Subject:
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Re: Is Bionicle violence?
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.off-topic.debate
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Date:
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Sat, 17 Feb 2001 07:23:15 GMT
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Viewed:
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277 times
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In lugnet.off-topic.debate, James Simpson writes:
> There is too much graphic exposure to violence nowadays (i.e.,
> videogames), and kids who grow up with a taste for that sort of thing won't
> easily be persuaded by benign Lego. Lego may not have even wanted to go down
> the Castle path back in '78, and today, market-cultural forces in that direction
> are exponentially stronger.
Very well said, James. Violence has certainly become a marketing tool to
attract little and big "boys." This leads to your next comment:
> Ok: Here goes - its the old nature vs. nurture debate. Are boys
> wired toward conflict-play, or do we learn it because it's cultural? Quite a
> bit of both, I'd say.
Biologically speaking, yes, males are wired for conflict (i.e.
testosterone). Ironically, I truly feel it is has been a necessary part of
our biology. The problem is that our technology advanced before our biology
did. Humans remain extremely territorial but have much more sophisticated
weapons than the sticks and stones of long ago. In my opinion, people are
naturally violent but we LEARN how to be treacherous. On the same note, we
are capable of peace but need to be taught how...leading to your next great
point:
> Basically, my point is that violent-play reaches a point where it can be
> psychologically damaging for a child.
YES! As Americans, many of us don't realize how desensitized we've become to
violence, regardless of our age. We can be a very a violent culture. Most of
us were raised by the TV and the gun, there's no question of that. Boys are
attracted to conflict because it is socially expected and often permitted,
which makes sense to me since what we're essentially doing is marking our
territory. All living beings do it.
However, at the same time, the lines for kids start to blur as to how far
the violence can go. What role can a knife play in a young man's bid for
social positioning amoung other males? How about a gun? Hell, why not a
bomb? Is it a socio-economic thing? Were the teen gunmen in Colombine
(spelling?) rich or poor? Why do kids REALLY LIKE movies and TV shows that
involve heroes and villians using weapons like swords, guns and bombs?
Do weapons make a guy (or a car, airplane, or spaceship) cooler? To a kid,
the answer is always yes because they have not learned to separate reality
from fantasy (i.e. monsters in the dark disappear when lights come on). I
wouldn't say government should censor violent stuff, parents should. But I
truly feel that violence is shamefully over-marketed in our country.
Unfortunately, there are a lot of desensitized people out there.
Dan
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Message has 3 Replies:
 | | Re: Is Bionicle violence?
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| (...) I'm not sure if that has as much to do with it as the situation they were in. When I was in high school, I was squarely in the NERD category. The Athletes and the Beautiful People made fun of me and my friends all the time, in any situation or (...) (24 years ago, 17-Feb-01, to lugnet.off-topic.debate)
| | | Re: Is Bionicle violence?
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| (...) I think it also has much to do with the incredibly fragile male ego. The "I wanna see if I can beat him" attitude - the desire to be better than everyone else. Obviously greed and covetousness play a role as well. (...) James started to (...) (24 years ago, 17-Feb-01, to lugnet.off-topic.debate)
| | | Re: Is Bionicle violence?
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| I don't think boys are wired for violence. It's just that boys are bigger, so they're better at it (those teenage years, maybe, are a bit chaotic, though). These days, though, women have access to guns, military, etc., and often can be quite bigger (...) (24 years ago, 10-Mar-01, to lugnet.off-topic.debate)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | Re: Is Bionicle violence?
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| (...) So's TLC. It's pretty clear these days that a toy company has to incorporate some element of conflict into its product if it's going to sell to the pre-teen market. There is too much graphic exposure to violence nowadays (i.e., videogames), (...) (24 years ago, 16-Feb-01, to lugnet.off-topic.debate)
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