Rated "T" for Teen.....books?!?

[:( geek tragedy ):]

You have just got to be kidding me. This is the first I have heard of this ******edness....

The Golden Compass author Philip Pullman is leading a campaign to block publishers' plans to introduce age guidance limits on books - insisting the proposals would be "damaging" to young readers.

Pullman, who penned the His Dark Materials trilogy, from which the 2007 film was adapted, is at the forefront of a group of authors and illustrators who are all unhappy about the plans.

The new guidelines would see children's books stamped with age limits, in a similar way to the guidance ratings given to movies.

And Pullman has started an online petition to try and stop the new rules being introduced by publishers, insisting the proposals are "ill-conceived and damaging to the interests of young readers"

From today's IMDB news section.

[lilbadmofo]

That's just stupid.

[:( geek tragedy ):]

That's just stupid.

Yeah, because kids don’t read enough as it is….now the books that they would be interested in reading, they won’t be able to read. American’s are already stupid….lets make them more stupid

[lilbadmofo]

I see it like this: if the book is beyond the kids level of comprehension, then he won't understand it. Period. Try giving some Kafka or Dostoevsky to a 12, 14 year old and see what he gets out of it. A stupid stamp won't change that.
Instead, it could promote literacy. Kids would try to read something that it's not for them just because it's "forbidden".

[626]

This is one of the worst ideas I have heard in a long time

[Holeman]

****ing ******ed is what that is.

[Hanky Panky]

It sounds like the publisher's way of taking some responsibility to parents who buy their books. Perhaps there have been a few lawsuits which have hurt them financially that they needed a way to absolve their duties.

Now if Mom buys a book which contains questionable content, Golden has the rating on their side.

[Matt the Undead]

This is weak.

[Kabong30]

It's completely idiotic. I can see why you might want to do something like this for books that may depict extremely graphic things, but the problem is that if you start labeling the books, then soon you're banning the books, and then you're burning the books. A child should be able to read at whatever level they comprehend and should be free to read whatever they like. Let's not encourage out kids to read any less than they do now.

[Yukoner]

American’s are already stupid….lets make them more stupid

Talk about the irony of ironies...

[Thrall]

Don't books already have "Suitable for Mature Readers only" printed on the back or on the bibliography page? :confused:

[NIDARAM12]

We already have age recommendations on action figures, music, Legos, dvds, anime, porn, movies and video games... why does everyone think this is ******ed?

Just because they are books doesn't mean it should be any more shocking. It isn't going to turn into Fahrenheit 451.

[metal_hellspawn]

Ratings work for games and movies....but books...seriously? Do you think kids are going to start dressing up as a clown and killing people of they read Stephen King?

[:( geek tragedy ):]

Talk about the irony of ironies...

that was kinda my point. dur.

[Kabong30]

We already have age recommendations on action figures, music, Legos, dvds, anime, porn, movies and video games... why does everyone think this is ******ed?

Just because they are books doesn't mean it should be any more shocking. It isn't going to turn into Fahrenheit 451.

Because the written word is sacred, friend.

[Yukoner]

that was kinda my point. dur.
Your point was to add an incorrect apostrophe when railing about the decline of literacy? Then omit the correct one later on?

American's = belong to "American".
Americans = multiple of American.

Lets = multiple of let.
Let's = contraction of "let us".
Dur.

[avsfan21]

Ratings work for games and movies....but books...seriously? Do you think kids are going to start dressing up as a clown and killing people of they read Stephen King?

So what makes it different than reading a Stephen King book or actually watch a Stephen King book? I someone going to go out and dress up like a clown and kill people after watching IT? I am not for putting on ratings on books, but that is just a bad argument right there.

[Kabong30]

Your point was to add an incorrect apostrophe when railing about the decline of literacy? Then omit the correct one later on?

American's = belong to "American".
Americans = multiple of American.

Lets = multiple of let.
Let's = contraction of "let us".
Dur.

No need for the snarky retort. Maybe instead of working so hard on the placement of apostrophe's you should take a crack at comprehension?

BTW the misplacement of the apostrophe was intentional that time.

