Forum - View topicNEWS: Arkansas law threatens manga retailers
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Anders Torin
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As a resident of Sweden, I can verify Ribby's statement: Donald Duck isn't, and has never been, banned in my country.
Rather, he and Mickey are as enormously popular here as everywhere else. It's a strange thing to include in a letter to a body of politicans... |
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Emil Svensson
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Donal Duck has actually been published in Sweden since the fifties or so...
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Lucca
 Posts: 67 Location: Amoung the Fern-Growers |
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But the difference between TV and Books is that TV can be easily monitered. They do make that "Parental Control" chip, although I've never seen it in use. Also, younger kids usually don't have access (sp) to the remote control, and I doubt they're looking for porno anyways. Just th WB for their dose o' Pokemon and Yu-gi-Oh. TV is pretty instant when it comes to "Good for kids" and "Bad for Kids"... Books, on the other hand, are a little different. I will say that I have seen Chobits manga right next to SupeFudge at Waldenbooks... and the clerks had no idea what was in the book. Luckily it was me who picked it up and not some 10-year-old kid. I see this often with Booksotres and manga. It's rather humorous actually. But that's besides the point. |
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jmays
ANN Past Staff
 Posts: 1390 Location: St. Louis, MO |
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Personally, I think it's not a very impressive argument, period. I strongly disagree with Act 858, but it has nothing to do with speed limit laws, different election standards, Swedish immigrants, and the number of laws the legislature passed. He dreams up too many bizarre hypothetical situations and tries far too hard to be dramatic. "Tower of Babel indeed?" C'mon.
But it's important to note that Tierney's one of the most--if not the most--outspoken against the law who's not a representative of the ACLU, ABFEE, or any other organization protesting Act 858. Imo, the perpective of those actually affected (like Tierney) is worth more than those of politicians or interest group spokespeople, even if they're less elegant and logical. -Jonathan |
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molloaggie
 Posts: 578 Location: Texas |
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There are already laws in place that highly encourage/force movie producers to put a rating on their products. We also put ratings on video games. We put ratings on music CDs. Is it really that far-fetched that lawmakers would want to put age ratings on books? What happens to a movie theater when they let a 15yr old slip into an R-rated feature? FINES! You get in trouble if you sell mature CDs to kids.
Manga distributors and comic books already have self-imposed ratings. They aren't standarized or evenly played across the board. Tokyopop put a rating of 7+ on Shaolin Sisters but the second novel talks about rape. Fushigi Yugi also has two times when rape comes up. Does that mean it shouldn't belong in the teenage section? A Spiderman Special called Sweet Charity (I think) had this really graphic picture but Marvel only gave it a rating of PG. GTO is appropiately rated 17+. I truly appreciate that the book people are trying to rate their stuff. However, to hold the book store accountable for checking the 10 year old kids id to verify age is crazy. A state does have the right to impose a rating system and the state has the right to prevent pornographic material to minors. If I tear two pictures out of PlayBoy and stick it in another book, that DOES change the classification of the other book. I think what scares yall is that some of the pictures in your manga could be classified as pornographic. Turn that manga over and you'll see that the publisher has most likely already rated it mature. All the teenagers in this forum still have to get mommy's permission to rent R-rated movies, buy mature rated CDs, and buy or rent M-rated games. Personally, it doesn't surprise me if you have to get permission to buy M-rated books also. And it doesn't surprise me that your parents will go and do so without even glancing at it. |
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Ribby
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I just realized that Mr. Tierney quoted that urban legend as being true in Sweden, not Finland...He can't even get an urban legend right? As Strong Bad would say, "You stupid crap-for-crap!"
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Tenchi
 Posts: 4555 Location: Ottawa... now I'm an ex-Anglo Montrealer. |
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[tinfoilhat]Let's get Jamie Kellner on the case! Since he's apparently the only private American citizen with the ability to pass his own laws in order to get more government regulation, television executives loving more restraints from big government apparently, he must also have the power to revoke bad laws![/tinfoilhat]
Mandatory "Yes, I'm being sarcastic." label |
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jennwenn
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If you ask me, politicians should be thankful that children are even interested in reading comic books. True literacy levels and reading ability in this country are almost embarrassing. The only way I can get several young relatives to read is through comics, manga, and text-heavy video games like RPGs. (Thank you Final Fantasy!)
Educational? Of course they are. Comics pose an almost negligible threat. Nearly every singe bookstore and comics retailer I come across already police their "adult" titles very well by shrinkwrapping them, or putting additional warning stickers on covers. And then there is the age-old tradition of putting the Playboy mags, etc. on the top shelf. That informal policy has been around for decades. As for the Donald Duck urban myth, while accuracy is important, on the whole it doesn't matter whether it's true or not. It's merely a hypothetical example used to illustrate the author's point. And I think we all got it. (It would help his case if he mentioned that it was just an example though...) Everyone seems to agree, this law is too vague. Where did they get the 2/3 figure? Pull it out of their ass? I need more justification than that. |
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Ribby
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Let's face it: I think ANN should have acknowledged that this letter contains somewhat untrue information by now, because Mr. Tierney's basing one of his main arguments on something he "heard" without backing it up with some corroborating evidence. And isn't that what making an argument is all about?
