Blake Thompson comments:
"The better question here is, "Should sex and violence be limited?"  But
even before asking that, one must define 'sex and violence.'  An article
in the Atlantic Monthly, May 97, discusses an organization that counts
instances of violence.  It's definition of terms is highly controversial
because by their reckoning, the Laugh-In 25th anniversary special was
"very violent" due to numerous pratfalls and slapstick.  At any rate, the
article may help you consider these issues."
 
 
I recently sat on a thesis committee for a sociology student doing a
"content analysis" of violence in James Bond films, trying to measure
"blood and gore" on a statistical basis.  Her conclusions were about what I
expected--it is hard to measure violence.  There were few examples of
one-on-one violence that portrayed actual bloodshed (but lots of shooting,
explosions, exotic forms of killing, etc.), which didn't fit into the kind
of statistical analysis she was trying to perform.  At least she had the
intelligence and honesty to turn her discussion to a critique of the
method.
 
The problem with the V-chip (or computer blocking devices for that matter)
is that they lack the ability to make those kinds of subtle distinctions--
someone will have to make the distinctions for them.  And sex is another
matter as well.  There are R-rated films that may contain some nudity or
"adult situations" that I would far rather expose my own son to than a number
of PG-13 (or even some PG) films!
 
Don Larsson, Mankato State U (MN)
 
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