May 19, 2008

QUOTE: "In today's world, we look at our presidents, our prime ministers, our princes and our potentates, and we describe them as our leaders. But they're not. They're merely our rulers. The leaders are the people who change the minds and stimulate the imaginations of the public, whether children or adults. That means the moviemakers, the people who make TV shows, the entertainment people in the business. And that means that if you're going to lead the world as the movie people and the TV people do, you'd better choose very carefully in what direction you're going to lead." —Douglas Gresham, stepson of C.S. Lewis [Focus on the Family daily broadcast, 5/7/08]

QUOTE: "Our [Narnia] kids are growing up. Susan is 17, 18 years old—Caspian's a very fine-looking young man. Why wouldn't there be some romance? ... It seemed more unnatural not to have the attraction than to have it. I don't think it's over the top. ... People shouldn't be embarrassed or upset about it because it's not on page 79 of the book." —Prince Caspian director Andrew Adamson, responding to criticism about a kiss between Caspian and Susan that's been added to the movie adaptation of C.S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia book [mtv.com, 5/14/08]

A two-year study of 1,200 middle school children by Lawrence Kutner and Cheryl Olsen, a husband-and-wife team at Harvard Medical School, showed that playing video games was a near-universal activity among children. One of the most surprising revelations, however, was how popular M-rated games were among girls. The controversial Grand Theft Auto franchise was the girls' second favorite (in terms of time spent playing) after The Sims. The study also indicated a link between playing M-rated games and aggressive behavior. Among female gamers, 40% of those who played M games had been in a fight in the past year, compared to just 14% for those who didn't play any M-rated titles. [Reuters, 5/13/08 stats, c&e]

QUOTE: "I've never bought the argument that a video game's content was likely to influence one's actions, but after several days spent playing Grand Theft Auto IV and a recent trip out of town, I'm no longer quite so sure. ... The issue at hand is the impact GTA is having on my driving. ... I'm a bit of a leadfoot by nature, but the flow of traffic on a highway is usually rapid enough to keep me content. [After playing GTA IV] however, despite the reasonable pace being set by the cars around me, I quickly grew impatient with my perceived lack of progress. ... As I approached a stop light at an empty intersection, the thought flashed through my mind that I should just drive right on through it. I didn't, of course, but the thought was there, just the same. A handful of studies have suggested a link between driving games and an increased tendency to drive like a maniac. But I'm not suggesting for a minute that playing GTA IV, or any driving game, will turn a safe driver into a highway menace. No responsible person is going to double the speed limit simply because he or she spent the afternoon behind the virtual wheel. But what about an irresponsible person? If I, who haven't had so much as a speeding ticket in more than a decade, can feel the undeniable push to do bad things with my car after playing GTA, what about someone who isn't so careful?" —Wired contributor Susan Arendt [wired.com, 5/12/08 c&e]

QUOTE: "I lobbied hard not to make a first-person-shooter game but to make it more like Myst, which was a great, interesting puzzle you tried to solve—you know, to play with [Jason Bourne's] amnesia or his memory. [The game developers] weren't interested. They made the [game] anyway, without my likeness." —actor Matt Damon, on why he wasn't involved with the upcoming video game The Bourne Conspiracy, which is based on the big-screen Bourne trilogy. Damon's mother, Nancy Carlsson-Paige, commented further on her son's refusal to participate in the game. "Matt and I don't share the same views about violence in adult films," she said. "But we do see eye-to-eye on the importance of protecting children. We both support regulations to stop the marketing of violence in films to children through violent toys, products and video games." [mtv.com, 5/1/08]

One more illustration of how huge video games are getting: Pirates of the Caribbean director Gore Verbinski is set to helm an upcoming movie version of the popular 2007 M-rated game BioShock. [usatoday, 5/12/08; Reuters, 5/9/08]

In the wake of the California Supreme Court decision to legalize gay marriage, talk show host and comedienne Ellen DeGeneres, and her partner, Portia de Rossi, have announced their intent to marry during a taping of an upcoming episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show. [AP, 5/16/08]

Films about pregnancy, such as Juno, Knocked Up and Baby Mama, have done well at the box office in the last year. But while some experts like the fact that films are dealing with the physical consequences of sex (such as pregnancy and childbirth), many believe there's still something missing. "The one place that kids are left uneducated is the emotional intensity of sex and sexually charged relationships early in life," says pediatrician Dr. Cara Natterson. "It's still glorified, it's still romanticized and it's such a big piece that's missing in the conversation with kids about why you should wait to have sex. I'd love to see that addressed, in some way, by the film industry." [abcnews.com, 5/14/08]

More than 2 million teenagers have struggled with serious depression in the last year, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. That's about one of every 12 kids between the ages of 12 and 17. Girls seem to be more susceptible, with nearly 13% of females reporting depression, compared to less than 5% of males. [samhsa.gov, 5/13/08; msnbc.com, 5/13/08 stats]

A new report from the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy indicates that teens who are depressed are more than twice as likely to have used marijuana in the last year (25%) than those who have not reported being depressed (12%). In addition, depressed teens are more than twice as likely (8%) as their happier peers (3%) to become dependent upon marijuana. Researchers also found that marijuana use corresponds with a 40% increase in mental disorders such as schizophrenia, anxiety and suicidal thoughts. Teens who smoked marijuana at least once a month for a year, for example, are three times more likely to have suicidal thoughts. (The ONDCP report synthesized data from about a dozen other federal studies on marijuana use.) [whitehousedrugpolicy.gov, 5/9/08; AP, 5/9/08 stats, c&e]

In October 2006, 49-year-old Lori Drew of St. Louis allegedly conspired with her daughter and another teen to create a fake MySpace profile. The purpose? To harass 13-year-old Megan Meier, who'd recently had a falling out with Drew's daughter. Posing as a 16-year-old boy named Josh, Drew allegedly flirted with Meier, then began sending cruel messages, including one that said the world would be better off without her. Meier, who suffered from depression, subsequently hanged herself. Now a Los Angeles federal grand jury has indicted Drew on one count of conspiracy and three counts of "accessing protected computers without authorization to obtain information to inflict emotional distress." Each charge carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. United States Attorney Thomas P. O'Brien said of the indictments, "After a thorough investigation, we have charged Ms. Drew with criminally accessing MySpace and violating rules established to protect young, vulnerable people. Any adult who uses the Internet or a social-gathering Web site to bully or harass another person, particularly a young teenage girl, needs to realize that their actions can have serious consequences." [AP, 5/15/08; wired.com, 5/15/08; usatoday.com, 5/15/08]

QUOTE: "I think the danger of applying a statute in this way is that it could have unintended consequences. An application of a general statute like this might result in chilling a great deal of online speech and other freedom." —Harvard law professor John Palfrey, stating that Lori Drew's case hinges on the idea that violations of a Web site user's agreement can result in criminal penalties instead of just civil lawsuits. [AP, 5/16/08; wired.com, 5/15/08]