The CMAA probably seemed like a good idea in 1954, providing only wholesome American values to impressionable young minds. But new research suggests that, while the main idea behind it (limiting the exposure of young minds to violence) was correct, the implementation was way off the mark:
The findings, which are reported in the Journal of Adolescent Health, support earlier research which showed that children who watch violent television shows and who identify with the characters and believe they are real are more likely to be aggressive as adults.
It’s obvious even a child that comic-book supervillains are no more real than the superheros that they’re invented to oppose. And the whole ban on Dracula, Frankenstein, and zombies was ridiculous to begin with.
Parents, trust that your children have a little common sense, please!
The age of children that think that even actors are real-life people is considerably younger than the 13 years of age limit for a PG-13 film. I’m more concerned over the cultural rather than behavioral impact of mindless violence and sex in media – it’s a lot easier to put in gratutitous violence and sex rather than a plot into a film or TV show.
The World Wrestling Federation (or whatever they’re calling it these days) is basically a testosterone-sodden soap opera, but there’s a subset of less-intelligent people (one of whom GoddessJ and I have the misfortune to know) who still insist that everything on it is real. If a thirty-something adult can still believe it, it can definitely confuse children, even teenagers or older. There are other shows that could generate similar confusion, that’s just the first example that comes to my mind.
And yes, less-talented writers often tend to use gratuitous sex and violence in place of plot. As long as people will buy it, they’ll keep making it.
So your thirty-something adult ingests steroids like candy and jumps around violently in a wrestling ring? 😉 In what way does this influence his actions? (Well, other than probably being stupid which is probably not a cause-and-effect relationship with “wrastlin”. Remember, correlation does not imply causation!)