news
- Grand Theft Auto Ads Banned by Chicago Mass Transit
- Posted 8 months, 2 weeks ago by Sean
On Monday, GamePolitics had an interesting story out of Chicago. Last weekend Andy Roesgen, a reporter for the Chicago Fox News Affiliate (try saying that with a straight face) aired a story about the appearance of ads for the up-coming Grand Theft Auto IV on Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) vehicles and platforms. He railed on and on about how, after a particularly violent weekend in the Windy City, he was able to (gasp) see ads for GTA IV plastered where anyone (even kids) could see them. His interviews elicited a range of emotional responses from Chicagoans- from the predicitable cries for censorship, to one woman who dared tell parents to monitor their kids themselves.
Roesgen reports in his story that although he wasn't able to get CTA president Ron Hubermanon the telephone at first, he later received a phone call from Hubermanon's office stating that the campaign had indeed been pulled.
Now, I could spend a lot of time pointing out that Fox News essentially gave Rockstar and GTA IV some free ad time (television ad time no less) simply by airing this piece. And I could expound upon the idea that the simple act by the CTA to pull the ads will make the game that much more intriguing to children (you know what they say about the sweetness of forbidden fruit...) Or I maybe I should complain about the fact that the ads themselves are in no way lewd, offensive or dangerous.
But instead, I have to report that there is now more to this story. Because you can't utter the words, "GTA" and "controversy" without it being followed by the words, "Jack Thompson". It would appear that Thompson, having read the story on GP about the CTA's actions, has (once again) decided to take the law into is own hands.
Yes, in Jackie boy's hometown of Miami, it would seem that there are also some ads for GTA IV hanging in bus stations. One in particular has caught Jack's eye:
Jack has great fear that a child who sees that poster will be inclined to act out horrific and violent acts. And who can blame him? I mean, look at that poster. That guy has a mustache! Everyone knows men with mustaches have hypnotic powers!
So Jack took up his pen (personally, I like to think he uses a quill) and dashed off a letter to the mayor of Miami. Here's an excerpt:
I was shocked today to see a six-foot-high advertisement for Grand Theft Auto IV, a hyperviolent video game… on the side of a Metro Miami-Dade bus stop located… near Children’s Hospital. In fact, the advertisement was adjacent to a kids’ park…
The Grand Theft Auto games have been obsessively played by a number of teens who have then copycatted the outrageous, sociopathic violence in the games and killed innocent people…
The ESRB descriptor on GTA IV indicates this game contains “Strong Sexual Content.” The sale of this game to any minor will constitute a criminal act violative of… Florida’s “Sexual Material Harmful to Minors Law”…
As of now, there has been no reported response from the mayor's
office, but stay tuned. Gamervision will have all the details on this one as they come to light.
Bear in mind that the 1st US Circuit Court has already ruled that bus company censorship of ads based on viewpoint is unconstitutional. But I have a feeling that "unconstitutional" is Jack Thompson's middle name.
Related Articles:
The Document that got Jack Thompson in Hot Water
Jack Thompson's Letter to NIU President
| Share this article: |
|
Comments
Your giving jack thompson way too much credit. I mean look at the picture you put him in. He's not jacked he's a scrawny lawyer.
I totally agree, Sean. There's nothing that Rockstar can do that would hurt their sales at this point. Any and all publicity, from out-criers and proponents alike, is boosting numbers.
Oh those ads were so offensive, give me a break. I love this country: you can five wives, but god forbid Rockstar throws up a few ads around the city. And I'll just insert my fingers in my ears when it comes to anything Jack Thompson has to say....its never anything to intelligent anyway.....
What can we do about it though? Seriously, we can spend hours talking about how much we hate this person or this organization but, how does that really help? I say we protest! Gamervision could organize it and actually make it happen.