Information, Not Censorship

There’s censorship, and then there’s common sense. No one’s calling for the former--yet. But the latter was sure in short supply at the opening of Universal City’s new attraction, “Terminator 2: 3D.”

When parents asked park attendants if the attraction was appropriate for young children (in one case, ages 3 and 8), the attendants said it wasn’t scary at all. Park your stroller right here, they said. Have a nice day.

Not scary at all! Please, isn’t that the whole point? The attraction, which combines three-dimensional movie effects with a live stunt show, features explosions, an actress being choked and a character’s head being blown off. If that isn’t scary, we’d say Universal should hire a new director.

Many leaders of the entertainment industry have been reluctant to join in a national debate, given new urgency by the shootings in Littleton, Colo., over what causes young people to turn violent. They fear a search for easy answers will lead to an attempt to regulate or censor television shows, movies and video games, and there is, indeed, a whiff of that in the air.

But this is not a call for censorship, just common sense. It’s not about making kids violent, it’s about making them cry. What is needed are straightforward answers to straightforward questions. If there are actually parents on the planet who don’t know what a Terminator movie is like and who ask for guidance, give them at least enough information so they can decide for themselves what’s appropriate for their children.