Commonsensemedia

I just found this website: commonsensemedia.org and it seems to do a good job of sorting and reviewing shows for kids. Any other resources out there? What made me think of posting is that my son is wanting to watch something with knights and castles and such and we're trying avoid mean and scary content. Thanks.

IMDb: 1.) Scream (1996) (7.4) 2.) Scream VI (6.7) 3.) Scream (2022) (6.3) 4.) Scream 2 (6.3) 5.) SCRE4M (6.2) 6.) Scream 3 (5.6)
Rotten Tomatoes Critics 1.) Scream 2 (81%) 2.) Scream (1996) (80%) 3.) Scream VI (77%) 4.) Scream (2022) (76%) 5.) SCRE4M (60%) 6.) Scream 3 (41%)
Rotten Tomatoes Audience: 1.) Scream VI (91%) 2.) Scream (2022) (81%) 3.) Scream (1996) (80%) 4.) Scream 2 (58%) 5.) SCRE4M (56%) 6.) Scream 3 (38%)
Metacritic Critics: 1.) Scream (1996) (65) 2.) Scream 2 (63) 3.) Scream VI (61) 4.) Scream (2022) (60) 5.) Scream 3 (56) 6.) SCRE4M (52)
Metacritic Audience: 1.) Scream (1996) (8.6) 2.) Scream 2 (8.4) 3.) Scream 3 (8.0) 4.) Scream (2022) (6.8) 5.) Scream VI (6.8) 6.) SCRE4M (6.5)
Letterboxd: 1.) Scream (1996) (4.1) 2.) Scream VI (3.7) 3.) Scream (2022) (3.4) 4.) SCRE4M (3.4) 5.) Scream 2 (3.4) 6.) Scream 3 (2.9)
Google Audience: 1.) Scream (1996) (4.5) 2.) SCRE4M (4.0) 3.) Scream 2 (4.0) 4.) Scream 3 (3.9) 5.) Scream VI (3.8) 6.) Scream (2022) (3.4)
Rogerebert: 1.) Scream (1996) (3 Stars) 2.) Scream (2022) (3 Stars) 3.) Scream 2 (3 Stars) 4.) Scream VI (2.5 Stars) 5.) SCRE4M (2 Stars) 6.) Scream 3 (2 Stars)
Commonsensemedia: 1.) Scream (1996) (4 Stars) 2.) Scream 2 (3 Stars) 3.) Scream (2022) (3 Stars) 4.) Scream VI (3 Stars) 5.) SCRE4M (3 Stars) 6.) Scream 3 (2 Stars)
I had to take some liberties in some of these as some of the films have the exact same rating, I went off of the general tone of the review.

From this very honest review deviantART Website Review Common Sense Media I have decided to quit DA forever and make my own art platform that is way better than DA

It's kind of insane to see all this play out in the last year.

Take a look at these 2 offerings from Netflix and how much online discourse has grown in just a span of 4 years.

To All the Boys I've Loved Before
Remember this made for Netflix movie? Released literally 2 days after Crazy Rich Asians made its premiere, it elicited quite the response from Asian American audiences.
One of the biggest topic of note was the protagonist's love interests consisting of 4 white males of the 5 "loves" and zero Asian male representation.
It really started with this article (dated August 18, 2018) from Indiewire and authocreator Jenny Han's quote:

“I understand the frustration and I share that frustration of wanting to see more Asian-American men in media,” she said. “For this, all I can say is this is the story that I wrote.”

You can argue and make the case (back then) that Han had a reasonable answer for the lack of Asian male rep in her film. She's also stated this in the same article:

“More means more representation, more viewpoints, more stories, and I want to see that. I think also, as I continue on and get more clout, I’m committed to that as well. So I do understand the animus behind [the criticism], and I do want to see that happen for people. I think it’s important to just keep pushing for more and to get the doors to open wider.”

Sounds pretty ok I guess?
Well, some Asian women in journalism decided this criticism was invalid and just a simple result of typical "angry, bitter Asian men".
First came this piece from Seventeen magazine (dated August 24, 2018) titled: Lana Condor Gets Real About The Racist Backlash Against "To All the Boys I've Loved Before"

"You are being racist unknowingly and continuing to put us in a box that we don’t need to be in. It’s really unfair. People should be able to love who they want to love. It’s offensive to me — you’re continuing to promote tribalism. So I can’t be with who I want to be with? These are probably the same people who have an issue with the LGBT community. It’s the same thing — you telling me who I can love is unfair," she said.

Then came this bizarre rant (dated September 9, 2018) titled "Peter Kavinsky Is White And I’m Glad"

It’s starting to feel like people are literally CANCELING OUT HALF OF WHO LARA JEAN IS, and I’m NOT OKAY WITH IT. My whole life I’ve struggled with never fitting in to one group or another, not being Asian enough for the Asians, being too Asian for the whites, and it’s total bullshit. Lara Jean and I are BOTH ASIAN AND WHITE. Being white does not cancel out being Asian, and being Asian does not cancel out being white. Does not cancel out the half of Lara Jean who is the exact same race as Peter Kavinsky.

Here's another one courtesy of BitchMedia (their own magazine title, dated September 11, 2018) titled "To All the Double Standards We’ve Seen Before" where writer Laura Sirikul frames the criticism of exclusion of Asian males in media a "double standard". She took note of the recent pairings of East Asian and South Asian men in media, but neglected to bring up the pairing of white male/asian female couplings that FAR exceeded any number of amxf pairings in the media. She also failed to examine the most recent trend of Asian women writers, directors, producers, creators, etc having a say in writing mainly love interests who are straight while males.

The very idea that every film featuring an Asian woman should include an Asian love interest reinforces the misguided notion that Asian women “belong” solely to Asian men.

Here's another think-piece courtesy of The Daily Cal (dated September 21, 2018), where the author almost has a grasp at the situation, then takes a hard right into familiar talking points.

Once “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” asserts the desirability of white men at the expense of Asian men, as other articles have also noted, it becomes impossible to ignore another phenomenon in the movie’s utopic world: There are no Asian men love interests. With the exception of queer, Black Lucas, all of Lara Jean’s five crushes are white. In fringe online forums with a barely tamped down “incel” bent, a growing number of Asian-American men spew their disgust and bitterness for WMAF (white male/Asian female) relationships. Asian women in these relationships are “white worshipping,” “self hating” and have “internalized racism against Asian men.” “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” is exactly the kind of movie they resent most.

