Land of the Puritans

I just read this article on some politician in California criticizing the ESRB for failing to give the video game, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas a more strict rating. Seems like all the fuss was that there's a mini sex game in GTA that had been blocked off by the game programmers but intrepid gamers have discovered a way to unlock that content.

So obviously it must be the fault of the ESRB that they failed to find out about that. They should have given GTA a more strict rating. After all, the game ONLY got a M for Mature (Not for those below 17).

It must be really tough working at ESRB. How are they supposed to rate game content which has been blocked and disabled by the programmers. Are they supposed to go hunt down all the Easter eggs in a game? And there's no indication that the programmers expected this. It was not even Easter egg content. In short, the mini game was scrapped (not surprising, considering the fuss everyone is making now) and that should be it. The ESRB cannot be expected to rate something that would not be easily available to the average user. Not everyone will even know about the mini game but after making such a big deal, it is guaranteed that everyone will want to try it out now.

Besides, the game is rated Mature and cannot be sold to those below 17 years anyway. With the internet widely available, can anyone imagine that those who can find a way to unlock the silly game cannot find the Paris Hilton sex video if they wanted to?

Which leads us to the whole sex and violence issue in the media, especially the US media. Where you are more likely to get away with bashing a guy's brains out with a sledgehammer than flashing a tit. Nudity = Sex. And we all know sex is taboo (What will the kids think!). Never mind the context. Never mind if the nudity is that of a dead cadaver during an autopsy. (Argh, you'll go blind if you see a breast!)

Just goes to remind us all that at least some Americans are descendants of the original Puritans. And with the rise of the religious, conservative right, the Land of the Free may soon be the Land of the Puritans, among other things.