Media violence has been taken up as a public policy issue by a number of Western countries. Central to the debate has been the challenge of accommodating what may appear to be opposing principles—the protection of children from unsuitable media content and upholding the right to freedom of expression.
The video game sector is the fastest growing entertainment industry and second only to music in profitability. Global sales of video game software hit almost $17 billion U.S. in 2011. [1]
In this section, we examine some concerns related to the movies kids enjoy and we offer tips for talking about problematic film content such as violence and gender and racial stereotyping.
Although the benefits of diverse media are considerable, the creation process can be riddled with challenges.
Since before Canada became a Confederation, racially and culturally diverse groups have been creating their own media: the first issue of the Provincial Freeman, which was a weekly newspaper edited and published by Black Canadians in the Province of Canada West (now Ontario), was first published on March 24, 1853.
Objectivity and accuracy are among the most important journalistic values. Consistently, however, Canadian news media has under-represented and stereotyped racialized groups.
The Internet has revolutionized how young people watch movies: half of Canadian teens say that they download movies without paying for them at least once a week. [1]
Canada’s Broadcasting Act, last amended in 1991, outlines industry guidelines for portrayal of diversity.
Though young adolescents may seem "all grown up", there are still many issues that need to be addressed relating to movie content. Many movies aimed at the "tween" age group (11–13) contain material that isn't appropriate for young teens. The rating systems don't necessarily help either: films that were rated Restricted (17 and over) at the cinema may become 14A when released on home video in Canada.