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"Launching in late summer, the Bionicle line consists of six heroes, known as
the Toa, and five villains, know as the Makuta. In addition to the figures,
LEGO will launch two Bionicle video games.
With vicious-looking villains and grim heroes, Bionicle clearly marks a
departure from LEGO's traditional nonviolent image, but Eio is not worried.
``Our policy is, don't do violence for the sake of violence. We don't want to
encourage violence, that's why we don't make any tanks or fighter planes. But
we have accepted it in fantasy settings and we also have medieval castles with
invaders and things like that,'' he said.
Leibowitz agrees. ``I think Bionicle may actually improve the brand, because
it's less violent than other figures, and kids build the characters
themselves,'' he said.
While the details of the Bionicle story line has not been revealed -- that will
happen slowly on the Bionicle Web site (http://www.bionicle.com) -- the premise
is that the paradise island of Mata Nui has come under the dark shadow of the
Makuta. The task of the six heroes is to collect the lost masks of power,
thereby freeing Mata Nui of the evil Makuta.
The outcome of the struggle is uncertain, but LEGO spokeswoman Shannon Harnett
gave a hint. ``Good always triumphs over evil,'' she said.
Equally uncertain is of course whether Bionicle will be a hit, but early
reactions seems positive.
``The Bionicle line has caused quite a stir in the business, the first time
LEGO has gone into the action hero. Retailer response has been quite
positive,'' said Leibowitz. The drive to embrace new technology also includes
LEGO's most basic products, the building blocks. Send a digital picture of a
loved one -- pet, parent or lover -- to LEGO's online store and for $29.99 the
company will send a LEGO Mosaic kit with building blocks to build into a
portrait."
***
Something seems wrong here to me. LEGO does not have to accept that a product
like Bionicle is violent. It doesn't have to be.
There are some humanoids and some larger remote-controlled creatures that are
assembled from Technic pieces. The builder can learn about the inner workings
of action figures, and have fun combining the sets and using their imagination
to create new characters. From my point of view, Bionicle could be good old
LEGO fun.
But TLG doesn't want that. No, the robo critters have to be 'evil', which of
course makes the humanoids 'good'. Which can lead to some disturbing problems.
Despite the official statements, Toa vs. Makuta is a perfect example of
violence for the sake of violence. It isn't exactly clear what they are
fighting for (although I get the idea that they both want Mata Nui, and
territorial wars are not a moral issue), or if it is even worth fighting for at
all. Kids are going to side with the Toa not because they are good, but
because TLG says they are good. The Makuta's point of view will certainly be
ignored. Bionicle is violence for the sake of violence because violence,
according ot TLG, sells more toys.
Fantasy settings do not make violence safe, they just make it more accepted.
I would ike to point out that lots of people did get bady hurt during the
Medieval age! They may have been trying to say "Violence is okay if it is
good triumphing over evil. We don't allow two sides to have conflicts if we
can't make that distinction." But until the dark scary shadow actually does
some harm to an innocent islander, I don't think we can call it evil. If you
were afraid of bats simply because they are dark and scary, does that make them
evil? Maybe the Makuta are just misunderstood because they are weird-looking
monsters?
To me, the 'weapons' of the Toa seem like tools for getting around in their
environment. We could have Onua digging tunnels, Gali climbing rocks, and Lewa
cutting his way through dense vegetation. Tahu's giant flame could help him
see in dark caves.
There is a potential problem of how to play with the constructed Bionicle
characters. Throwbots engage in healthy competition at their Throwlympic
games, seeing who has the best distance or accuracy. Roboriders can do the
same, or work to help everyone by destrying a computer virus (which isn't a
living being, and doesn't mind being destroyed). Can Bionicle do anything
other than move their arms? I suppose they may be well suited to
point-a-to-point-b obstace course type challenges (think of the Survivor
challenges) as a non-violent activity, but there will be a powerful official
influence on kids.
Sure, I'm looking forward to Bionicle. But I'm not going to reenact the
violent battles of Mata Nui. To me, Bionicle is just another building toy.
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Message has 3 Replies:
 | | Re: Is Bionicle violence?
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| (...) Makuta followed his brother, Mata Nui from there home. The islanders of Mata Nui worshiped Mata Nui because he had made the world into a paradise. Makuta was jealous and tried to get the islanders to worship him by using fear and pain, but (...) (24 years ago, 15-Feb-01, to lugnet.technic.bionicle, lugnet.off-topic.debate)
| | | Re: Is Bionicle violence?
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| The Wall Street Journal article had a large-print sidebar quoting "They're not weapons, they're tools." Right..... As a side effect I've got a new understanding of "Codewarrior: Tools for the Professional Programmer." They're not weapons, they're (...) (24 years ago, 16-Feb-01, to lugnet.technic.bionicle, lugnet.off-topic.debate)
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