R rated video games will turn children into rapists: Barnaby Joyce

I guess I have your attention now, right? So what would you say if I told you that a couple of Australian politicians were ignorant of the content that they pass laws on? Shocking, I know, but when a panel consisting of several Senators and influential community figures were asked about their opinions on the topic of video game censorship, it degenerated into what you see below...



Before I begin a whole rant about the stupidity of the whole stigma around the issue, let me first give two examples of OFLC censorship in action:

1) The last time I went shopping for a DVD (IT Crowd 2.0 - Awesome!) I stood in line behind a mother of several boys who could not be past the age of 11 - 12 years old. The youngest (around 8ish?) had selected a PS2 game called Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, that he was asking his mother to purchase for him. Note at this point that the cover has a large red MA15+ warning on it, and giving details of the content that the game involves. The mother proceeded to the counter with said software and purchased it without question.

2) The much anticipated "Fallout 3" was submitted to the Office of Film & Literature Classification in Australia several months ago to determine its rating upon release. The games was awarded the "RC - Refused Classification" due to its realistic depiction of drug use. The publisher changed the name of the drug from the real name Morphine to something more fictional, changed the animation a bit, and subsequently the classification has been reduced to the MA15+ rating for Australian shores. Please note at this point that despite the future worldwide release of the edited version, most countries have given the game the equivilent of the R18+ rating - 2 years above what Australia will have.

These examples are just the tip of the iceburg. People are still under the misconception that video games are just toys for kids, and that these games will harm them. Jack Thompson, a US lawyer, is a key proponent of this stance. Every time there is a school shooting, he'll come out and blame the latest violent game for the child's actions even though the child was too young to play it.

Which brings us to the point of example 1. No matter how much time Barnaby Joyce spends looking at Avatars who rape people (seriously, where'd he get that example?), the question still remains - how does this affect children? There are many arguments that can be used to refute an R18+ classification, but the ones that are used always revolve around children, even though it will be illegal for children to play them.

I myself believe that the R18+ classification is desperately needed. I no longer even bother checking a rating on a game or movie anymore, because it simply cannot be trusted. How is it that I can join an online game rated for adults, and yet get stuck listening to whinging 12 year olds on voice chat? The whole idea of a classification system is, in essence, to protect children from graphic violence and inappropriate content. So why is it that everyone seems to be opposed to doing just that?

I recently saw a movie called "The Bank Job". Those who have seen it will most likely recall many... "adult" scenes in the movie. It was rated MA15+ for "Corse Language and Sexual references". In my mind, sexual references are things such as a dirty joke, not nudity (which, incidently, I have seen on a rating before). Which is what was shown - had I known this before hand, I wouldn't have seen it. This, of course, wouldn't have bothered the lady in the video who believes that Bill Henson's child pornography is beautiful, but that video game violence will destroy our society. Don't worry - by her logic, if we keep pirating it, we'll be safe!

Our current ratings system in Australia doesn't work. It is flawed due to inappropriate guidelines for classification, and bad parenting decisions. It is not the Government's job to raise children - it is, however, the Government's job to inform parents of what they are letting their children see.

For more info, wiki has the answer:
OFLC wiki page
Michael Atkinson - most public proponent of the anti-R18+ rating stance, and solely responsible for it not existing. Also is the 6th most hated man in Australia, according to the article.