The Role of the Parents When it Comes to Censorship

          I recently saw the movie "This Film is Not Yet Rated" and thoroughly enjoyed it. All the talk about censorship got me thinking about the censorship I have experienced in my own life and where I think it's gone too far. My mother has always been very against violence in video games, movies, etc. and has attempted to keep me sheltered from these things pretty severely. I am nineteen years old and still not allowed to see R-rated films (not to mention many PG-13) or play M-rated games (not to mention many/most T-rated games) and I'm still not fully aware of the reason why. I understand that her argument has always been that I don't need to fill my head with mindless violence and sex, but I'm still unsure of what she thinks it will do to me. I have honestly come under a fair amount of criticism due to the strict rules set upon me by my mother and have, in many cases, played video games she would consider inappropriate and seen films she would not approve of. It's true, most of my favorite films are R-rated because they tend to give a more honest and gritty look at whatever topic they're dealing with. Having spent years with films and video games that are violent, contain strong language, and are overall things my mother would never approve of, I don't feel like the experience has had any sort of negative effect on me whatsoever.

            I'm not a violent person. I don't enjoy seeing people hurt or injured, and I feel like I am almost more aware of the effects that things like guns and knives and even fists can have on a human body as a result of M-rated games and R-rated movies. As "This Film is Not Yet Rated" states, it very well may be messing our children up more by letting films with gunfights that have no actual blood be rated PG-13 because it gives an unrealistic view of the horrors a weapon can inflict on a human being. Films that accurately depict violence are rarely the ones who seem to be glamorizing the act itself. They are the ones who are often taking a direct stance against it by showing the viewer exactly what the result of violent actions can be. That being said, I don't believe you should show your child "Saving Private Ryan" at age 8. I worked at GameStop for a while not too long ago and constantly saw parents buying violent M-rated games for their very young kids. There's a careful line to walk between being overly protective regarding violence and thus sheltering them from the realities of it, and exposing it to them far to early in life and desensitizing them to it.

            What my mother did very well was keep me from being a violent child. She knew where to draw the line with guns and violence and I believe helped me very much by doing so. She set boundaries, allowing me to own toy swords and such but keeping plastic firearms out of my possession for a long time. Ultimately, I'm very glad she was as protective about violence as she was because I fully believe that if kids are exposed to it too young and too vividly, they can be effected negatively by it. The problem I have now though, is that she never really allowed the boundaries to age along with me. I grew more mature with age and more understanding of the real world and the line she drew never really changed based on my maturity level. I fully believe I could handle playing a game like "Call of Duty" for an hour or two, setting down the controller, and going back to my everyday life without the game itself affecting me. I fully believe I could see a film like "Pan's Labyrinth" and leave the theater thinking about the well told story and the amazing visuals rather than thinking about how I want to try beating someone to death with a broken bottle. I know the difference between a form of entertainment that uses violence to tell a story, create character, or enhance its game play and real life. 

 

            So basically my opinion on the topic of parental censorship is this: while the child is easily influenced by things they see, generally at a young age, it is very important for parents to take a good, hard look at what they are putting into that child's head. These development years should be handled with care and parents need to be aware of the maturity and development level of their kid. However, this censorship needs to adapt to the child as their age and maturity level change. The hope is that by protecting your child as they build up their opinions on violence and its effects on fellow human beings and the world around them, by the time to decide they are old enough for violent films and video games, they will be able to easily differentiate between reality and the fictitious nature of these forms of entertainment, and ultimately be unaffected by them negatively.