Scarface for a 11 year old?

[MO3iusone]

haha yeah, so a friend of mine was telling me how she was gonna buy Scarface for her 11 year old younger brother. I was kinda suprised, I start given her all these reasons why she shouldnt, then she says "Well, hes played games like this so what can I do?" So I'm like "You can start by not buying him this game and get something that doesnt go crazy on the bloody, gore, and cursing" I basically told her what if that was your child, would you allow him to play such a game? besides, just because hes seen blood or stuff similar doesnt make it right for you to continue feeding him that same type of content. I told her to get Bully instead, yea yeah Bully has stuff thats negative as well such as picking on other students, kicking them in the balls and what not but compared to Scarface, I think its an oaky game..thoughts?

[Aurakles]

Let me get this straight, your concern is the potential influence or negative imagery of the game Scarface on this 11 year old kid, yet your second choice is Bully? Am I missing something?

[MO3iusone]

Let me get this straight, your concern is the potential influence or negative imagery of the game Scarface on this 11 year old kid, yet your second choice is Bully? Am I missing something?


I would see Bully as the lesser of two evils. I feel that if the kid wants Scarface that bad, that Bully would be a worthy alternative. Not only that, Bully is rated Teen, Scarface is rated Mature. Scarface comes packed with Mature Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Use of Drugs, Blood and Gore,and Intense Violence.

[Tigrrre]

i'd use common sense on this one.

bully might be ok. scarface for an 11yr old? no way.

[Leakman]

I take it your "friend" is not playing with a full deck of cards!!! Why would someone even consider this for a young child. Just what we need... another parent that screams "not my child" after the kid blows away his teachers and classmates. Maybe your friend needs some professional help!!! IMHO!!!!! :irked:

[Maja]

i'd use common sense on this one.

bully might be ok. scarface for an 11yr old? no way.

Agreed. Just the number of times the F bomb is dropped in Scarface should raise some concerns in giving it to an 11 yr old. That's not even touching on the fact that you get points for dismemberment, etc...

[MO3iusone]

I take it your "friend" is not playing with a full deck of cards!!! Why would someone even consider this for a young child. Just what we need... another parent that screams "not my child" after the kid blows away his teachers and classmates. Maybe your friend needs some professional help!!! IMHO!!!!! :irked:

Relax guy, my friend just turned 18, you know how the younger generation is. They see blood violence, sex, etc and they dont think nothing of it...I would be more worried if the kids mother would be cool with her son playing scarface. As with Bully, I say its harmless as any movie that has mild violence such as "Cheaper by the dozen" and any other movie that has that type of humorous type of violence.

[alexp162002]

I don't see what the big deal is....the parents should provide the child with the with the lessons that teach the difference between what is accpetable in real life and what is not in relationship to games and movies.

I see no adverse affects of these types of games and movies on youths. If there are adverse affects then to be honest, the person probably already had mental issues to begin with..... and only uses the media (games, movies,news, ect.) as a scapegoat for their actions. which we have allowed....

[MO3iusone]

I don't see what the big deal is....the parents should provide the child with the with the lessons that teach the difference between what is accpetable in real life and what is not in relationship to games and movies.

I see no adverse affects of these types of games and movies on youths. If there are adverse affects then to be honest, the person probably already had mental issues to begin with..... and only uses the media (games, movies,news, ect.) as a scapegoat for their actions. which we have allowed....


Well I'm not saying that this is gonna completely change the young boy. I dont expect the kid to play Scarface one week and go into his school the next week blasting kids with an M16 yelling "You want some more?! huh?!" but I wouldn't be suprised if he starts receiting certains parts of the game, the way Tony Montana talks, the way he acts, maybe he'll get in the habbit of cursing alot more?

[alexp162002]

I wouldn't be suprised if he starts receiting certains parts of the game, the way Tony Montana talks, the way he acts, maybe he'll get in the habbit of cursing alot more?

ya... i wouldn't be surprised by that either..... at least with by the cursing part.

but, if he goes to a public school then it's probably nothing he hasn't heard before anyway.... heh

[MO3iusone]

ya... i wouldn't be surprised by that either..... at least with by the cursing part.

but, if he goes to a public school then it's probably nothing he hasn't heard before anyway.... heh


True, I'm amazed though at the amount of cursing the game has..and when you die "YOU ****ED UP" in giant letters..man..thats bad...thats all bad...

[Jonathanlc2005]

yeah kids wont think anything of it and wont do cocaine or drugs. for that age its fine. i used to play deadly dozen when i was 12 and im not shooting anyone. its fun to kill someone on the game but not in real life and he will learn that when he loses the game or finds it difficult to run from cops on the game.

when i was 6 i played mario, im not throwing fireballs at anyone. when i was 8, i played street fighter and mortal kombat. yes i played it but never wanted to hurt someone. now watching wwf on tv(when i thought it was cool and real) then thats a different story and learned quick when i actully met "the rock" at JFK airport. still have his autograph:-)

[Jonathanlc2005]

True, I'm amazed though at the amount of cursing the game has..and when you die "YOU ****ED UP" in giant letters..man..thats bad...thats all bad...
everyone learns bad language one way or another, its controling it is the problem

[MO3iusone]

yeah kids wont think anything of it and wont do cocaine or drugs. for that age its fine. i used to play deadly dozen when i was 12 and im not shooting anyone. its fun to kill someone on the game but not in real life and he will learn that when he loses the game or finds it difficult to run from cops on the game.

when i was 6 i played mario, im not throwing fireballs at anyone. when i was 8, i played street fighter and mortal kombat. yes i played it but never wanted to hurt someone. now watching wwf on tv(when i thought it was cool and real) then thats a different story and learned quick when i actully met "the rock" at JFK airport. still have his autograph:-)


I kinda wanna agree with this but I feel that each individual may react differently towards certain things, watching Tony Montana sniff cocaine may or may have an impact on certain kids. I feel watching scenes such as that might be inbedded in kids heads and later down the road they may be more likely to do it. I dunno maybe they'll have some sort of flash back and remember how cool he looked snorting that cocaine and oh what the hell why not I try it? lol as for the fireballs..you know you'd be shooting those fireballs left and right and busting bricks with your head if you could lol jk.

