Parents and banned video-game related stories?

[sgt.flanders]

This just reminds of the time I bought a copy of Resident Evil 0 from the local game store and the clerk kept trying to convince both me & my mom that it would be too "intense" for me. He repeatedly told me that the game contained "extreme images of zombie violence" to which I kept telling him that it wasn't going to be an issue for me. He then presented the same shtick this time to my mother, which then prompted her to ask me in regards to the game's content, "Does that bother you?", to which I dryly replied no. I didn't hold it against the guy, but it was one of those funny moments where a parent clearly understands that not every gruesome image will turn her son into a psychopath.

[Forlorn Drifter]

My parents haven't really been too restrictive, but they kept me away from stuff that referenced sex too obviously until I was around ten or eleven. That was also when I bought my first M rated game, GUN for the Gamecube. (It has a sexual content warning, part of the reasoning that it was an issue to buy, not any of the violence or drug references.)

My mom was always wary of exposing me to things with sex in them, while my dad generally believed in exposing me to everything nonchalantly, and answering what questions I had. Of course, my dad didn't really watch much stuff with sex in it, but the conversation explaining the "Pussy Lover's" scene in Dusk Till Dawn was priceless.

For how religious they are, my parents are suprisingly lax about that kind of stuff. My dad believes that you need to be exposed to things to understand them. So, I've been exposed to a lot.

[Retronomy]

I was allowed to play pretty much anything. Pretty much anything, except GTA San Andreas. My mom heard about the hot coffee mod, and refused to let me play it. Considering I was a console gamer at the time, Actually getting to that minigame would have been impossible for me, and the PC version had it cut from the game and had to be patched. She wouldn't listen to reason though.

But it was from that point on that I questioned American Society's embrace of violence in media (Causing harm to others) yet it's hesitent to expose sexuality to minors (A natural and ultimately necessary phenomenon) even if it's just simple nudity that isn't meant to be sexual.

This was always an ongoing battle with my parents. I wouldn't even necessarily seek out the stuff. One example I still remember to this day is my parents telling me to cover my eyes whenever there was nudity in a movie. Most notably, Terminator, where you see a set of male buttocks. A fairly violent movie, but the violence was never the issue. I know what a butt looks like. I have one. Am I supposed to be ashamed of it, or am I supposed to be ashamed of other people? At what age can one safely digest the image of a pair of buttocks?

This mentality spilled over into all forms of media. I was particularly into Anime, but at a 16 year old and tired of my parents nonsense, I started picking up manga heavily. The often fan-service-y nature of japanese young adult media meant I would constantly worry that my parents would walk in at just the right moment and misinterpret the scenes as full on pornography.

[jinx]

@Key-Glyph:
That was absolutely hilarious and made my night. Thank you

@Retronomy:
I've often wondered the same, as it's the opposite that makes me uneasy. My grandmother never wanted me watching anything with nudity in it, but was "okay" with violent movies, although my grandfather didn't care. Now that I'm older, it's the complete opposite that makes me uneasy. As long as the nudity or sexuality in the movie isn't to the point where it's nearly a porno, I really don't mind it. However, seeing violence towards another person in a manner that can be seen as realistic makes me not want to show it to my kid. I still don't mind things such as Alien(s) or The Terminator though.

[BoneSnapDeez]

Had to throw this memory in since it kinda sorta fits the topic.

The year is 1991, location is Hane's Mall in Winston Salem, NC. A young Luke musters up the courage to walk into TAPE WORLD and try to purchase Use Your Illusion 1 & 2, despite that it was one of the first "Parental Advisory" rated tapes and that I wasn't old enough. But I was about to be big time and wasn't scared.

What an awesome anecdote...

I remember thinking/assuming that my parents wouldn't be cool with Parental Advisory stuff.

When the Bone family would head to the mall we'd all split up and I'd usually head to FYE (forget what it was called back then). If I purchased an album with a PA sticker I'd have to hide it in my pants (right in the crotch) until I got home, as CDs are too big to fit into pants pockets. Damn that made for some uncomfortable nights, especially if we went out to dinner after the mall.

Anyone remember when the PA stickers were actually stickers - not part of the album artwork? Usually they were stuck to the actual jewel case, underneath the shrinkwrap.

[Sano]

Just wanted to chime in and say I was lucky. I didn't ever have any game or even movie restrictions placed on me. It was nice being able to play Doom or Duke Nukem back in the day when other kids couldn't

[Hobie-wan]

Anyone remember when the PA stickers were actually stickers - not part of the album artwork? Usually they were stuck to the actual jewel case, underneath the shrinkwrap.

Yes. I think I even bought a tape back then that the sticker was on the shrinkwrap. I tend to keep those little promo stickers from stuff kind of like keeping an obi and I swear I had one somewhere.



I remember being amazed to see Jane's Addiction - Nothing's Shocking for sale with no censoring nonsense going on. In a big cardboard longbox even. (NSFW if you don't already know)

[Bikeage]

My dad "banned" playing Atari 2600 games, especially Asteroids, with the volume turned up more than just a hair while he was home, because the sounds of "boop boop bip bip" coming from the central bedroom of our small house drove him nuts.

[Nemoide]

When the Bone family would head to the mall we'd all split up and I'd usually head to FYE (forget what it was called back then). If I purchased an album with a PA sticker I'd have to hide it in my pants (right in the crotch) until I got home, as CDs are too big to fit into pants pockets. Damn that made for some uncomfortable nights, especially if we went out to dinner after the mall.

That reminds me of when I was in (early) high school and my friends and I would be dropped off at the mall. I would buy Heavy Metal magazine and smuggle it home by hiding it in my pants. I wore boots at the time and would tuck the pant-legs into them so it wouldn't fall out. Super inconspicuous except for maybe a rustling/crinkling sound from the bag...