Now... that's just a taste of what 2018 was like. That was also the same summer when a notable Asian American woman author wrote a piece in the Cut magazine about "mrazns". So yeah, back then you could write an entire article with basic premise of "Asian males are bad, here's 22 reasons why" and you'd get a front page stamp by any editor in town.
Now let's take a look at the latter half of 2022.
Partner Track
“Partner Track” falls short in its attempt at representation – El Estoque (September 22, 2022)

“To All the Boys I’ve Ever Loved Before” and “Partner Track” have strikingly similar plot threads: both Lara Jean and Ingrid Yun primarily pursue white male love interests. Even in the original book “Crazy Rich Asians,” Rachel Chu’s friend mentions that Rachel has never dated an Asian man before Nick. The trend of East Asian women ending up with white partners has occurred since the first instances of Asian representation in media — dating back to Chinese American actress Anna May Wong’s depiction of the sexually exotic Asian women in the silent film era. This issue is rooted in the fact that whiteness has always been implicitly perceived as superior in Western media — putting Asian women with white love interests plays into white superiority by portraying that only white men are deemed desirable, thus reinforcing racism against Asians.

Why aren't there more Asian couples depicted in mass media? – AsAmNews (September 23, 2022)

Users on social media have critiqued Partner Track for continuing the trope of pairing an Asian female lead with a White male love interest. According to Associate Professor and Chair of Sociology at San Diego State University Minjeong Kim, interracial relationships have been a significant part of Asian American history, owing to the migration patterns of Asian men and women. Anti-immigration laws that limited Asian women from migrating caused many Chinese immigrants to engage in relationships with women outside their race. Then later, Asian women were able to migrate as “war brides” and “mail-order brides.”
“Gina Marchetii’s 1994 book, Yellow Peril, looks at movies that came out in the early and mid-20th century, and even then, all you could see were Asian women with White men, and the underlying message that was delivered was how Asian characters are unassimilable. They are ‘too foreign’ to be incorporated into American society unless they are paired with White characters,” Kim said to AsAmNews. “This idea of ‘forever foreigners’ associated with Asian Americans was reinforced by these images.”
The frequency of the Asian woman and white male pairing, says Professor of Anthropology and Asian American Studies at Northwestern University Shalini Shankar, is also a reflection of male patriarchal power dynamics.
“My feeling [on this pairing] is really a mental vestige of either colonialism or imperialism because that is such a familiar trope from either U.S. conquests in East Asia … or Britsh colonialism in India and the Middle East. There is a longstanding occupation of White men in these countries interacting rightly or improperly with Asian women,” Shankar said to AsAmNews. “That sort of pairing is longstanding: you never see the opposite depicted. We’ve all been socialized to think this is normal. This is the way that the world has been taken over in terms of male patriarchal power dynamics and we haven’t transcended those patterns yet.”

Why Aren't There More Asian Couples On Screen? - Representasian Project (October 4, 2022)

“As Hollywood reckons with a lack of representation on screen and behind the scenes, having an Asian woman deciding between two white men [in ‘Partner Track’] left me wondering why there are so few Asian love stories on my TV.”
I understand that may seem small considering all the other challenges facing our protagonist. But as Hollywood reckons with a lack of representation on screen and behind the scenes, having an Asian woman deciding between two white men left me wondering why there are so few Asian love stories on my TV.
Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against dating outside one’s race. But at a time when the Asian community continues to grapple with racism and violence largely fuelled by the pandemic, having a love story between two Asian characters is something that should be celebrated and seen. What’s reflected on screen plays a role in normalizing our existence as Asian people as multifaceted beings. I can’t help but think Partner Track could have delivered much more.
Given their success, it’s clear there’s tons of appetite for Asian-led stories. But with the exception of Crazy Rich Asians, I can’t help but notice the common trope of pairing Asian women with white love interests. And oftentimes, it’s at the expense of men of colour.
In both To All the Boys and The Summer I Turned Pretty, protagonists Lara Jean Covey and Isabel (Belly) Conklin are portrayed as biracial Asian American women who are grappling with their romantic prospects. Spoiler alert: both end up with white love interests in the end. But throughout the series, we see them considering their futures with men of colour.
Ultimately, we discover these boys don’t stand a chance against the male leads — who happen to be white men— and get their hearts broken. They’re soon forgotten about and become an afterthought in the series.

Interracial casting in Hollywood isn’t as progressive as we think it is - The Georgetown Voice (October 24, 2022)

The big and small screens are no stranger to white-man/Asian-woman couples, from Lane Kim and Dave Rygalski in Gilmore Girls to Lara Jean and Peter Kavinsky in To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before (2018). Such tropes, however, hold problematic implications for the overall perception of Asian identity.
Asian men, on the other hand, have been portrayed by the media as romantically undesirable and awkward, often used as the funny sidekick or the butt of the joke due to a lack of social awareness or nerdy and unkempt appearance. Some advances have been made in reimagining this stereotype— with the casting of Simu Liu in Shang-Chi, for example— but the old overarching depiction still sticks. Conversely, white male characters are written to be the charismatic and conventionally beautiful “knights in shining armor” that come in at the climax to save the girl. Today, these stereotypes might be less obviously relayed in film and television, but there is no denying their underlying presence and historical significance.

Chinese Students Association hosts actor Arden Cho as fall speaker - Daily Northwestern (November 8, 2022)

Near the end of the event, Han and Huang opened the dialogue up to the crowd for a Q&A session. One audience member asked about the criticism Cho faced for the alleged “white man and Asian woman” romantic trope in “Partner Track.” Cho, tearing up, said she hasn’t felt fully supported by the Asian American community due to the backlash.
She said retirement may be on the table, both because of this controversy and Netflix’s recent announcement that “Partner Track” would not return for a second season.
“As Asian American actors and actresses, we have all this pressure to represent our entire community with every single project,” Cho said. “But please remember that we’re just storytellers and artists. If we do represent our community, then great, but I don’t think it always has to be everyone’s story because it can’t be.”

Are Wasians Truly Asian Representation? — GenZHER (December 26, 2022)

Arden is fully Korean. The two male leads in the drama series are white. There is a male character that Arden interacts with who is Asian, but he is not a lead. A lot of viewers were also hoping that Arden’s characters got with Z (the Asian male character), but that was not the case. Obviously this decision is not Arden’s fault. Yes, there can be healthy relationships between white males and Asian women,but the white male and Asian woman dynamic possesses many underlying issues. It is tiring to see that kind of relationship within the media, especially with its dark history.
American soldiers use to hold camp towns where they would use East Asian women as sex toys. “As wars ended, many American troops came home with their wartime perceptions of Asian women as submissive and sexually available.” (Lang & Cachero). There is even a term to describe someone who has a fetish for East Asian women: yellow fever.