[MO3iusone]

everyone learns bad language one way or another, its controling it is the problem

Indeed this is true. But I feel that if kids are more exposed to cursing, whether it be from music, video games, or movies, that then they might be more likely to make it habit to curse. I know of people who curse and they dont realize that they did. The just throw in the f word here and there as their speaking.

[Teknique]

everyone learns bad language one way or another, its controling it is the problem

Ya, but that doesnt mean you should expose them to it because you figure they'll pick it up anyway.

[tippin44s]

I played violent video games when i was a little kid but i was smart enough to realize that its just a freaken game. The kids who take guns and knives to school and do stuff like that are just screwed up mentally, not influenced by games.

[MO3iusone]

I played violent video games when i was a little kid but i was smart enough to realize that its just a freaken game. The kids who take guns and knives to school and do stuff like that are just screwed up mentally, not influenced by games.

The problem here is that even though you grew up just fine, theres people out there that are influenced by things such as games. Theres proof out there, I overheard a buddy of mine talking about how a guy committed suicide and broadcasted it over his webcam and I recall the last words he said were "Life is just like videogame, sometimes you have to reset" and as he said that he shot himself in the head. There was also an incident a while back, when The Matrix came out, there were a couple of kids that commited suicide. They said they were stuck in the matrix or something like that. This was a while ago, if you really wanna see the links, let me know I'll do my best to find those articles.

[tippin44s]

The problem here is that even though you grew up just fine, theres people out there that are influenced by things such as games. Theres proof out there, I overheard a buddy of mine talking about how a guy committed suicide and broadcasted it over his webcam and I recall the last words he said were "Life is just like videogame, sometimes you have to reset" and as he said that he shot himself in the head. There was also an incident a while back, when The Matrix came out, there were a couple of kids that commited suicide. They said they were stuck in the matrix or something like that. This was a while ago, if you really wanna see the links, let me know I'll do my best to find those articles.


Like i said, those people are nuts. They were probably having problems or got picked on, and thought they had no reason to live, but they happened to just play games. They couldve easilly said a quote from a movie or a famous person as well. Its not the games fault that theyre crazy.

[MO3iusone]

Like i said, those people are nuts. They were probably having problems or got picked on, and thought they had no reason to live, but they happened to just play games. They couldve easilly said a quote from a movie or a famous person as well. Its not the games fault that theyre crazy.


Re-read my previous posts, I'm not blaming the game completly but it clearly shows that video games, movies, etc. do influence invidual people. Yes anyone could easily receit a quote from a movie but why would they? For ****s and giggles?

[Aurakles]

…though I never pursued it (I stopped at my second Master's degree), I wanted to pursue a PH.D, and my research was going to focus on the influence of pop culture and mass media on adolescent behavior. I did some preliminary research and all the research I read and conducted suggested that pop culture and mass media can help to desensitize young people or numb their senses, but they also have to have a predisposition and peer pressure is much to blame.

I mean, a teen might have a predisposition to sex or violence and certain songs, shows, and/or ads can offer ideas/suggestions, but we also have to focus on exposure. It is not the fault of the artists that young people are so exposed to these influences, and rarely, if ever, under any parental guidance. Artists want to make money and clearly they advertise a lot, and in some cases to a near ubiquitous manner, but parents are equally as influential to their children as any artist.

Certainly, during the adolescent years, young people try to search for and carve out their own identities, ones that are usually different than their parents. They also search for a place to belong and, as such, peer pressure plays a great role in shaping and defining who they are and what they do. It is not simply watching television, movies, ads, playing video, and listening to rap/hip-hop (god forbid), that turns teens into sex addicts.

Is today's music repulsive at times? Sure, but art is art, and I am not one to sanitize one's vision. I also have a choice not to listen or watch certain things and so do teens. Like I mentioned earlier, it is a matter of exposure and that is where peer pressure becomes a factor. Peer pressure and that need to belong or not to be ostracized makes some teens listen to and watch things they wouldn't otherwise partake. If you are exposed to one idea, it obviously becomes an influence, but you cannot blame an artist, genre, or medium, for what teens are also not exposed to. Young people need not be hopelessly dependent on pop culture and other mass media for ideas.

If we continue to blame artist, a genre, or a medium we open up a world of excuses. And like I tell my students, if you begin to make excuses for yourself now, you will make them for the rest of your life. Parents as well as teens are equally responsibility for the choices they make or do not make. If we continue to make excuses for them, then we rob them of their inherent responsibility.

As an aside, my "objection" to both Bully and Scarface has nothing to do with the violence in these games, but rather the fact that are videogames. I am an educator and I would just like to see young people exercise (both body and mind) more, get out, play in the park, meet and interact with real people, etc. You'd be amazed at how many young people lack the necessarily social skills and etiquette to survive offline. I know their parents have a lot of influence in this department, but the fact that we're talking about videogames means more digital babysitting, rather than spending time with your child.

[Jonathanlc2005]

i think america exaggerates ratings. In Europe, they have swearing and nudity on tv and they have the safest sex rate in the world.

[Aurakles]

i think america exaggerates ratings. In Europe, they have swearing and nudity on tv and they have the safest sex rate in the world.
I am not sure I would use the word "exaggerates," but you do have a point.