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Alycat
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Oh yeah, I read the first Magic Knight Rayearth book and wanted to go sell my body for money. Give me a break. It's the same old thing regarding Catcher in the Rye and other like material. Those are titles that, and I mean this with the best intentions in the world, stick in the mud politicians and closed minded idiots have been trying to get off the book shelves ever since those titles first came out. I equivilant this to the Bible thumpers who brand Harry Potter as being harmful in that it makes children want to join cults and worship the Devil. Not one of these nay sayers take into account that the book is a work of complete fiction, and when's the last time you heard about kids lining up outside of their book stores at midnight in order to purchase a book that has 870 pages. It's so hypocritical that these are the same people that keep bitching (pardon) about school kids grades, and how reading levels are at an all time low. Make up your bloody minds.
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molloaggie
Posts: 578 Location: Texas |
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I don't think we're talking about titles like Magic Knight Rayearth and Harry Potter. We're talking about titles like Battle Royale and Berserk. Even My Neighbor Totoro has a little bit of nakedness and it's rated PG. We're also talking about children here, not adults. I can't stand people that say they can read something bad and it has no effect on them. The printed word is extremely POWERFUL. This is exactly why we were all given the right to freedom of the press. And NO my children do not have that freedom. I control everything they read just as my mom did. The state cannot say I HAVE to let my kids read [fill in blank here]. Frankly, I don't want to pay for a rating system for books. I don't want to pay for another government agency policing book stores like they do liquor stores. However, topics like this are always fun. I get such a kick out of watching the 16 year old whine like babies that they still have to ask permission to do something. 
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Lucca
Posts: 67 Location: Amoung the Fern-Growers |
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Uh... As I said a few posts up, there are parents who DO NOT monitor what their kids see and hear. And the problem is: It's more often than not that the kid has more control than the parent. So the parent gives up. The kid sees everything the world has to show. And this is why I understand where the law is coming from... however, at the same time I think it's completely backward in it's intent. Honestly, it should just be limited to lude material (by which I mean Playboy and Penthouse) If anything, the age should be dropped from 18 to somewhere around 15. Honestly, by the time High School hits, you've seen it all anyways... |
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Ataru
 Posts: 2329 Location: Missouri (Strikeman) |
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Yeah, but the main probelm is that someone, somewhere will get upset about that. What we, the American people do (I really got to stop listening to Bill O'Rally, not.) is to wait for all the old folks to "move on" and the Gen. XX take over.  What will that be? 40 or so years all they take all the Social Secrity with them . Anyhoot, it's funny how Arkansas motto is "Regnat populus" or for the people who like their motto in English "The people rule". I guess it the people that don't like comics that rule that state.
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dannavy85
 Posts: 114 |
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Like Bill Clinton? And I think I put up a thread some time ago about a legal war against Anime and a few people thought it was stupid? Guess again. In the interest of " Protecting our Children" ( Mostly a common theme of Democrats) there will be new laws that some smart ass lawyer will pick up on as an excuse to rake in some cash. It only takes a smart suit and some gullable idiot adults to follow his mantra to make a legal war on anime possible and you'rejust seeing the first signs of it. You know what some of these idiot child protection laws are? An excuse for parents to thrust their snot nosed brats on everyone else other than themselves and delete the responsibility of parents to take control of their kids and keep their silly B.S. politics out of everyone else's lives. From over-control on smoking, to guns, to beer and cartoons, America is self censoring herself into stupidity and insolvancy with socialist liberal Democrats and freaked out Christian whacked republicans leading the way. Yeah I'm ranting because I am so sick of these self-rightous bastards. Anyone who went to Anime Expo this week got a face full of "Christian tollerence" from the freakshow loons who were "into the word" a few spaces down from the Expo. Some self-proclamed minister and his faithful who made their feelings about anime fans known in the same mindless, anal retentive, sterotypical, racist bent some fanatical christians are known for. Those people are only a step away from driving car bombs or shooting up schools if you ask me. I know where that minister is going though, since his self made riches and fancy cars are against the bible to start with, enjoy hell you loon. Sorry to rant...America needs a serious dose of Constitution before we raise the Hokenkrutz and sing the Horst Weisel as our national anthem. |
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Dannavy, it's obvious you want to partisanize everything, but since this is a Republican-backed bill being opposed by the ACLU, which isn't generally known for its Republican leanings, you might want to rethink. Anyway, this law sucks, but I doubt it'll stand up when tested in court. It's not the opening salvo in a war on manga, it's just a poorly worded bill that will shatter like matchsticks when tested.
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