ESA Methods STILL not Foolproof

As the level of explicit material has grown over the past few decades in the entertainment industry, it is shameful to see a declining level of media control exercised to protect young children. Do not begin to point your fingers at the government yet. While the pluralistic and permissive systems of government do let their citizens choose what they believe is "best" for them, the authoritarian and paternalistic systems work hard to ban and exclude material that conflicts with their values. This problem is also fuelled by your "Big Buck" Derry Tonovan and tag-team partner "Discipline D-fect" Beggy Pundy.

Don't get my drift? Imprudent profit acquisition methods accompanied by lousy parenting techniques pose a threat in present day society.

From a business perspective, money is money. Some small businesses could care less if a 10-year old came in to purchase a copy of Resident Evil 4. Businesses only stiffen up when it comes to the underage purchase of a hot copy such as GTA: San Andreas to avoid the effects of the media light. Even if EB does tighten their ID policy, kids who are shafted manage to outsmart the whole rating system by coming back with their mums and pops.

So how effective is the ESRB Rating System? Not effective at all. M (Mature) rated games restrict as much access as eC (Early Childhood) rated games. It is not difficult for children to expose themselves to blood and gore, nudity, sexual violence, drugs and alcohol references, and crude humour. As an exception to protect its name, Silvercity Metropolis may give you the thumbs down if you tried to enter Cinema 6 for Sin City underage… but struggling competitors Station Square and Dolphin Cinema have already saved you front row seats while you ordered your ticket online to save the hassle of dealing with the services counter. Movies with an R or NC-17 Rating are no big deal nowadays. China agrees while continuing to rapidly produce a large amount of CAT IIb and III movies.

Now what about television shows? Television as we all know have a great potential in impacting children during their development stage seeing that the average time a child spends watching TV is about four hours/day. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, or simply CBC, has already done a great job in monitoring and approving the appropriate television programs that are being screened to the kids. Although "Just for Laughs" can be lame at times (I meant to say all the time), CBC does at least broadcast educational programs such as Venture and Street Cents.

Unlike CBC, CTV network is a private-owned corporation that broadcasts nothing but sitcoms, drama and reality shows. Children who have the misfortune of tuning into the CTV network are bounded by programs such a Punk'd, Pimp my Ride, and Simple Life 3, that may subliminally alter their psychological behaviour.

Canada is in pertty bad shape in terms of the types of programs being broadcasted, making it impossible to revert back to the old days. With new generations emerging, tastes are expected to change. Much of the entertainment originates from the U.S, which is and will be inevitable. I am sure the government is doing its best to come up with various tactics to employ the right amount of social control to protect the young children. From broadcasting current advertisements that emphasize the value of "enjoying TV as a family" to blocking certain cable channels to late broadcasts, only businessmen and parents can tie loose ends by steering the market into another direction and for once actually CARE about their own children instead of jumping to make a quick buck.

FYI:
Terry Donovan, C.E.O of Rockstar Games
Peggy Bundy, Married… with Children