scene" of two computer generated characters having sex, I don't think there's any comparrison. The American public seems to regard the sex as more objectionable. God forbid little Timmy saw a boob! Seems to me that any kid with enough computer savy to locate, download and install this "mod" is undoubtedly already wading around in the depraved world of internet porn. How out of touch are these parents?
posted by AG at 9:04 AM
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