... Can you sense the palpable, differing tones in just 4 years?
And not just Asian women journalists or writers. Even non-Asian women are sensing what has been the obvious tropes.
The Partner Track: A Fun Quick Binge With a Cliche Story

The story starts strong, with Ingrid kicking ass at work and standing toe to toe with her pretentious white colleagues in a male-dominated legal profession, so she has to be as slick and clever as her male counterparts. Ingrid does this well…better, and you’re rooting for her the entire time.
Unfortunately, the story starts to go in a cliche route when Ingrid runs into a person with whom she had a one-night stand. From there, the story continues with unsaid feelings and Ingrid making her situation even more complicated with a love triangle between two wealthy white men. Yes, I said it, but unfortunately, this is where the story loses me. I liked the attempt of having a “diverse” cast, the power of friendship between Tyler (Bradley Gibson) and Rachel (Alexandra Turshen) and a woman of colour kicking ass at her job. I didn’t love that Ingrid’s only two love interests were white. Or the fact that there was a lack of addressing the racism that occurred in this series.

Motion To Dismiss 'Partner Track,' Your Honor

Ruth Etiesit Samuel: Upon seeing the trailer for this series, I’ll admit I was upset. Since the “Teen Wolf” era, I hadn’t watched Arden Cho in a regular series role in ages. When the series was announced on Deadline, I was expecting a more serious, “HTGAWM” approach — not another story about a woman of color stuck between two random, medium ugly white men. Marina, you’ve read the book “The Partner Track,” which the series was adapted and it’s supposedly heralded in law schools, per the book’s description on Amazon. What are your thoughts?

Partner Track review from Common Sense Media writer Monique Jones

To top it off, Ingrid appears to date only White men, with another friend (Alexandra Turshen) even making a joke that she has dated more Asian men than Ingrid. The statement, plus the optics, takes a ton of wind out of Partner Track's message. Of course, you don't need to date within your race to be considered down with your race, but it's strange when the main character seemingly wants to live in a fantasy of the White gaze and engage in racial politics only when it's relevant to her success.

Nextshark, the Pan-Asian website, posted the trailer on Instagram. Do yourself a favor and scroll by earliest first and take note of just how many Asian American women, yes, women have lampooned the premise. The days of just falling in line and being happy with what we're given are absolutely over.
To end this piece, here's an interview conducted by Abbey White for show-runner Georgia Lee in an edition of the Hollywood Reporter. In it, Ms. White explicitly asks her directly about the trope.

Abbey White: Rom-coms sort of feel primed for discussion about race and gender because those things are baked into societal discussion around desirability and visibility — onscreen and off. This leads to the question of Ingrid’s love interests. She’s with Nick and Murphy, two white men, but there’s also Z, an Asian man, who really feels like an option for her, but isn’t framed as one in the same way. Did you want audiences to feel like he was a love interest for Ingrid or is that just a byproduct of viewers reading into something?
Georgie Lee: Oh, yeah, I mean, it’s so funny. When I read some of the stuff online, where they ask, “Were they thinking about…” And it’s like, of course, we were thinking about that! (Laughs.) And honestly, I was concerned with being way too obvious about it. We didn’t want to be too intentional because we want to explore more in future seasons, so you can’t use up all your story. But we were so hyper-conscious. We’re absolutely aware. I know what the poster looks like. It’s an Asian American woman with two white dudes. Of course, we’re so deeply aware of that and, in fact, that is part of the message which is why we couldn’t say anything pre-launch because we didn’t want to give anything away. You don’t want to give away Murphy’s twist. The message, the theme, the emotional journey of Ingrid is that she starts out in a place where she’s not aware. So she has to learn stuff while she is living in this white patriarchal power structure. Part of her is very unconscious to it and so part of her subconsciously believes — and it’s what we’ve been conditioned by all the media and everything in our entire lives to feel — is that if she somehow is part of that white power structure, she’ll be safe. She’ll feel safe. She doesn’t consciously realize that it also is a product of the environment she’s in because the white man is in charge at the law firm.

This is the poster plastered on billboards in Hollywood and Times Square that Georgia Lee was talking about here. Whether you buy the answer as authentic or an attempt at damage control considering the backlash from Asian American audiences... guess that's up to the individual.
How quickly the narrative can change once time passes. I have high hopes for this current group of Gen Z Asian women can turn the tide against the willful ignorance of the previous generations in our community.

