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Oct.-Nov. '00
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Editorial: Scapegoating
Hollywood
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From the Editor
by Craig Mazer
In mid-September, South Carolina Attorney General Charlie Condon called for state prosecutors to band together in a lawsuit against Hollywood, akin to the action states took against the tobacco industry. The lawsuit suggestion came on the heels of a scathing Federal Trade Commission report that asserted the entertainment industry was peddling adult material to underage audiences.
What the hell is going on? Welcome to Fahrenheit 451. Or maybe Orwell's 1984 was only off by a couple dozen years.
While I'm not supportive of targeting young audiences for movies or games they shouldn't have access to anyway (R-rated movies, mature-rated video games), I have a hard time swallowing the idea of a lawsuit. Actually, I think it's totally absurd.
Who the hell do these legislators and lawyers think they are? The tobacco industry lied numerous times about a product that unequivocally causes cancer. But there is far from any proof that the entertainment industry is responsible for an increase in teen violence.
These idiots that "run" this country are so misguided. Lieberman and Gore are so busy jumping on the bandwagon of "bashing Hollywood" that they fail to see that the real problem lies at home.
The only person(s) who should be responsible for what a child watches or plays should be that child's parent(s). I realize that a parent can't watch a child's every move. But the last thing we need is to legislate or sue companies that fail to parent other people's children. That isn't the job of these businesses.
I don't hear Lieberman outraged that in Maine and Arizona, for instance, a 10-year-old child can go hunting. Personally, I'd rather a child see fake violence on TV than be exposed to actually committing the violence. And hell, a Sunday football game is as violent as any action flick I've seen and far more real. But where is the outrage at parent's who take their young children out to kill and allow them to watch men pound each other to the ground?
It's definitely not coming from either of the two, useless, big-name candidates for president. Oh no, Hollywood is a far easier target to attack. Attacking irresponsible parents won't help their campaigns. Who cares what's truly important?! It's all about vote getting.
Well, they aren't getting my vote. •
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