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In lugnet.licensed.batman, Richie Dulin wrote:
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I know Arkham Asylum isn’t a
standard mental health care facility by any reasonable measure, but the attic
torture room seems to be a bit much. In fact, the guards getting the whip and
the chainsaw ready, while the Riddler lies helplessly on the electroshock
table, reminds me of some of the Abu Graib pictures.
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Aren’t torture chambers generally located in the basement? I reckon it’s the
Lobotomy Ward. That’s much more jolly.
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I may be taking this the wrong way, but I think this image seriously detracts
from this set, and it’s not something I would feel comfortable allowing
children to see (yes, I know they’ll see worse on TV).
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Batman as a theme in general touches on some pretty dark themes that probably
aren’t appropriate for children. I’ve often wondered how toy companies in
general can justifiably market products aimed at children based on movies with a
clear MA rating (or even PG13) eg. Revenge of the Sith, Batman Begins, Spiderman
3 etc. Obviously I’ve got outmoded ideas about the principles of toy design.
Allister
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In lugnet.licensed.batman, Allister McLaren wrote:
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In lugnet.licensed.batman, Richie Dulin wrote:
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I know Arkham Asylum isn’t a
standard mental health care facility by any reasonable measure, but the
attic torture room seems to be a bit much. In fact, the guards getting the
whip and the chainsaw ready, while the Riddler lies helplessly on the
electroshock table, reminds me of some of the Abu Graib pictures.
|
Aren’t torture chambers generally located in the basement? I reckon it’s the
Lobotomy Ward. That’s much more jolly.
| |
I may be taking this the wrong way, but I think this image seriously
detracts from this set, and it’s not something I would feel comfortable
allowing children to see (yes, I know they’ll see worse on TV).
|
Batman as a theme in general touches on some pretty dark themes that probably
aren’t appropriate for children. I’ve often wondered how toy companies in
general can justifiably market products aimed at children based on movies
with a clear MA rating (or even PG13) eg. Revenge of the Sith, Batman Begins,
Spiderman 3 etc. Obviously I’ve got outmoded ideas about the principles of
toy design.
Allister
|
Reading through this thread I was coming to the same conclusions. I think its
the main point. If a film is unsuitable for children then why are toys made of
it?
Tim
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In lugnet.licensed.batman, Tim David wrote:
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In lugnet.licensed.batman, Allister McLaren wrote:
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In lugnet.licensed.batman, Richie Dulin wrote:
| |
I know Arkham Asylum isn’t a
standard mental health care facility by any reasonable measure, but the
attic torture room seems to be a bit much. In fact, the guards getting the
whip and the chainsaw ready, while the Riddler lies helplessly on the
electroshock table, reminds me of some of the Abu Graib pictures.
|
Aren’t torture chambers generally located in the basement? I reckon it’s the
Lobotomy Ward. That’s much more jolly.
| |
I may be taking this the wrong way, but I think this image seriously
detracts from this set, and it’s not something I would feel comfortable
allowing children to see (yes, I know they’ll see worse on TV).
|
Batman as a theme in general touches on some pretty dark themes that
probably aren’t appropriate for children. I’ve often wondered how toy
companies in general can justifiably market products aimed at children based
on movies with a clear MA rating (or even PG13) eg. Revenge of the Sith,
Batman Begins, Spiderman 3 etc. Obviously I’ve got outmoded ideas about the
principles of toy design.
Allister
|
Reading through this thread I was coming to the same conclusions. I think its
the main point. If a film is unsuitable for children then why are toys made
of it?
|
Well, there’s a pollyanna answer and a cynical answer.
Pollyanna: The toys are produced for teenagers and adults who see the film and
who still like to collect; they’re only seemingly marketed to children so
that the adult buyers feel youthful and invigorated by their purchases.
Cynical: Because they don’t care who sees the film or buys the merchandise, as
long as it rakes in a ton of cash.
Sadly, I think that the latter view is more in line with reality...
