Wednesday,
February 06, 2008
"Super Mario" Do Parents Know
What Kids are Watching? Drugs, Violence and Bigotry!!
The
ANNOTICO Report
Parents generally
don't like to encourage their children to immerse themselves in the evils
of the world. However, when drug indulgence and racism
is pre-packaged in a seemingly family-friendly video game scenario, parents haven't
questioned it. Somebody should.!!
Nintendo's
"Super Mario" features the drug super powered Mario and his
equally ludicrous and offensive brother Luigi.
"It's a-me,
a-Mario!" it isn't difficult to see the bigotry layered throughout the
Mario universe. I feel it is beyond unnecessary to frivolously inject the
"a" sound between every word Mario says in an attempt to further classify
him as an Italian stereotype. Let alone indicate that the character loves pasta
and pizza.
While parents
complain about the sex and violence seen in the "Grand Theft
Auto", they seem oblivious to drug use and
bigotry in "Super Mario"
People I Know
The Retriever Weekly
By Charlie Griggs
Senior S taff Writer
Tuesday February 5, 2008
Parents generally
don't like to expose their children to the evils of the world. You will
rarely encounter a parent who enjoys taking their kids to Satanic
rituals or explaining to them the benefits of loathing those who are different
than you. However, when hate is pre-packaged in a seemingly
family-friendly video game scenario, parents don't question it. So I will.
Question: How
many innocent children were corrupted this past holiday season by the
sinister messages delivered via Super Mario Galaxy?
Answer: Too many.
In Mario's first
appearance back in 1981's Donkey Kong, he was only known as "Jumpman" This character was loved by millions in
arcades all over the world. He was fun, quirky, fought giant monkeys and saved
a princess. However, this image as the lovable hero soon diminished as Mario
became an amalgam of Italian stereotypes and an infallibly positive influence
on the drug market.
Throughout the
course of Mario's video games he has been known to take mushrooms, allowing
himself to power up. This habit, which today is referred to as shrooming, has proven to be nothing but detrimental in
real life. While Mario gets bigger and stronger and acquires double health (a
whopping six health bars in Galaxy) these side effects have been disproved time
and again in real life. The memory disruption, headaches, and bad trips are
never referenced in Mario's universe, in fact, his
repetitive use of the psychedelic drug purports the opposite of these negative
consequences.
If the
pro-drug message that Mario's video games send to children isn't bad enough, he's embedding the
element of racism deep into their minds as well. With such clever
catchphrases as "It's a-me, a-Mario!" it isn't difficult to
see the bigotry layered throughout the Mario universe. I feel it is beyond unnecessary
to frivolously inject the "a" sound between every word Mario says in
an attempt to further classify him as an Italian stereotype. Let alone
indicate that the character loves pasta and pizza, an idea conjured up
for the television show and that Nintendo liked so much they inserted it into
their games.
While parents
complain about the sex and violence seen in the Grand Theft Auto video games, they
completely overlook their child's corruption at the hands of Nintendo and its
discriminatory icon Mario. A character whose sinful indulgences and
intolerant representations are creating more and more narrow-minded drug
abusing youth every day.
So, the next time
you turn on your electronic gaming console, your Wii
or Nintendo 64 or whatever, remember that you are indirectly funding racism
and illicit narcotics. Please take the time to think about your decision to
play any game featuring Mario or his equally ludicrous and offensive brother
Luigi. There are better things you can put your time and effort into, like
improving the community or saving
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