The inequalities of offence and reactions to it


Sony has probably acted correctly by rejigging the Little Big Planet computer game soundtrack so as not to risk causing offence to Muslims, but the move comes after offending Christians by including Manchester Cathedral as a location for a violent and gory battle in a different game. Sony said sorry over that, but didn’t withdraw and reprogram the game with an alternative, non-real-world location.

And then there are the countless games produced by lots of manufacturers that present pagans and witches as psychotic savages using dark magicks to hurt innocent people. Nobody ever apologises over these, you’d think it wasn’t several hundred years since the Inquisition, and that’s okay, presumably, because there isn’t a minority of fringe pagans with extremist and intolerant views to be scared of.

Tuesday, October 21st, 2008

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10 other ways the government could try to change our behaviours with scary pictures


“I see dead people,” the little boy whispered. “No, my darling,” said his mother, lighting up. “It’s just a packet of Benson & Hedges…”

Next week the UK becomes the first European country to introduce graphic images on cigarette packets to warn about the dangers of smoking. Fifteen different images will include pictures of a diseased lung and heart surgery being performed. The imminent arrival of horror-themed designs on tobacco products got me thinking, maybe the government would like to see graphic images on other products as well. Or maybe it wouldn’t…

I have a number of suggested ways in which people could be persuaded to think and act ‘correctly’ through the appliance of little stickered pictures.

Saturday, September 27th, 2008

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