Dave!
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In lugnet.licensed.batman, Dave Schuler wrote:
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In lugnet.licensed.batman, Tim David wrote:
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If a film is unsuitable for children then why are toys
made of it?
|
Well, there’s a pollyanna answer and a cynical answer.
Pollyanna: The toys are produced for teenagers and adults who see the film
and who still like to collect; they’re only seemingly marketed to
children so that the adult buyers feel youthful and invigorated by their
purchases.
Cynical: Because they don’t care who sees the film or buys the merchandise,
as long as it rakes in a ton of cash.
Sadly, I think that the latter view is more in line with reality...
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As a born-again Capitalist, the answer is clear to me, and Dave’s right: it’s
all about the money. If somebody can earn money from making toys by tying into a
craze, then they’ll do it. Far too many companies look only at the bottom
line, and their quality is low, accuracy is nonexistent, and the consumer
ultimately unsatisfied.
At least LEGO is picky about its licenses - for example, they won’t do Lord of
the Rings since it’s overall too violent for their target audience. Sure,
Batman has a violent side, but he’s less bloody than Aragorn scything through
Orcs on Pellenor field. Same for Star Wars - the action is heroic and the less
savory bits are glossed over.
I guess the bottom line for TLG would be that Batman has a large fan base of
young kids, and the violence isn’t necessarily prurient or bloody. Just my guess
why LEGO acquired the Batman license.
Kelly
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--snip--
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Batman as a theme in general touches on some pretty dark themes that probably
aren’t appropriate for children. I’ve often wondered how toy companies in
general can justifiably market products aimed at children based on movies
with a clear MA rating (or even PG13) eg. Revenge of the Sith, Batman Begins,
Spiderman 3 etc. Obviously I’ve got outmoded ideas about the principles of
toy design.
Allister
|
I don’t think it can be quite so simple though. A lot of films are MA or PG13
(which any child can see if their parents take them IIRC) because of ‘bad
language’ or nudity, neither of which are likely to make it to the toy product.
With children’s toys based directly on a single film with an MA rating your
argument would stand up but I don’t think LEGO have released anything like this
(probably most children’s toy companies wouldn’t because it would be unlikely to
profit).
However, if you consider LEGO’s main licenses we have: Batman (most Batman
sources are suitable for children eg. 60s tv show, comics, some films),
Spiderman 1 and 2 films (PG13 for both films) and Star Wars (I believe these
range from G to PG13). In each case there’s a good chance that children from all
but the most protected family environments will have seen the films or some
related source material.
Tim
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In lugnet.licensed.batman, Timothy Gould wrote:
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I don’t think it can be quite so simple though. A lot of films are MA or PG13
(snip) because of ‘bad language’ or nudity, neither of which are likely to
make it to the toy product.
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Which can be a bummer IYAM ;-)
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In lugnet.licensed.batman, Timothy Gould wrote:
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However, if you consider LEGO’s main licenses we have: Batman (most Batman
sources are suitable for children eg. 60s tv show, comics, some films),
Spiderman 1 and 2 films (PG13 for both films) and Star Wars (I believe these
range from G to PG13).
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Loathing him as I do, I can’t speak for the Spiderman films, but I’d say that
the 60’s Batman tv show isn’t suitable for viewing by anyone. Also, in the US
the Star Wars films have all received a PG rating with the exception of RotS
which stands out as the only PG-13 episode, and one that Lucas himself has
specifically said isn’t really intended to be viewed by the full range of ages
as the previous five installments were, due to the much darker themes that were
necessarily going to be explored with the destruction of the Jedi order and the
fall of the Republic. They even had to make some minor tweaks going into the
Special Editions (recutting certain scenes so you never actually saw naked-faced
human officers and Death Star Troopers getting hit with blaster bolts...though
it was perfectly okay when it came to armor-clad Stormtroopers and their more
specialized cousins the Snowtroopers and Scout Troopers).
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