This actually isn't the big thing that I was going to write about (and I will get to it eventually). I just really feel like I should. Okay. Here we go.
I need to talk about violence, like, "fake" violence such as movies. Well, let's just start with movies. Okay, how many kids 10 or under do you know that watch movies today that you would NEVER be able to watch? I just went to see Spiderman 3 last night. It's easier to watch than 2 (or at least I thought so) simply because there isn't a scene like the hospital scene in 2. Nothing like that. Just plain violent, not my-nightmares-go-something-like-this stuff. But it was still violent. People are blown up, chopped up and run into walls at a rate that makes you wonder if the writers forgot there was such a thing as a concussion. AND CHILDREN WATCH THIS. Okay, I realize that some boys take a while to hit a growth spurt and guys that are fifteen can look like they're eleven, but they don't look like they're nine. Or if you want to go back to a different violent movie (Star Wars Episode III) they don't look like the're... oh,... I'd say about six. Yeah. Just because they can watch the old Star Wars doesn't mean anything for the darker movies of today. Just because it's based on a comic book doesn't mean it's for kids.
But do you want to know what scares me in all of this?
These kids, you know, the ones way younger than me, THEY'RE LESS AFFECTED THAN I AM BY THE VIOLENCE.
Now, you must understand that I was born with one of those blessing/curse things that you find in movies. Mine is an extremely vivid imagination. So violence affects me; like, if someone is getting stabbed, I can get pretty close to knowing how they feel, so I feel really bad for them. And some things just affect me. For instance, my parents took me to Chicago for my birthday and we went to Medieval Times (which was SO much fun). At Medieval Times they have a torture chamber museum thing, and so I wanted to go. And so we went. My whole family. Even my little brother and sister. And I saw things... and I get sick at the thought of it. AND MY SIBLINGS SAW IT!... AND MY BROTHER WASN'T AFFECTED AT ALL! After I rushed through it all I wanted was to keep him from seeing it. To keep him from seeing the horror that my mind was giving me. And I couldn't.
Well, I mixed up subjects there, but now you know my side of watching violence - I'm more affected.
The rest of the world? They aren't affected.
Because it's common.
Okay, I'll talk about Video Games. Specifically, I'll pick on Marvel: Ultimate Alliance (my siblings and I just bought it). This game consists of killing bad guys. At first they're robots, so it's cool. But then they're human. And your powers get scarier, so you're zapping the brains out of one or grabbing them with your web and using them as a weapon. Now I don't think about it while I'm playing, so we just keep going on and on and on. And then my brother starts talking. And I realize that the violence has had its effect. He loves it.
When a kid says something like "There's only a little bit of blood" or even "There's no blood" you've got trouble. They ascociate violence with blood. Just to let you know, something can be VERY violent and have no blood at all. So what is violence, anyway?
Violence |ˈvī(ə)ləns| noun behavior involving physical force intended to hurt, damage, or kill someone or something.
Yeah, I'll agree with that definition.
You can't just say that something is "fake". The point of a movie is to seem as real as possible, so while you're watching it (especially if you're young) that movie isn't fake. When war is going on in your backyard, you don't want your children to see. You don't want your children to start shooting at people. You don't want them beating people up. So why do you give them these roll models?
When you're a kid (or at least I was like this), you want to be tough, you want to be able to handle the violence. Then you see it, you can't handle it, you flip. Then you laugh at yourself, you talk yourself into believing that it's not that bad. Then you go back and watch it again. And it's not that bad.
Things need to be "that bad". Violence is shocking because it's wrong. Death is shocking because it's wrong. No one should be able to see someone die by being horribly mutilated and not be affected (I understand that this is sometimes nessesary for people in medical professions and people who fight in wars - I am not trying to say that they are wrong, actually they should be admired because they can handle it).
People are like the Romans with their gladiators. Nothing ever changes.
But please don't let your children see too much violence. Just because they CAN handle it doesn't mean they SHOULD.
Sorry. I'd love to say more. I'm just too sad.
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