Mictlan, I agree with some of the things you posted but I wonder about some things...

I certainly have no argument with your reasoning for being attentive to a child's viewing habits. Still, to try and deny a young person from a horror film or gruesome images is difficult at best. In this day and age, is it better to try and block such things or talk to one's child and make them understand the difference between reality and fiction at a young age? A parent that tries to censor a young person's desire to see darker things may be doing more harm than good.

There is a reason why GTA and other games are big sellers. A young audience will want what is considered taboo. It's a natural desire to want what one cannot have. A parent can only control a child's viewing habits for so long. Once they hit their teen years, they are going to get their hands on these things no matter how you try to stop them.

To censor a child's viewing habits is a losing battle. What seems much worse is to avoid talking about it with them so they understand the difference between reality and fiction. If you censor them, they will not see you as a person to talk to about it and I think that could be worse in the long run. Once they get to an age where they do not rely totally on one's parents for what they watch and do, they will seek out these things. Better to prepare them mentally to understand horror medium than deny it's existence. If it's not taboo, it's probably not as exciting a prospect. ;)

I am not sure if The Inquisition or 9/11 are horror medium. One was used as a way to control the masses through fear and intimidation and the other was a result of religious fervor and social hatred. They are both acts in reality with real-life consequences. Horrific certainly, and perhaps you touch upon an interesting idea. Where does horror medium begin and end. Is the news a horror medium? Which is more horrific: The evening news or a Jason-slasher film? Makes for some interesting debating material.

Deny a person the ability to see the big picture and you can control their lives. Is that a choice that one really has the right to make over another?

Anyways, just an opinion. ;)

S!