We often forget it now, but almost every piece of media has a rating system for the maturity level recommended. Since 1968, movies have had their film ratings: G, PG, PG-13, and R. However, music and video games did not get their ratings until the 80s and 90s. Violence in media consumed by teenagers and children is still a somewhat controversial topic, even today.
As a part of the sexual liberation movement, all forms of media started to become more graphic and some pushed the social boundaries to include sexual themes. By the 1980s, this was especially apparent in music, when a group of wives in Washington formed a group called the Parents Music Resource Center. They wanted greater parental control on the music that their teenagers listened to. In particular, they identified a group of songs along with their singers, called the Filthy Fifteen. This included songs from Prince, Madonna, and Cyndi Lauper. A Senate hearing on what they called “porn rock” was held, with varying people testifying. The PMRC successfully created the parental advisory sticker seen on music today. 
As video game consoles became more powerful, game graphics could be shown in more detail. In particular, two 1992 video games Mortal Combat and Night Trap were put under fire for being inappropriate. Although Mortal Combat had been played on arcades before, the release on the Sega Genesis depicted blood and gory finishing moves called “fatalities.” Night Trap and other video games were criticized for depicting women as sex objects and victims of violence. The public became more concerned with violence in video games, especially since these video games were often marketed without any indication of what was inside.
In response to these new releases, Senator Joe Lieberman led a Congressional hearing on video games. Lieberman wanted the video game industry to regulate itself through clear marketing of what was inside of each game. Some believed that video game companies shouldn’t be making violent video games at all. In the hearing, violent parts of Mortal Combat and Night Trap were shown to the public, as well as light guns used to play other games. Researchers presented their results on the effects of violent video games on children. 
The Video Game Rating Act of 1994 gave the video game industry an ultimatum to either regulate themselves, or have the government step in. The result of the hearings was the creation of a regulatory board, known as the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB). These ratings are still used on today's video games.
I find it interesting how video game ratings are a relatively new despite there being many video games before 1994. Yet, it is interesting to see the controversy that has stemmed from the video games rating now. The game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas was at the pinnacle of this controversy as many parents felt that its mature rating was inadequate. Apparently, gamers discovered a "coffee cheat" that allowed them to explore areas of the game that "sexually explicit and extremely violent". When parents found out about this, they wanted the rating on Grand Theft Auto to be changed.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.legalzoom.com/articles/the-controversy-over-video-game-ratings
Very interesting blog post Ethan! It's cool to see how the rise of technology and thus video games gave rise to the necessity of ratings. This made me think: when were standards for the ratings of movies invented? It turns out, the Motion Picture Association of America or MPAA was introduced all the way back in 1968 where the same familiar standards of G, PG, PG-13, R, and NC-17 were developed. However, some think that these ratings should be revised, especially the PG-13 rating because children often mature at different rates. In addition, movies are pushing the definition of what a PG-13 movie is in which they often contain a multitude of profanity and violence. In fact, studies confirm that movies are becoming much more violent than they were 13 years ago. Anyways, it was interesting to compare the two rating systems of video games and film.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.wired.com/2012/04/mpaa-ratings/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motion_Picture_Association_of_America_film_rating_system