Articles

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. INTRODUCTION

~My Original Idea (and How It Expanded)

II. MOTION PICTURES

~In the Beginning, There Was Film
~Meanwhile, in Another Part of California…
~Your Off-Screen Behavior is Atrocious, But Do You Have to Make Sordid Films,
Too?
~ …And Then Came Talkies

III. COMIC BOOKS

~ Comics, By Any Other Name…
~The Doctor is in…and Crime/Horror Comics are Out
~EC Goes Mad (and Other Casualties)
~I Want Spider-Man!

IV. VIDEO GAMES

Part I
~The Early Days
~The First Controversy
~A Brief Foray into Cartoon and Television Violence…
~A Short Trip Down Memory Lane

Part II
~Technology Goes Forth and Multiplies
~Mortal Kombat, and a Visit from the Feds
~Enter the ESA/ESRB
~About the ESRB Rating Process and Scope of Authority

Part III
~First-Person Shooters are Born
~FPS Games: From Virtual to Actual Reality?
~DOOMed
~Columbine: A Jarring Postscript
~A Brief Excursion into Violence in Non-School Settings

Part IV
~Litigation, Anyone?
~Here Come the Feds…Again
~Okay, I Need to Mouth Off Now
~Back to the Feds…and the First Amendment
~Meanwhile, in the Private Sector…
~Some Final Words about the First Amendment
~I Need to Mouth Off, Part II

Part V
~Jack Thompson, Violent Video Game Lawyer (“Violent” Referring to
the Games, Not the Lawyer)
~Let’s Go on a Manhunt
~Mr. Thompson Travels Abroad
~Thompson: Halo Rates No Halo, Nor Does the U.S. Dept. of Defense
~An Aside Concerning Halo 2…
~Another Aside: The Dept. of Defense
~Lawyer Jack Does Grand Theft Auto
~Again, Please Don’t Get Me Wrong…

Part VI
~When Adults Buy Violent Games for Children
~Are We Raising Violent, Brainwashed Zombies?
~Daikatana
~More from the Private Sector

Part VII
~Violence, Schmiolence! We Want Sex!
~The Myth Debunker
~The Myth Debunker in Opposition
~So, Which is it?
~Proof? Evidence? Conclusions? Where?

Part VIII
~I Saw This One Coming, Folks
~Red Lake: Following Up
~A Side-Trip to the Children’s Pharmacy
~A Different Kind of Game
~It’s Only Me, Mouthing Off Again

Part IX
~Meanwhile, at the IEMA
~A Rather Alarming Report on Ratings Enforcement in New York City
~NARC
~Ratings Enforcement: What About Online Retailers?
~A Side-Trip to My Neighborhood Wal-Mart
~Back to Online Retailers
~To Sum it Up…

Part X
~Exasperated Yet?
~Cases in Point (Ed. note: includes spoilers)
~A Side-Trip to the ESRB Site
~Back to Cases in Point (Ed. note: includes spoilers)
~Sailing, Anyone? (Ed. note: includes spoilers)

Part XI
~More Ratings Inconsistency
~I Think My Head Might Explode
~Jumping into the ESRB’s Deep End
~Testimony from Yet Another Government Hearing

Part XII
~So How Do MPAA Ratings Measure Up, Anyway?
~Oh, the Sweet Suffering…Um, I Mean Irony
~Another “Worst” List (11 Games This Time)

Part XIII
~Jack Thompson, Reloaded
~Update: GTA Defense Doesn’t Wash in Criminal Trial
~Another Update: Thompson’s Right to Practice Law in Alabama Challenged; Thompson
Quits Case
~A Side-Trip to Out of Harm’s Way, or Jack Thompson Writes a Book
~Coming Attraction: 25 to Life

Part XIV
~Massively Multiplayer Online Games: Who Needs the Real World?
~First, About Those Ratings
~Everquest Addiction, Suicide, and Yes, Jack Thompson
~Online Game Addiction is Apparently a Real Thing
~Decepticide
~I’m Starting to Think That Even Writing About Everquest is Addictive

Part XV
~New Legislation in Illinois
~More About That Illinois Legislation
~Meanwhile, in Michigan…
~The Governator Jumps on the “Banned” Wagon (and Florida Heads in
That Direction…)

Part
XVI
~Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Hits the Fan
~Hot Coffee, Anyone?
~So Where is the ESRB, Anyway?
~Is Anyone Seeing Straight?

Part XVII
~The FTC and Private Sector Go After Take-Two/Rockstar
~IEMA’s Hal Halpin Weighs in on State Laws, Hot Coffee, Jack Thompson, and
the ESRB
~Hillary, an Alligator, and Deep Doo-Doo
~Another Gaping Hole

Part XVIII
~Care to See What a Complete Bank Looks Like?
~It’s Ba-a-a-ack…
~Just What We Need — Another Study!
~Rockstar’s Bully
~Here We Go Again…

Part XIX
~Hey!! Could We Have Some Good News, Please?
~Brigadoon
~Adventures in Odyssey

Part XX
~A Different Kind of Rating System
~I Think My Head Might Explode…Again
~Console-Maker Crackdown
~If All Else Fails, You Can Get ‘Em After the Fact

Part XXI
~What More Can I Say?
~Coming Full Circle

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