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September 11, 2000
Parents’ Group Calls for Action
to
Stop Marketing of Violence to Children
Says FTC Report Now Needs Congressional Action
Washington, DC – Promises offered by Hollywood executives in anticipation
of today’s Senate Commerce Committee hearing fall far short of reforms needed
to protect the nation’s children, according to a national grassroots parents’
organization.
The recent Federal Trade Commission report on the marketing of violence to
children laid bare the dark underbelly of a U.S. "entertainment"
industry that aggressively markets violent movies, video games and music to our
young children, the group said.
In light of the abuses highlighted in the FTC report, the time has come for
serious reform of industry marketing practices – not band-aid fixes to a
deeply flawed system," said Daphne White, executive director of The Lion
& Lamb Project. Lion & Lamb is a national grassroots parents’
organization working to stop the marketing of violence to children.
"The FTC report demonstrated all too clearly that movie studios, video
game companies and music executives have abused the trust placed in them by
millions of parents by marketing violence to children and teens," White
added. "These marketing practices – which reach into schools, camps and
even organizations such as the Campfire Girls – make it difficult for parents
to teach a set of values to their children," White said.
Now that the movie industry has been forced to acknowledge that there is a
problem, millions of Moms and Dads will be watching closely to see what, if any,
changes actually take place after the Senate hearing concludes. Lion & Lamb
has members in all 50 states, and parent groups nationwide will be monitoring
industry marketing practices.
The stakes are high. Recently, six public health groups – including the
American Medical Association, the American Psychological Association, and the
American Academy of Pediatrics – issued a joint statement to Congress,
concluding that "Viewing entertainment violence can lead to increases in
aggressive attitudes, values and behavior, particularly in children."
"That statement caps 40 years of research that clearly demonstrates the
link between violence on the screen and violence in the streets, between
shootings in the media and shootings in our schools," White said. "The
evidence is now in: viewing or playing with violent media products is harmful to
children’s health."
Lion & Lamb called for a cohesive set of actions applying to all industry
groups, including:
- The creation of a truly independent ratings board, appointed by Congress,
and made up of educators, health and public safety professionals, and parents.
This blue-ribbon panel would create one uniform ratings system for all
"entertainment" products, including: movies; video and arcade games;
toys based on videos or movies; and music. This ratings system would be simple
for parents to understand and take into account current research on child
development. The board should be independent of industry pressure, and be
independently financed.
- The end of deceptive advertising practices documented in the FTC report,
such as advertising adult materials in media or locations where children are the
primary audience.
- Enforcement of age-appropriate previews before feature presentations at
movie theaters and on videocassette releases. It is not enough to ban
adult-rated previews from G-rated movies. Responsible business practice mandates
that the ratings of movies being previewed should correspond with the rating of
the feature presentation.
- The practice of cross-marketing adult brands – such as violent adult-rated
movie characters – in the guise of children’s products (such as toys,
hand-held electronic games and Halloween costumes) should stop.
In addition, industry needs to enforce the ratings system at the retail
level, White said, so children
can no longer buy or rent adult-rated "entertainment" products or walk
into R-rated movies without an adult. "Just as congress has mandated that
children cannot buy cigarettes or alcohol, it must now protect children from
violent materials that are also dangerous to their health," she said.
White is available for interviews concerning today’s hearing, the FTC
report, and related issues. |
