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CURRENTLY IN CULTURE
But are we OK?

James Toews

“When I was a kid, they were all saying that rock and roll was evil and that it was going to corrupt us. Well, let me tell you: I listened to it all, and, 20 years later, I’m OK! So there!”

He was not the most eloquent respondent to the radio talk show, but what he said rang true with at least half of the callers that followed. The subject of the hour had been violent video games. An expert had been brought in to explain that these games are not good for our children. They have, he said, three specific negative effects. First, they desensitize children to violence. Second, they often perpetuate sexist and racist stereotypes. Third, they actually train people to kill.

The expert had been articulate, well-informed and persuasive. He was calling for strict parental control on the products, as well as societal warnings and restrictions. At first, everyone agreed. No one spoke of any redeeming qualities in the violent games. But it was not long before doubts about the matter of “control and restrictions” were being raised. Isn’t a single family helpless in the face of a whole culture? Wouldn’t saying “no” simply make the forbidden games that much more alluring? And what about freedom of expression?

Then our caller spoke his mind. Even those who remained committed to the idea of control over violent video games knew that he had spoken a “truth”. They, too, had listened to rock and roll – and they, too, were “OK”. The best they could say was, “But not everyone can handle it.” It was agreed, of course, that the youngest children should be protected – but the overwhelming consensus was that older children and adults (and certainly the radio show’s listeners) are generally not adversely affected by portrayals of violence in the media. As for those who can’t handle it – they don’t need to watch!

The standards of acceptability in media have changed radically in the last 50 years. What once would have been a bloody battle scene now makes us yawn. A passionate sex scene of the 50s now makes us blush with its naïveté. The times have changed, and those who gave warnings in the 50s and 60s have long since retreated in embarrassment. We are far more advanced than those who set such narrow standards. We have seen it all, and we are OK! Right?

But are we OK? It is the most obvious question, but no one raised it. It is, however, a question that demands an answer because our whole media culture is based on the assumption that we as individuals and as a generation have not suffered moral degeneration because of the influence of the rock and roll we listen to, the TV and movies we watch or the books and magazines we read. It is an important question because, if dangerous or destructive forces are at work, we would be foolish to ignore that fact.

Not long ago, few people questioned the health risks of smoking. Today it is accepted that tobacco is a killer, and society is going to great lengths to recover from the sales hype of the tobacco industry. Similarly, pollution, pesticides, ultraviolet radiation and genetically altered vegetables are all accompanied by shrill warnings. But in an environment when every type of health risk is proclaimed with great media fanfare, it is amazing that the possibility that our characters could be damaged is met with stony silence.

On the one hand, everyone agrees that violent video games have negative influences on young children. On the other hand, few of us are willing to recognize the negative influences of media on ourselves. Maybe we are not OK.

James Toews is senior pastor of Neighbourhood Church in Nanaimo, B.C.

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Last modified March 6, 2001.

© 2001 Mennonite Brethren Herald.
Published by the Canadian Conference of MB Churches.
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