Today was a rage quit day. It was a day of classes, off-and-on sleepiness, and Snickers bars three bites too small.
So to relax, I turned on the evening news report, because of course I had completely forgotten just how not relaxing it is to watch reporters and candidates alike in the US election turmoil right now quack and bicker about this little issue and that other one... this morning Mitt Romney was in the spotlight for obvious reasons, but tonight, the already semi-interwebs-infamous Rick Santorum was the curiosity on display.
Of course, I wasn't paying attention, because I was busy trying to relax and enjoy my ravioli, but then somebody in the news segment played a clip from a recent Rick commercial.
And for those five seconds, I got pure, Bose-quality tunnel audio.
“I’m even working with Hillary Clinton to limit inappropriate material for children’s video games" (a beat) “because it makes more sense to wrestle with America’s problems than with each other. I’m Rick Santorum and I approved this message.” (Full video and context here)....
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This Rage Quit Moment brought to you by the following phrases:
#1. "I'm even working... to limit inappropriate material." Um. Didn't we do that already. Like, back in the 90s. OUR OWN INDUSTRY MAKES LITTLE BADGES that go on EVERY SINGLE BOX that's sold in stores. There is a REASON why there is a "T" rating for TEENAGERS. An "AO" rating for ADULTS ONLY. And for that matter, if it's GTA, Duke Nukem, and their like of "inappropriate material" that's drawing out your fire, a 10-year-old can't buy them on his own anyway. If a parent wants to get it for her kid, then she has a reading problem if she complains about "inappropriate material" that's specifically described on the box's ESRB badge. The game industry is run by grown-ups. We know when it's time for fun and when it's time for business, and we've been managing and disciplining ourselves just like a grown-up from any other entertainment field. For decades.
#2. "limit inappropriate material for children's video games." The overlap with the first phrase makes Rick's lines all the more rage-quitting killer for me. First of all, something tells me he's already assuming that only children and possibly very overgrown children are playing video games. See Rick, the thing is, by definition, a "children's video game" is intended specifically for children. That is, they will be playing with virtual Lego minifigs, driving around Mario worlds in go-karts, even getting some wonderful physical exercise swinging their arms at Wii Sports tennis. By definition, something that is definitively intended to be played by children would never have "inappropriate material." Again, our quality industry standards make it so. Is he possibly assuming that Left 4 Dead 2, because it is a "video game" is therefore meant for and played by children? Of course it would have "inappropriate material" for a "children's" game! But see, Rick, it's not MEANT for children. It's meant for older, mature teens at the low end of the age range, mostly intended for adults. Not Very Overgrown Children. Like I said. Badge on the box tells all.
In all fairness, I barely know anything about the guy's actual platform; for all you Rick fans out there, please don't mistake this Rage Quit Moment as a personal attack on your man. I've certes got no problem with the guy's sweater vest.
But please, Rick of the Sweater Vest. Don't assume I don't know what's for my own good. Don't assume we're hopeless addicts who feed violence, sex and who-knows-what to our own children. Don't assume you or anyone else in a political government can simply take over our medium and censor it, dictate it, rule it however you please.
Don't touch my video games unless you're going to play them.
He has a bit of a point, however. When you hear the stereotype of "13 year old kids yelling homophobic slurs at you over Xbox Live", which games are they usually playing?
ReplyDeleteHalo (rated M, no children under 17), Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (rated M, no children under 17), and other violent shooters.
The point he's made isn't that he's going to bad video games, or violent ones. It's more that he's going to enforce laws out there that already exist to do so, and have been ignored, such as the restrictions on stores for selling R-rated movies and M-rated games to kids under 17, as well as further information campaigns to educate parents about the games taht their kids are playing.
I have a TON of violent games. Right now, 90% of my Steam lineup is rated T and up, and about 1/3 of them are rated M and up (if not more).
Anyway, for further context, that is EXACTLY what Hillary Clinton's program (which started about 3 years ago, if I rmemeber right) does, namely further education of the ESRB, and contribute to more detailed description of the content of games.
tl;dr, I think you're reading far too much into one sentence here. Yes, he may have used a single word (children's) in a lousy spot. But don't freak out and overplay what is a program that not only is already in motion, but has led to wonderful websites such as this:http://www.esrb.org/ratings/index.jsp
Awesome comment Alhon! Talk about missing context... something you don't usually get in a 30-second prime-time TV spot, sadly.
ReplyDeleteEdited original post to include that detail.
I guess I was under the impression that, although the government did sort of "compel" the ESRB into existence originally, that the organization had mostly gotten to the point of taking care of itself... I wasn't totally aware of how much the federal government was *still* involved in general ESRB activities, and not necessarily for as negative of reasons as I had supposed.
I reacted to the generalized phrasing of a very complex issue that can be comfortably condensed into a single TV spot. Essentially, that was more or less my first real impression of the man, and sadly that is what I made my judgement on (ironic since I've been pretty good about political candidate research before when I pick out my peoples of choice). And while it's never "fair" to judge someone on a first impression... it's what we're all guilty of nonetheless.