Kobe Bryant – the Black Ops controversy
By Michael Vass | November 19, 2010
So did you know there was a controversy? I didn’t. Until I saw ESPN today. On OTL at 3pm, there were 5 people speaking on the issue for 20 minutes. Obviously ESPN finds this to be an issue.
Well there must be an outrage somewhere. Because several of the commentators were trying to make sure viewers knew that watching the television commercial was sure to doom kids to a life of violence and crime. In case you haven’t seen the commercial, because you were on the moon, here it is.
So the premise is that watching the video game will cause kids to become violent. That the commercial and the game cause fantasies about violence that will compel kids to become violent, a la Hannibal Lecter. And that kids seeing Kobe Bryant in the commercial will have no option other than to join a gang and commit violent crime.
Are we serious?
The entire objection is based in the thought that kids are idiots. That a kid watching a commercial, or playing the game, is so mindless that they can’t seperate fact from fiction. That the allure of gangs and violence, as personafied by Kobe, is greater than any other influence.
People, really. If a kid is so messed up that he can’t tell the difference between a commercial, a video game, and reality Kobe Bryant is the least of influences to worry about.
Now I must mention that I was unable to hear the full comments of everyone speaking (at least 1 guy had the common sense opinion) for the full 20 minutes. But of what could be heard, the above stands.
But let’s think about it. Kobe Bryant is a famous, successful sports entertainer. He is known for basketball. Most kids couldn’t name the college he went to, if he has a degree, or if he went to college at all. Most kids don’t even care about any aspect of his personal life. They just idolize his money and fame.
Seeing Kobe in a commercial isn’t a new thing. Just like watching Shaq age in a commercial, or Tiger Woods walk on water, or any number of fantastical and ridiculous commercials dozens of sports stars have made on all manner of products and issues.
You have to ask, is this because Kobe is Black? I didn’t hear the discussion focus or mention Jimmy Kimmel who was also in the commercial. I haven’t noticed complaints of inciting violence in kids from video game commercials featuring White people and characters. And there are tons of them.
In fact where are all the calls of promoting violence from the animated television show Archer? Or Ugly Americans? Or movie trailers for James Bond (especially the Daniel Craig version)? How often do you really hear that?
Kobe made a commercial. He was paid, and likely is a fan of a wildly popular video game. That doesn’t make kids violent.
The video game is about being military and fighting. A popular theme, dating back to kids playing Cowboys & Indians with sticks and cap guns decades ago, if not longer. Amazingly, over the decades, kids have not become rabid psycho killers rampaging across the world – even with the influence of unedited Bugs Bunny and Road Runner cartoons – as some would have you believe is the only outcome.
Violent kids are not made from television and/or video games. The allure of how praised drug dealers are in music videos and on street corners is far more of a threat. A guy with real cash flashing from illegal actions is a bigger problem than Xbox credits or money in a video game.
So, is this a big deal? Should it be a controversy? Does it matter?
No. ESPN should get off Kobe Bryant’s back on this. There are many serious issues in sports, and with athletes these day. This is not one of them.
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Topics: Celebrity news, Sports, Television, Video Games | No Comments »
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