(CW: animal death, religious discrimination, and child abuse/neglect – depending on how you look at it)
What is Kid Nation?
“I think I’m gonna die out here because there’s nothing.” – Jimmy, age 8
If you’re unfamiliar with the American reality show Kid Nation, it’s not a surprise. Created by Tom Forman Productions and Endermol USA, the series premiered on the CBS network on September 19, 2007. Kid Nation features 40 children, ranging from ages 8 to 15, who are given 40 days to create a functioning society out of a ghost town without adult intervention, Lord of the Flies-style. The children pass laws, elect leaders, and build an economy in pursuit of their goal. Kid Nation received mixed-to-negative reviews from critics and was awash in both controversy and legal trouble, leading to its cancellation in May 2008, after just one season. Despite this, the show has maintained a cult-like following among reality TV connoisseurs and received renewed interest in 2020 on social media, presumably due to the pandemic.
At the very beginning of Kid Nation, the participants arrive in Bonanza City, New Mexico, where they are expected to build a viable community from the ground up. The show was filmed on location at the Bonanza Creek Movie Ranch, the purported “ghost town” on the show. In reality, the privately owned town is less of a ghost town and more of a movie set. Only 13 miles south of Santa Fe, Bonanza City has been used as a filming location since the early 1950s. Dozens of films have utilized the site, such as Silverado, The Legend of the Lone Ranger, and A Million Ways to Die in the West. More recently, Bonanza City was the site of the infamous shooting during the filming of Rust, during which Alec Baldwin discharged a prop firearm on set and accidentally killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. It's also somewhat of a tourist destination, with companies offering tourists Jeep rides through Bonanza Creek Movie Ranch. At first, this may seem like a small discrepancy. After all, the kids are still building a society on their own in a relatively empty and isolated town – what does it matter if it’s really a ghost town or a movie set? But this inaccuracy is emblematic of the controversy surrounding Kid Nation: for better or for worse, the conditions depicted on-air were not the reality of the children participating in the show.
The Structure of Kid Nation
“Does anybody else think the Gold Star will significantly increase their sex appeal?” – Michael, age 14
In the first episode of Kid Nation, the kids are told that four of their peers have been deemed members of the “town council” by the production team: Laurel, Mike, Taylor, and Anjay. The other 36 participants are divided into four bunks (also called teams or districts), and each bunk is led by one of the members of the town council. All the bunks were named after different primary colors, with Laurel leading the Green team, Mike leading the Red team, Taylor leading the Yellow team, and Anjay leading the Blue team. Each bunk would sleep together, work together, and compete as a team.
Every few days, the four teams would compete with one another in physical and mental challenges, such as building a working pipeline through an obstacle course or competing in a rock-hauling race. The results of the team challenge determined the team’s economic class for the next few days. The team in the first place was declared the upper-class, second place was the merchants, third place was the cooks, and last place was the laborers. This dictated what jobs each bunk would do for the following days and how much they would be paid in “buffalo nickels”: the upper class had no job and received $1.00/day, the merchants ran the town shops and received 50¢, the cooks made all the meals and did the dishes for 25¢, and the laborers did hard labor (such as filling pails of water, doing laundry, and cleaning outhouses) for 10¢. If this sounds weird to you, you’re not alone. Part of the criticism Kid Nation received was aimed at how the show “indoctrinated the children into capitalism and classism”, with many a thinkpiece posted on this topic.
Additionally, if the town as a whole reached a certain goal by the end of each challenge, the children were granted the choice between an item that they needed and an item that they wanted – and believe me, there’s astounding entertainment value in watching children argue over whether they should get an old-fashioned television set or seven more outhouses (they only had one outhouse at the time… one… for forty kids). To get an idea of how difficult these town goals were, the town goal during the rock-hauling challenge was to collectively haul one ton of rocks. Obviously, the kids failed to haul over a ton of rocks. I mean, really, what did production expect? It’s literally a ton of rocks.
And of course, because this is a reality television show, there is money on the line. While each kid was compensated for their time with $5,000, along with the opportunity to miss a month of school, there were also monetary prizes to be earned. Every three days, the town had a town meeting. During the town meetings, the kids had the opportunity to air their grievances to the community, but more importantly, the town council awarded one of the participants a Gold Star. The Gold Star was worth $20,000, and the town council was tasked with choosing the kid that they felt earned it the most by meaningfully contributing to Bonanza City. Not only did the winner get the Gold Star, but they were also allowed to use the only phone in the town to call their parents. Also, the periodical town meeting was the only time the kids were given the chance to opt out of the experience and go home, which three kids did before the end of the season. In the show’s finale, the town council got to award three participants an additional $50,000 prize each.
Between challenges and town meetings, the kids would complete their jobs, shop at stores run by other kids, try to improve the town, and just generally goof off. At one point, the kids earn a fully stocked arcade for their town after winning a showdown. There was even a “bar” that served root beer, where the kids could dance and drink soda all night. Basically, life in Bonanza City seemed to be all work and all play.
On-Air Drama
“I mean, look at Bush, he’s not smart at all, but he won the U.S. presidency two times in a row!” – Kelsey, age 11
While the format of Kid Nation was not revolutionary, the age of the contestants and the contents of the show was. The stress and physical demands of the show proved too much for many of the children, with the first kid leaving during the first town meeting. First to go was Jimmy, the youngest contestant at 8 years old, who tearfully confesses in the first episode that he misses his parents and thinks he is too young to be on his own. He’s not the only one either; many of the children spend the first episode in tears as they express how homesick and overwhelmed they are.
Jimmy’s departure is just the first of many emotional and controversial moments for the show. The second episode, titled “To Kill or Not to Kill”, centered on a debate between the kids about whether or not to kill some of their chickens to get more protein into their diet. This leads to a heated argument and a peaceful protest, with a group of kids locking themselves inside the chicken coop until the town council promises not to kill any of the chickens. Eventually, the children decide they need meat and kill two chickens. The kids butcher, de-feather, and cook the chickens themselves, leading to some pretty graphic footage. Of all the outrageous things the kids did on-air, killing the chickens seems to be one of the ones that drew the most controversy, with fans still expressing their shock years later. There was even a pretty decently upvoted post about it on TIL four years ago.
In episode four, the council tries to integrate religion into the town by instituting a mandatory church service, but the four council members are the only ones to show up for service. Throughout the entire episode, entitled “Bless Us and Keep Us Safe”, the kids have rather problematic (but entertaining) discussions about different religions, featuring a smattering of anti-semitism and religious discrimination. For the sake of decency, I am not going to give examples or repeat anything they said in this post, but if you just need to know what was said, the episode can be found here. The episode ends peacefully when Morgan invites all the kids to a town bonfire where kids from different religions shared prayers together, showing more tolerance and compassion than I think most adults are capable of.
While the original town council members were chosen by the production team, the town is given the chance to hold elections twice. In a shock to no one, participating in the democratic process proves to be as difficult for kids as it is for adults. The first election gets incredibly heated as kids campaign for the privilege to be the leader of their bunk. One kid, Markelle, goes around town and rips up Taylor’s (the current leader of the Yellow district) campaign posters. This leads to a screaming match in the middle of town, leaving Taylor’s friend who made the posters in tears. Ultimately, Taylor’s political opponent Zach wins the election by exactly one vote after he successfully convinces one of Taylor’s close friends to vote against her. Thank goodness Zach won, or else we never would have gotten the gem that is 10-year-old Zach exclaiming “Viva la Revolucion!”. The first election ends in absolute upset when Guylan defeats incumbent Mike for the position of leader of the Red district. Mike receives exactly one vote (his own), and watching the votes read out in real-time is a crazy experience – everyone is laughing in absolute shock.
Altogether, not only was the age of the contestants a subject of contention for audiences, but the content of the show was also seen as questionable by critics and viewers alike. From animal butchering to religious discrimination to political scandals, Kid Nation really straddled the line of what was acceptable, both for television and for children.
The Aftermath
“Deal with it!” – Taylor, age 10
Even before Kid Nation premiered, critics and viewers were slating the controversial show. By the time the show finished airing, dozens of news outlets were chiming in to give their take on it, including Variety, the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post, and Time. Viewers were worried about how the children would deal with the stress, and whether or not they were pressured into participating by the lure of potential fame or by their parents for the sake of cash. As I mentioned earlier, people were also concerned that the children were being “indoctrinated into consumer culture” based on the class system utilized in Bonanza City. Despite all this, by the third episode, advertisers that had shied away from Kid Nation due to its initial controversy decided to purchase ad slots.
As you probably predicted, Kid Nation became embroiled in lawsuits and legal battles. First of all, production had the kids sign a contract requiring them to be available for filming 24 hours a day for 40 days. While there are limits to how many hours a child can work in a day, there are exemptions for film and TV production that are regulated by the states. At the time, New Mexico had a law in place limiting children’s participation in film and television productions to nine hours a day. However, this law did not come into enforcement until a month after the filming for Kid Nation was completed. New Mexico also had other general child-labor laws that limited children under 14 years old to a maximum number of hours per week or day unless otherwise approved by the state, but CBS did not obtain approval. Although there were adults on site with the children, the nature of how the adults supervised the children made it appear as though the kids were unlawfully engaged in labor under New Mexico law.
The producers challenged the accusations of breaking child labor laws by declaring the set a summer camp instead of a place of employment. Even though the kids were compensated financially and filmed 24/7, production insisted that they were campers instead of reality show contestants. This claim was further questioned by the state of New Mexico, which had additional rules related to camp operations that were not followed by production. In the end, the production team for Kid Nation did not face any legal repercussions for their usage of child labor, and the legal loophole the production used has since been closed. Other investigative efforts into the show by the state of New Mexico were also dropped, with the Attorney General’s Office citing the lack of formal complaint or request for inquiry from any state agency.
Not only was the production team in hot water with the state of New Mexico, but they also found themselves under investigation by the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists over whether its AFTRA National Code of Fair Practices for Network Television Broadcasting was violated. The organization raised questions about whether the reality show participants are more like subjects in a documentary or working actors. While the latter are covered by union rules that govern working hours and compensation, the former is not. The investigation went forward even though the Network Code on reality shows generally covers professional performers, not reality show participants. However, some parents on set on the final day of filming accused the producers of feeding children lines, re-casting dialogue, and repeating scenes, all of which suggest the children functioned more like actors than documentary subjects. In response to the accusations, producer Tom Forman said the parents were observing routine “pickups” for scenes that may have been missed due to technical difficulties.
Along with legal challenges regarding child labor laws, Kid Nation found itself as the subject of legal complaints from one of the participant’s parents. Before filming, parents were required to sign a 22-page waiver that disavowed any responsibility on behalf of CBS or production for any harm experienced by the children on-set. In one infamous, unaired incident, several of the kids reportedly drank bleach on accident. One of the children, DK, age 14, was taken to the emergency room to be checked out before being returned to the set. Additionally, in an interview with The A.V. Club, 14-year-old Anjay revealed that he got so dehydrated from hiking the town that he had to go to EMS because he was throwing up. In another incident that actually made it on-air, 11-year-old Divad Miles received a grease burn on her face while cooking a meal. Her mother, Janis Miles, filed a complaint in June 2008, calling for an investigation into “abusive acts to minors and possible violations of child labor laws”. The complaint was investigated by the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office, which found no criminal wrongdoing on behalf of the production company or CBS.
It should be noted that in interviews with four of the participants by Los Angeles Times reporter Maria Elena Fernandez, all the children said that even though they worked harder than they ever had in their lives, they would still willingly repeat the experience. Astutely, Fernandez noted in one of her articles that “the children were never as autonomous or self-reliant as the publicity indicated and the threatened legal investigations by the state of New Mexico never took off”. Despite all the negative press and lawsuits, the show did not live up to its pre-premiere promises or its controversies.
Where Are They Now?
“I just hope we don’t end up like the Donner party, eating our own people.” – Anjay, age 12
Years passed, and fans like myself were dying to know how the children of Kid Nation turned out. In 2014, our insane wishes for resolution began to be fulfilled, with the now-adults of Kid Nation turning to the internet and the media to tell their stories.
One of the first to do so was Michael, who did an AMA on IAmA in 2014. Needless to say, fans like myself flooded the AMA with tons of questions and felt our morbid curiosity being satisfied. Michael confirmed many behind-the-scenes rumors and revealed some information previously unknown to fans, such as hook-ups occurring between contestants, Sophia stealing a phone from a crew member to call home, and Jared constantly getting into fights with other kids. He attested that on one hand, there were always adults present off-camera during the production (such as cameramen, producers, a medic, and a child psychologist), but on the other hand, the children did do almost everything themselves. Michael also said that he would be willing to do a “where are they now?”-style sequel to Kid Nation.
When Kid Nation experienced revitalized interest during 2020, The A.V. Club took advantage of the moment to interview several contestants for a “where are they now?”-style article, including Laurel, Anjay, and Olivia. In the interview, the former participants said that much of the show as presented on television was dramatized. They stated that production set up certain children like Olivia and Greg as “stock villains”, despite this not being the case behind the scenes. Also, Anjay confirmed the highly-publicized story about DK accidentally drinking bleach and explained that this was the result of a bottle of bleach being mistaken for a bottle of seltzer water that they had for flavoring drinks in the town store. Anjay said that the medical staff immediately treated DK and he returned to the set shortly afterward. By far the most interesting piece of information to come out of the interviews, though, is the existence of an unaired episode where kids discussed politics (in a similar vein as the religion episode), which was deemed too controversial to air. Considering the context of the Bush administration and the Iraq war, it is understandable why such an episode might be deemed contentious. However, the logic of this decision has done nothing to quell my and other fans’ desire to see the unaired episode, if only to find out where exactly the production team chose to draw the line after all this *gestures broadly*.
In 2020, YouTuber JonTron, also known as Jon Jafari, interviewed Jimmy, the first child to leave Kid Nation. During his interview, Jimmy criticized the harsh conditions that the production team forced the children to suffer through, such as making them cook their own food and wash their dishes, the poor sleeping conditions (the children slept on the floor), and the poor sanitary conditions (here’s your reminder of the 1 outhouse: 40 kids ratio… also the kids were not able to shower until after the first challenge). Additionally, Jimmy confirmed that on two separate occasions, ambulances had to be called to the set to take children to the emergency room.
Conclusion: The Kids Are Alright - No Really, I Mean It
“My ego pretty much just got like eaten, digested, and crapped out by a coyote, torn apart by vultures, and tossed off a cliff.” – Mike, age 11
As I mentioned at the beginning of this write-up, Kid Nation never got a second season. The show was canceled due to its highly questionable legality and the ton of controversy it garnered. This is not to mention poor audience ratings and the fact that the legal loophole in New Mexico was closed. Since its original run on CBS, Kid Nation has basically been treated as if it's radioactive. The show is nearly impossible to find online because most streaming companies refuse to host the series. Previously, a user on YouTube had uploaded all 13 episodes to the site for viewers to watch in a convenient playlist, but the playlist was recently deleted. Right now, the only place you can find Kid Nation is on Vimeo.
The kids from Kid Nation sincerely do not seem traumatized by their experience, and in fact, most of them actually say they cherish the memory of working on the show. Notably, Laurel called Kid Nation the “ultimate best experience of [her] life” – a sentiment that was also echoed in Michael’s AMA. On the other hand, the show’s host, Jonathan Karsh, has seemingly been unable to find any other television host jobs since his stint on Kid Nation.
Even though Kid Nation was canceled due to backlash from critics and viewers, the show has still managed to situate itself as a cult TV series. It even occasionally makes its way back into popular culture, as seen in 2020. A small, semi-active subreddit dedicated to the show still exists, and YouTubers constantly post videos reacting to the conditions and situations that the participants lived through. For trashy reality TV fanatics like me, Kid Nation remains to be a masterclass in entertainment and social commentary as told by kids, albeit with a sketchy production team and questionable conditions.
Ultimately, whether or not Kid Nation was really as abusive and controversial as people claimed is still up for debate. In my opinion, as with most things, I think the truth lies somewhere in the middle. At the very least, the kids are alright.

