Our reaction to the “you decide” online practice was
mixed. We found it difficult to
determine where the line is in relation to violent video games and “real life”
violence as a result. The picture that
was chosen to represent the webpage did not display violence beyond what you
would have found in an old Batman cartoon.
Nor did it appear to be inappropriate or gross. Working with a partner and coming to a
decision regarding the image did not feel any harder than working alone. However, the difficulty was trying to decide
if violent video games are a real threat and how they may connect to violence
in our culture.
Ultimately, we decided that the image was acceptable and
appropriate for the websites’ homepage.
We also came to the conclusion that censorship of an art form is not
necessarily the answer. Our real opinion
is that it is up to the individual and/or parents to take responsibility for
monitoring the level of violence that is viewed and to know its consequences,
if any. If you or your child(ren) are
negatively affected by this type of material, then you will know what to do!
My Opinion:
The images that I viewed are not ones that I would want to
view more than once, and found some offensive, for me.
The quotes on the website intrigued me more than anything
else, mainly because they were interesting perspectives, but that was it. I am still unclear where I stand on this
issue, and would need some actual statistics and facts to sway my opinion one
way or the other. Regardless, I will
always rely on self management and what works for me personally. And personally, I prefer not to focus on blood,
guts and death, art or not.
In other words, I'll take this ...
ALWAYS!
What about you?...
I like how well thought-out you were in the post and your idea of "self-management" is a good one. I have to agree also that the image under discussion is not nearly as graphic as even some of the other images used in the activity. But perhaps that was intentional, since some of those very dark images would be an easy "no."
ReplyDeleteI think people have vastly different thresholds and tolerance levels for this. I know exactly what I can't tolerate, say, on a movie screen. And as far as video games, I prefer Wii Bowling!