[:( geek tragedy ):]

Who the hell is going to rate the literally billions of books out there? Why should they be trusted to do it fairly? It would be a damn shame if someone were not allowed to read a book like 1984 because they are not old enough.

[Yukoner]

No need for the snarky retort. Maybe instead of working so hard on the placement of apostrophe's you should take a crack at comprehension?

BTW the misplacement of the apostrophe was intentional that time.

Do tell: What part of the post and/or clipping did I miss?

Do you comprehend the irony (def: Incongruity between what might be expected and what actually occurs) in decrying the decline of literacy in others while displaying a poor grasp of the written word?

[:( geek tragedy ):]

Do tell: What part of the post and/or clipping did I miss?

Do you comprehend the irony (def: Incongruity between what might be expected and what actually occurs) in decrying the decline of literacy in others while displaying a poor grasp of the written word?

I was BEING ironic. Move on already.

[Kabong30]

Do tell: What part of the post and/or clipping did I miss?

Do you comprehend the irony (def: Incongruity between what might be expected and what actually occurs) in decrying the decline of literacy in others while displaying a poor grasp of the written word?

I NOT KNOW INCONGRUITY. PLEASE MAKE SLOWER TALKING FOR BETTER ME KNOW WORDS.

[Yukoner]

I was BEING ironic. Move on already.

Sure ya were hoss. If it helps you sleep at night, then yeah, you were being ironic. You know what a more appropriate answer would have been? "Oops! Haha!" Then, you know, we would all chuckle and shake our heads at how sometimes we prove our own points without even trying.

But yeah. Your irony -- delicious. Well played, sir.

[Kabong30]

Sure ya were hoss. If it helps you sleep at night, then yeah, you were being ironic. You know what a more appropriate answer would have been? "Oops! Haha!" Then, you know, we would all chuckle and shake our heads at how sometimes we prove our own points without even trying.

But yeah. Your irony -- delicious. Well played, sir.

You know, you are so right. If he'd have just acknowledged his mistake we wouldn't be able to sit here and marvel at what an immature jerk you're acting like.

Thanks for being so humble in your grammatical victory. You are truly a winner in my book.

[vikingspawn!]

ok while im not a fan of censorship at all i don't think this is all that out there. If you agree that there should be age warnings on videogames and movies than why not books. In my expirence i find that books can be far more disturbing than movie or games and far more motivating as well. So if you approve any sort of mature warnings or what (which i do not) not than why would you not approve them for books

[Kabong30]

ok while im not a fan of censorship at all i don't think this is all that out there. If you agree that there should be age warnings on videogames and movies than why not books. In my expirence i find that books can be far more disturbing than movie or games and far more motivating as well. So if you approve any sort of mature warnings or what (which i do not) not than why would you not approve them for books

I kind of see what you're getting at, but I think that a book is only as graphic as the reader can comprehend. A movie or a modern video game portrays a more defined image and leaves nothing to your imagination. In a book you have to make those pictures with words and an average 10 year old is not going to have the same picture in their mind of a graphic scene because they cannot understand the words being used. On the other hand in a game or movie a decapitation is a decapitation and there's no two ways about it. I don't have to know what the word means to know that some dude just got his head chopped off.

I know it's just a label, and I know that it seems innocuous, but I am telling you, if you give in now it's only the beginning.

EDIT: Nobody was ever desensitized to violence by reading a book about it.

[cjclifford]

Everything else has ratings slapped across them (movies, video games, television), I'm surprised they didn't do this to books sooner.

Sure ya were hoss. If it helps you sleep at night, then yeah, you were being ironic. You know what a more appropriate answer would have been? "Oops! Haha!" Then, you know, we would all chuckle and shake our heads at how sometimes we prove our own points without even trying.

But yeah. Your irony -- delicious. Well played, sir.
:rolleyes:

[SweetZombieJesus]

Do you comprehend the irony (def: Incongruity between what might be expected and what actually occurs) in decrying the decline of literacy in others while displaying a poor grasp of the written word?

Looks like someone got some Webster's goodness for their birthday. :D

[Ozma2501]

So I guess you can't judge a book by it's cover will no longer apply. :D