Growing up when asked what I wanted to be when I got older I used to always say that I wanted to be a Lawyer or a Psychologist. Never once was I ever told that I couldn't be either of those things. My sister when asked she answered in similar fashion she was always told that she should want to be a teacher, a nurse or a mom that raised kids.
On TV growing up there were countless shows where men were depicted in roles of power and leadership. Doctors, lawyers, police officers, detectives and politicians. All were main stays on prime time TV. On those shows women were always just the "eye candy" or the assistant. They were The nurse, school teachers or the wife/girlfriend. It was rare for women to be depicted in a powerful role and even on shows that were focused on female leads those women were shown to be emotional or they had to be comical like on I Love Lucy or I Dream of Jeannie. Even on those shows the female lead still was a mother or a housewife. Sure there were exceptions but almost overwhelmingly it was a mans world.
These days things have changed, and for the good. If you ask young girls what they want to be when they grow up the answers you get are extremely diverse. And people don't dismiss their ideas and try to steer them into some pre determined occupations. When you ask them they can easily talk about strong female characters they see on TV and in movies. They know the names of those characters and look up to them and it gives them a role model that shows that they can be what ever they want to be.
This desire to see people of their own race or sexual identity is even more important to minorities and members of the LGBTQ communities. In the 80's and 90's when I grew up gay characters (as they were referred to then) were almost always either people pretending to be gay as part of some story line in a comedic way, like Jack Tripper on Three's Company. Or men in drag like on Bosom Buddies in which cross dressers and gay men were never portrayed in the way they actually were. They were comedy gags and never taken seriously.
These days young members of the LGBTQ community have role models to look up to. People that proudly represent them in movies and TV shows. Those kids and young adults have people they can name who are portrayed accurately and proudly as the human beings they are and how they should be treated. They are not comedic gags by default they can be themselves and be dramatic, funny or serious. They are not forced into a role that society decided they should play.
When I see other men complain about these types of representation as being an attack on men I feel bad for them. I know people don't like change but change is not an attack it is a balancing of the scale. Yes maybe there are lesser "manly men" but that is only because other groups of people are now being represented properly. Again it isn't an attack it is a balancing of the scale. And it is important to kids and young adults of ALL races, sexual identities and nationalities to be fairly and equally represented.
This should be encouraged and not attacked.
https://www.pbs.org/newshouarts/why-on-screen-representation-matters-according-to-these-teens
https://www.racetoacure.org/post/the-importance-of-representation-in-media
https://perception.org/representation/
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/kids-action/articles/why-representation-matters-in-kids-media

