Alex Barnett's blog

When I see news like that, or hear that Disney had to digitally reduce the size of Lindsay Lohan's breasts in the new Herbie movie, I tend to think "crazy Americans" to myself. Just wondering... don't Americans themselves see how wierd this is? I mean, no offence, but it simply doesn't seem like you people have your priorities straight.

I guess Steven did not read the article -- hey are talking about Australia there, not America? :-)

But to answer the question he asks head-on, many Americans recognize the irony in how much we allow violence yet disallow sex in America, particularly in movies and TV (while simultaneously having an outrageously huge industry surrounding sex). And many others believe that this is the right way to think about things.

But it is hardly just Americans. As the article proves, it can happen anywhere. And does....

Ah, yes, I merely glanced at the article since I had already read the story it refers to ("...pulled from major U.S. retailers last week...") and assumed it was the same one.

I don't know enough about Australia to have an informed opinion, although it does surprise me this happened there. It seems quite a bit more common in the US.

Maybe it's typical to the Netherlands (I am Dutch), but when something like that happens here, very few people will even raise an eyebrow, let alone cause such a major outcry. Remembering the whole Janet Jackson issue, all the Dutch talked about the Americans' reaction, rather than the actual glimpse of mammary tissue that had been visible in what we consider to be a totally unoffensive way.

Is it just the religious right that reacts in this manner? If so, don't they remember that God created the (naked) male and female forms and that sexual intercourse is totally natural (or a divine gift, if you are so inclined)?

Personally, I don't care much for seeing it on TV or in a game, but I don't care enough to make a fuss about it either. That said, the offending animations are not active in the game itself and need a hack to become visible. If it weren't for all the controversy about it, I never would've seen it. (Same with the Janet Jackson thing... if the reaction hadn't been so excessive, it would've been shown on TV a whole lot less, methinks).