Questioning Self Part 1: Taking Five Against Take 2

This is going to be the first in a series of twice-weekly posts where I chronicle how I feel I am changing and what happens that really makes me question myself and my beliefs.

I've been really depressed and in a deep funk for the past few weeks. I've grown to question values I once held very closely and am really changing my views in ways I never expected. I've become much more conservative in areas I once considered myself to be very liberal and more open to ideas I had once been very closed to. Still, there is one thing in the news the past few months that has really made the new self I am becoming question my old self.

Video games. In particular, the violence and sexual content therein. Even more in particular is the complaining about how these things "are proving to be detrimental to our society." I stayed up late last night / early this morning watching a special on G4Tv about sex in video games, and this has finally pushed me to espouse my views on this. By the way, this special is being rebroadcast several times throughout the week, and I highly suggest watching it if you get the chance. It is very informative.

There were many valid points raised on all sides of this issue but I really am tired of some of the things I keep hearing on the issue and the things I'm not hearing about the issue. As loathe as I am to admit it, there probably is a viable link between violence and sex in video games encouraging violence and a skewing of society's sexuality and views thereof. I used to think that it this was a complete crock of $hit (if you'll pardon my french), but now I can see how there is some degree of validity to this.

But I need to stand in defense of the video game companies that have entertained me for so many years. Most games are not mis-marketed by their makers. The ESRB rating system is an effective tool when used properly. The only flaw I see in the system is that there should be someone on these review panels for games to actually play through some of the games, but still as far as an "independent commission" set up by the video game industry to regulate itself and point out its flaws, at it least does a better job than certain other "independent commissions" ( 911 Committee appointed by George Bush *cough*cough*). Sorry, must've had a little something in my throat there. Maybe when all this "Hot Coffee Mod" stuff got started, Take 2 should not have come out and said it was a complete hack, and then rescind that statement and say that the hackers unlocked disabled content. But as the game stood, it was a "Mature" game and was marketed as such. Had the disabled content been active, I'm sure then it would have recieved an "Adults Only" rating and been marketed thusly.

There are other things that need to be considered when people complain about these games getting into the hands of children. You need to admit that once its rated and on the shelves, a lot of it is out of the developers' hands. And A few people aren't going to like what I'm about to say, so don't say you weren't warned. Okay, here goes.

If a game is rated as "Teen", "Mature", or "Adults Only" then retailers and renter services need to check ID. I'm sorry, I don't care if the person is your friend or if you would feel uncomfortable doing so. I got over it towards the end of my 4.5 years (some of the worst years of my life) working at a video rental store and carded. I made a lot of people mad, but it needs to be done.

Parents and gaurdians, you need to read the labels and ratings of what you are buying for your kids. Despite what you might want to think, game companies accurately depict game content and the little box around the ratings symbol on the back of the box tells you what you or your child will encounter during the course of the game. Coarse language. Sexual conetent. Violence (cartoon and realistic). It's all there. There really is little excuse. Unless you think your child is mature enough to handle it, do not buy it or rent it for them. You might say "Well, I can't monitor my child 24-7 and they might encounter the stuff at their friend's house or the guy at the store might sell it to them or rent it to them anyway." That's true. But then those are issues to take up with those friends (or their parents) and the stores in question, not an industry that has made great efforts to try and make sure that their products are used by and sold / rented to their intended audience for said product. That's what my parents did for me. I grew up on cartoons and comic books, and as I started to grow up and mature and my intrests changed, my parents guided me through a lot of the new concepts and subject material I was going to encounter. They made sure that it was slowly introduced to me as they thought I was mature enough to handle it. They did not let T.V. and the media raise me. And that is what parents today need to do. I'm sorry if that means that you have to spend time with your child and take a more active roles in their lives, but they are your children and it needs to be done.

I'm sure a lot of people have a lot to say about the points I've addressed here. Comment and I'll respond. But if you take one thing away from everything I've said today, let it be this: if you feel that society is degenerating and becoming more detrimental to everyone, you're going to have to take a more active hand in reshaping your world than just complaining about it.