Do you want to swim like a professional mermaid? Are you searching for a guide that will make you become a good swimmer? This post will help become a professional mermaid swimmer.
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Swimming is an activity people do to enjoy and relax. However, some people take it as a career. This physical activity involves you moving your legs and hands and to become a professional swimmer) you need to master the art of swimming like a mermaid.
This involves graceful movements and fluidity in water. As you keep reading we will explore the techniques and tips that will enable you to swim like a professional mermaid.

How do You Swim Like a Professional Mermaid?

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There are procedures or techniques you need to follow to swim like a mermaid. Here is the step you need to follow.

1. Learn the Dolphin Kick Motion

Professional mermaid moves gracefully in water according to the wave motions. When a swimmer moves according to the wave motions, it is called the dolphin kick. Once you master the dolphin kick motion, you will be able to glide through the water like a fish.
For you to make a dolphin kick motion when you swim, you need to keep your feet together and kick in time with each other. Interestingly, the power of this dolphin kick comes from the legs, hips, and core.

Steps to Learn the Dolphin Kick Motion

1. Begin with a basic streamline off the wall (arms down by your sides) followed by 5 big dolphin kicks. Also, don’t overextend your knees. Perform each drill five times before taking a break. Keep in mind that the kick begins up in your chest.
   
2. Next is putting your arms in front to perform the streamline and dolphin kick.
   
3. Do the same two drills with fins on once this feels comfortable. You can start with single fins and progress to a monofin. You’ll notice it in your core muscles first.
   
4. Finally, make use of your swimmable Mermaid Tail!
   

2. Get the Right Swimming Kit and Equipment

For you to swim like a professional mermaid you need to have the right equipment. This equipment includes mermaid tails, monofin, a pair of goggles, and others, these types of equipment will enable you to swim fast like a mermaid.
In addition, when using a mermaid tail, you won’t be able to cheat when swimming because your knees will join together. If you can swim with a mermaid tail, you can swim like a professional mermaid.
A pair of goggles is an important piece of equipment when swimming. A pair of goggles help you see clearly and also protects your eyes from any foreign object entering your eyes.
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3. Learn Mermaid Swimming Techniques

Professional mermaid swimmers must practice and know the major swimming techniques like sculling, dolphin kick, front float, and breath control. Here are some of the mermaid swimming techniques to learn.
1. Streamline – This is a swimming technique that involves placing your arms straight up beside your head while doing a dolphin kick. This type of technique prevents water from entering your ears and also enhances speed and efficiency while swimming.
2. Rollover – This is another professional mermaid swimming technique that allows you to do a front float and a back float. This technique is a vital move when doing underwater twirls. You can swim using your stomach or back while turning your head to one side and angle.
3. Back float – For you to breathe well when carrying out a professional mermaid swimming, you must perform a back float. When doing this your forehead should be slightly submerged while looking up. When carrying out this technique you must be calm otherwise you will start to sink. Make sure you keep your stomach up and body length.
4. Front float – This is the most used technique by most professional mermaid swimmers. This mermaid swimming technique involves you lowering your head in the water while swimming.
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4. Join a Mermaid Swimming Community

