Censorship sucks.
It is everywhere in society. The ‘man’ likes to tell us adults what we can and cannot see. It’s just not fair. But is there anywhere where censorship is more idiotic than games?
After the ruling by the OFLC (the Australian Office for Film & Literature Classification) on Manhunt last week, probably not.
For those unaware, the classification for Manhunt was changed last week from MA15+ to, well, banned.
Whether Manhunt is a good game or not is not the issue (for the record, I thought it was solid enough to get a good score here, but I seem to be the only one who thinks as much). Manhunt is definitely a violent game – indeed, kids shouldn’t be anywhere near it. But honestly, the fact that the OFLC only decided to pull it from shelves TEN MONTHS AFTER ITS INITIAL RELEASE is just freakin’ stupid.
Was it to please little Timmy’s mother, who is scared that he will one day go outside and breath oxygen? Or perhaps it was a knee jerk reaction to the appalling story in the British tabloids that squarely laid the blame of a murder at the feet of Manhunt (further details on this garbage can be read here)?
In any case, the ban will serve no purpose, as basically everybody who wants the game has already played it, beaten it and shelved it MONTHS ago. It looked bad enough when the OFLC pulled Grand Theft Auto III from shelves a few months after release in 2001, but this is just ridiculous. Do the OFLC have any clue at all as to how incompetent (and susceptible to the slightest hint of mainstream media pressure) this makes them look?
Probably not, as they have their heads well and truly buried under a six feet of sand when it comes to listening to anybody who isn’t little Timmy’s mother. They STILL have the view that video games aren’t played by anyone over the age of seventeen, as is illustrated by their continual refusal to introduce an R18+ classification into video games, despite the constant cries from gamers across the country that have been screaming for one for years.
With the coming revamping of the film ratings system, it is just plain ridiculous that they still refuse to budge on this issue. They have the perfect opportunity to do it with no fuss – so why won’t they? Do they believe that adults aren’t capable of deciding what they can and cannot play? Do they believe that violent video games are responsible for the downfall of society? Or perhaps that they will breed terrorism? Whatever the case is, I am – along with countless others – an adult citizen. The fact that they dare tell me I can’t play a video game because it’s too violent downright pisses me off.
In any case, with the impending release of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and the incompetence of the OFLC that seems to know no boundaries, we could be set to go through this all again.
It’s been said countless times – but censorship just sucks. And until the OFLC realizes that adults play video games too, we could be in for the long haul.
Loading...
