GTA IV and (versus?) the (Christian) Parent

Today is another one of those days. You know the ones I mean. When you kind of shake your head and say to yourself "wow, how did we get here?" Today the focus of the question is the release of the latest - sure to be a best selling - adult violent video game, Grand Theft Auto IV.

Now that can go many different ways.

Translation 1 - How did we get here? = The world is falling apart.
A very common knee jerk response. Especially from parents. (I confess I fall into the camp of parents who don't want their kids to play these games. But then since my kids are in elementary school, I don't think I am way out of line there. A little self serving but keep reading anyway, that isn't my whole position...) Then there are the hyper news readers telling us that kids who play these games go crazy and kill people. A lot of fear here.

Translation 2 - How did we get here? = Boy, these game make me wonder what our world looks like.
This is the more despairing response. It tries to "analyse" the games and read them as a reflection of what our world looks like.

Translation 3 - How did we get here? = My parents don't understand me at all.
This would be the opposing point of translation 1. Teens and young adults who enjoy playing these games and wonder why on earth their parents can't just relax, after all didn't their parents go crazy over (insert cultural item here Elvis/cartoons/heavy metal etc.).

I'm sure there are more translations but I will end it there for now. Thinking about the first and third translation, I bring good news of a possible bilingual dictionary. A recent book, Grand Theft Childhood, has tried to shed some light and sanity on the subject. Their basic advice, "talk to your kids more." Violent video games don't necessarily make kids violent, mental illness and other factors are much more important. It's the old causality question again. But, by talking to your kids you may be relieved by how matter of fact they are about the unreality of gaming. Whew. Here's a short article from the Star that describes their work. And there are many helpful websites where parents can get information so they can have an informed chat with their teens (they will respect you more if you know what you're talking about after all.) Here is what one teen had to say,

" “I don’t think that the people who are criticizing these games are very well informed,” he says. “Many people seem to think that kids buy the game just to kill people, and that couldn't be further from the truth,” he says, in line with what all the kids we spoke to told us. For all of them, the allure of the Grand Theft Auto games seems to pure escapism into a world of forbidden activities. "The games also involve long branching stories that have characters working their way up the social ladder, with multiple objectives and paths to take," Greg continues. "Honestly, the GTA games are nowhere near as bad as they are made out to be.”"

This quote is from a site where there is lots of info http://www.whattheyplay.com/ This is a weird kind of site where links to info about GTA IV sit next to a review of Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends. But that is what it is meant to be, information for parents about everything they need to know.

So the bottom line is relax first, become informed second, and then (then) talk to your kids. At that point you can reach into your own wisdom on what kinds of spiritual themes (good and bad) are embodied by these games. Talk about the messages so kids (and grown ups too) aren't just drinking them in uncritically.

As to the second translation. This game doesn't begin to compare with real life. There are many tragic events every day. Just listen to the rest of the newscast when you aren't being distracted by tirades against video games.

So, if you have teens or kids who ask about this game then you have your work ahead of you. But otherwise there are many better ways to spend your angst than worrying about this game. You could even do some good. Over the past year I have been privileged to take part in many activities through our church that had a direct impact on improving our world. Some local projects and some not so local. Most notable has been our partnership (along with several other churches in our area) with a small village in Sierra Leone where we have been a part of building a new school. Now that's important.

K

Superman for a New Generation

Yesterday I caught an interview on CBC with Jeet Heer, a "cultural journalist" (whatever that means). He and Jian Ghomeshi were riffing about the way that Superman has changed over the years. From hard working farmer's son who wants a New Deal (1930's), to family man (1950's), to "the man" confronted by wild haired X-Men and angst ridden vigilantes (1970's- 1990's). Yet somehow he remains fresh and whole in spite of this. Other interpretations not mentioned were Superman's brief stint at Melrose Place (Lois and Clark) and his endless teenager hood (Smallville).

You can listen here . It is the first interview in the podcast for April 22.

Listening to the interview got me thinking about a subject I preached on a couple of weeks back. The relevance of The Bible, a 2000+ year old document that has nothing in it about how to use a blackberry, texting, genetic engineering and frankenfood, nuclear war etc. etc. Still, this book seems to both reinvent itself for each generation whilst remaining the same. The Bible retains its relevance in spite of its distance in time and space from us.

From there I wandered into thinking about progress versus tradition, change versus solidity. And then on the interconnectedness of growth and roots.

There have always been "back to the future" movements: pining for the nostalgic past is probably one of the favourite topics of every generation. There has also been a lot of the opposite feeling: away with everything in the past - time to move on. In Christianity (the only faith I am qualified to talk about really) these can be seen in the extreme conservatism (and rejection of anything perceived as modern) of some groups versus the extreme rejection of anything faintly "religious" if not faith itself.

How do we move beyond this and adapt, like Superman, while retaining our identity. To be fair, Superman was actually killed off about 15 years ago and then came back changed by the experience. This is somewhat analogous to the periodic calls for renewal in the church.

I don't know maybe I am trying to see into a lead lined box with my x-ray eyes but I think there are some wonderful lessons to be learned from Superman. Not least, that the one thing that has always been the most attractive thing about Superman - his essential goodness.

K

Young @ Heart Chorus

OK – so every Sunday at church I say, "I invite those who are young or young at heart to come forward for story time." Then I saw a movie review of the film, Young@Heart, and I think I may have to rethink that phrase or it could get pretty crowded around my story chair.
Basically the film follows a group of 70-90+ year olds (yup you read that right) who have put together a show of punk rock (and other) music, including classics from The Clash and The Ramones.

As a church leader, and a reluctant participant (by default) in the worship debate (i.e. what kind of music should we be listening to at church), I have noticed that the particular music doesn’t matter as much as who is singing it. My feelings were validated (in a very unscientific and anecdotal way) by Young @ Heart’s rendition of "I Will Survive."



Now previous readers of this blog will have seen another version of this song when I went on about dancing men (you’ll just have to go check it out yourself - it's the jailhouse scene). This version is totally different. The women and men who sing this song put a hard edge on the words "I will survive" that no younger person, no matter how gritty could possibly do. I just believe it more coming from these folks.

This is a movie that cuts across generation boundaries and hopefully will start lots of good talks, and hopefully entertain along the way. The movie isn't in Barrie (yet) but it is down in TO.

If you are interested in learning more about the movie you can go check it out at the official website or you can learn more about the group at their official website.

K

Pining for Sunnydale

Ok
I have to admit that I am feeling nostalgic today. News is depressing. Rain is falling. So I have decided to go back in time to a sunnier time. Actually to a sunnier place, a town called Sunnydale, the home of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Not the movie Buffy the Vampire slayer (which is good in its own campy way) but the TV series. It was a smart, complex, morality tale that dealt with many real life issues in a kind of otherworldly way. Don’t take my word for it, below is a link to a very good article about the show (from a group that are themselves a little odd).
http://www.thedoormagazine.com/archives/buffy.html
I loved it at the time but I have come to appreciate it more since - especially the musical episode (which was weird and annoying to me at first but has grown on me).
Buffy episodes are available online at hulu.com but not in Canada (yet).

Sigh….
Thank goodness for DVDs
K