Another way to become aprofessional mermaid swimmer, you need to join a swimming club. A community where people are passionate about swimming like a mermaid. In addition, joining this mermaid swimming community will provide you with the encouragement and support you need.
In conclusion, swimming like a professional mermaid is a unique and exciting skill that anyone who will put in the time and effort to master it can enjoy. By following the tips and techniques outlined in this article, you can develop the strength, technique, and endurance necessary to swim like a mermaid with grace and fluidity.
Source: Smokeymystery.com

In these days something strange happen with my Steam experience. All start from "free2play" games as, PUBG, WharThunder, World of Tanks and World of Warships. Me and other players when play these game feel the pay2win not the free2play and some game mechanics are rigged and give us frustration cos we're old gamers and we know how to play a game(me from 1985).
https://steamcommunity.com/app/552990/discussions/0/3765608282425078990/
In this topic i was talk about a game mechanic and as u can read i was banned, but not for that topic, im banned cos they flame me, insult me, change my preferred answer and put on one where i got insulted and locked the topic, after that i go to insult the moderators in the same way they insult me with new topics(deleted) where i was in search of the ban to demostrate they can't insult people.
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Steam support answer me as explained in the 2 screens i sent.
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After that i go in general steam board to talk with people about this in a similar topic open by another user for another game and forum related problem. I was asking if the rules are the same from players to gamesdevs and someone answer: "Gamedev have fully powers in their hubs hosted by steam and they have only raccomandations not rules about insult their players".
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After that we change argument and we start to talk about pay2win, pay2progres and the scam behind the free2play where i wrote: "In these boards, gamedevs continue to say that games aren't pay2win or pay2progress, unware players trust them and go to play their game, after that they come to the forum saying it's a pay2win and they censor and ban them".
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So some answers was, "the gamesdevs have full power in their hubs" again. So i start talking about steam responsabilities and the possible scam to cover casinò rigged games to avoid taxes to pay and international laws around it. After less than 3 hours the entire topic was deleted without any consequences for me, without any reason explained, it got only deleted.
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In some nations casinò games are prohibited to underage teenager and taxes must be paid or it's even illegal, as all know, a pay2win games enter in the category of casinò games when they're rigged to spend more money to increase the win %. This isn't a scam of steam and gamedevs of these game vs the international laws?
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In steam forums of these games people continue say daily there's a scam behind the game, that is rigged and gamedevs moderator continue to say it's random, not rigged and ask for proofs, so many threads are deleted and user got banned from these boards and people start to rate this game out of steam where they don't recive support but only abuse of powers from these hubs.
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Here some link where people do external feedbacks:
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https://www.trustpilot.com/review/worldofwarships.eu
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/game-reviews/world-of-warships/user-reviews/adult
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... and many others.
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In pubg forums are months people start saying Krafton is selling cheats to players in the black market. I got witness and post it on forum about a cheater who don't get banned cos he was full of "ahestetics" bought, lots of players report him but they only temporary ban him several times(5) without give the permament ban, while a poor player playing only with pants got permanent ban in 1 second. So many players found that there's cheats who don't get banned as it was flagged from game as "safe cheats". Go read the pubg steam board to see how many complaints there's.
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I was only ask to steam to flag this games as pay2win or pay2progress, i don't have nothing aganist these type of games(even if i don't like it), but scam people with "free2play" when it wansn't it's a horrible thing and let players losing time on these game where personal skills count less than 50%.
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Who protect the players in steam, when gamedevs and steam cooperate to scam them in game fake descriptions?
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Sry for my bad english.

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Looking for some good shows that work for both adults and kids.
We have a 4-9 year old, and watch a show with dinner on Fridays and weekends.
We've enjoyed Bob's Burgers , even though Louise is a bit of a bad influence and there's some mild language. Mostly just used that opportunity to say, 'you shouldn't do what Loise is doing' :)
We've watched Modern Family as well, which if fine on the whole. The later seasons aren't as good though.
I guess this would be more like looking for an adult show that's ok for kids, than a kids show that parents can watch. Common Sense Media's "family tv shows" seems to be all kids shows : https://www.commonsensemedia.org/lists/family-tv-shows-to-watch-together
The wife's not into sci-fi or superheroes, so trek or marvel wouldn't work.
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Thanks!

Most sources give the recommended reading age for Redwall of around 10-14, oftentimes many bookstores simply listed as ages 10 and up for simplicity. Some sources may have recommended age ranges for Redwall as broad as 9-15 or 9-14, while others a narrower 9-12/10-13 in the same source. Another store has it listed as 9-12. Judging by those provided ages, Redwall is suitable for people in middle school. To sum it up, younger Redwall readers are 9/10, in between readers are 11/12, while older readers are 13/14. The age rating may have something to do with the reading level, as the books are written to be readable by a person in 4th/5th grade independently.
Redwall has the same age range as the Harry Potter books, another favourite amongst middle schoolers. The difference between Redwall and Harry Potter is the nature of the combat and the genre. Redwall being little to no magic in a fictional world, Harry Potter being high magic in pockets of fantasy within the real world. As Harry ages, the books also progressively becomes darker over time. Yet another middle school favourite is Percy Jackson and the Olympians, the first installments in the Camp Half-Blood series later followed by The Heroes of Olympus and The Trials of Apollo, all for ages 9 or 10-14. The combat is more magical, akin to that of Harry Potter. Older children’s/middle grade literature and teenage/young adult literature have very fuzzy lines and oftentimes many, including Redwall, Camp Half-Blood, and Harry Potter, are classified as both, most likely due to all dwelling in between these two categories in age. While these aforementioned series are more complex, mature, dark, violent, and tragic compared to other middle grade novels for ages 8-12; they are still written well within the guidelines of middle grade fiction. This is also the case for the Alex Rider spy novels, although the genre and tone is very different from Redwall. I have heard of them since 7th grade. Despite being a kid's series, Alex Rider is brutal, definitely not the story with a happy ending many people would like. While the content isn't really the same, the Discworld younger reader’s books are for readers of the same age. The Discworld younger readers started with The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents to the Tiffany Aching witch stories. Discworld ended with the last Tiffany Aching book, The Shepherd's Crown. Like The Rogue Crew in Redwall, The Shepherd’s Crown is published posthumously.
The original Redwall animated series, rated TV-Y7, is toned down in all aspects and for a younger age than the books, 7 and 8 years old, due to the standards of the network it aired on. In my opinion Redwall adaptations should be PG-13/TV-14-V to capture the tone of the books, which makes sense. 13 and 14 is within the recommended reading age, and a person doesn’t necessarily need to be at that age and older to watch the movie/animated series. The purpose of a Redwall adaptation isn’t to have it be as kid friendly as possible, rather it is to give a sense of familiar nostalgia or feel the books have. A typical 10-12 year old can also sit through and even enjoy all of the intense scenes, speaking from personal experience. As for the worst deaths they are given discretion shots and aren’t lingered on. There is also a lack of an actionized TV-14 western animated series. No one wants another Rings of Power, that is simply a billion dollar fanfiction project that defiles canon. Redwall adaptations shouldn’t add or retcon anything outside of what is established by Jacques, have adaptations of the books with the same details overall.
Another grounded low fantasy series I suggest to Redwall readers is called The Ranger’s Apprentice. It is for the exact same age range and the genre as Redwall. Like Redwall, it is a coming of age story with black and white morality, at first anyways, it turns to gray and gray morality later on. There are some gray characters in Redwall, although they are meant to stand out. The island the stories are set in, Araluen, is very similar to Mossflower, also vaguely modeled after Great Britain. These two book series actually have mutual overlapping readers for being very similar in heroes, villains, the sense of adventure, and the values of friendship. The author John Flanagan wrote the original draft to read to his then 12 year old son, the same way Brian Jacques wrote the first Redwall manuscript to read to blind children. The Ranger’s Apprentice also conveys the same message that despite being young and, initially, unskilled, the heroes can achieve their goals with determination. In terms of tone, reading age, plot, and source material it is among the closest works of fantasy literature to a Redwall with humans, not quite though there are still some fundamental differences. There is a sister series called Brotherband Chronicles taking place in the same setting. Like Redwall and A Song of Ice and Fire, The Ranger's Apprentice/Brotherband Chronicles has medieval Europe as the source material for the characters and factions. There is also love for food, although the food description, as expected, is far less detailed. The food in the series is based on those in medieval Europe, oftentimes the foods focused on the most are the pies. There is very little magic which is largely unknown, and doesn’t play an important role in the story, with it being largely ambiguous. In this case it is more like Redwall, as the magic in Game of Thrones is less ambiguous and simply uncommon. The villains also have shared traits, such as cynicism, which many in Redwall and Game of Thrones possess; the topic of slavery is also an aspect in the plot. It is because of Redwall I found out about this series and many bookstores actually suggest The Ranger's Apprentice/Brotherband Chronicles to Redwall readers and the other way around.

i was looking at this review https://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/family-guy and they changed the age rating from age 15+ to age 14+ do u have any reason why they changed the review?

I know many have asked for different websites and databases which collate sexual content in media to know which stuff to avoid.
Common Sense Media (https://www.commonsensemedia.org/) is the biggest one, and the most well-rounded in terms of content types.
IMDB (https://www.imdb.com) offers a parents guide on pretty much every film, about halfway down under the "Storyline" section.
Vidangel (https://www.vidangel.com/) helps users outright skip this content while watching streaming video, but I haven't used it before so I'm not sure how accurate it is.
Unconsenting Media (https://www.unconsentingmedia.org/) is a database of media specifically showing sexual violence to many degrees, which is helpful for survivors of abuse/trauma (and for those of us elementally repulsed to sex and sexual violence without having our own underlying trauma.)
Feel free to add any others you've come across!

I haven't seen anyone talk about this, so I guess I will. For those who don't know, around 2010 or 2011, a new game was posted to the Android App store for PC and mobile. It was called "Dog Wars". It was about the player buying a pitbull to train them to fight. The description of the game, explained by the creator themselves, makes it out to be a combat game in which your goal is to "raise your dog to beat the best" in the game. The game costed $2.99, and from what I've seen, was a concerning 13 and up. Literally young teenagers. I will not state the creator's name, because telling from what I'll talk about later, they're trying to get attention from the controversy of the game.
The start of the game shows the player saying; "I want your most aggressive pitbull... for personal protection of course". After this, the player must train, condition, and force their dog to fight in matches. The game seems to portray street fighting. As the training and gang setting is very similar to fighting in big cities. Winning matches will increase your reputation and get you money for winning the match. There are four attributes each dog you own will have: Health, strength, aggression, and intelligence. These attributes can be upgraded with interactive training sessions, purchasing a specific diet, and even purchasing injectable steroids.
The actual fights themselves are much like Pokemon. If Pokemon was a horror game... You can use specific attacks to attack the player. If a bust happens by the police, you need to use the guns you purchased earlier to attack them. Overall, it's a pretty grotesque experience that isn't for kids, or pretty much any sane person. From reviews that talk about the game, besides it's controversial topic, it's apparently just not a good game. With many calling it tedious and boring. And even has many bugs. With it constantly crashing.
The dev of the game defended their creation saying it's just "satire". And saying it's not looking to glorify abuse. The developer's response was extremely immature and just obnoxious. Going on to make everyone who criticizes the game look sensitive. While it is just a game, playing it is better than actually doing dogfights, how you portray something is extremely important. They were clearly glorifying the subject despite what they were saying. You wouldn't glorify child trafficking or animal sadism through an RP-styled game in the perspective of a criminal. It comes across as insensitive and waters it down into a simple joke. Stuff like this is no different. And even then, where is the joke? What's funny about making dogs attack each other, or killing police officers? Quite a strange joke. The game was rated for young teens, and while 13 year olds aren't as immature as a 9 year old, glorifying crime in front of children, while it likely won't cause them to do dogfighting, will definitely normalize it.
Overall, the game was broken, unfunny, unnecessarily embarrassing, tedious garbage. Luckily the game got taken down by Google, but the game was unfortunately re-released and re-named to "KG Dogfighting". I'm not sure if it's still up as of now, but let's hope it's gone. I'd rather waste time playing Slendytubbies mobile than this eyesore.
I used articles as my sources, so here you are: https://www.kold.com/story/15028018/courtney-carlmark-dog-app/?outputType=amp https://www.commonsensemedia.org/app-reviews/kg-dogfighting https://betanews.com/2011/04/25/dog-wars-dog-fighting-app-for-android-here-is-what-people-are-upset-about/

Hey there! My sister who is 9, is interested in Hilda. She has a big fear of insides, especially mouths. During the little introduction, it looks like she's in a big mouth or throat. It's very brief and we've told her it's a cave... I was wondering if there's any specific episodes that deal with her getting eaten or being inside a creature?
I've checked DoesTheDogDie and CommonSenseMedia but there's not really a section for mouths specifically and DoesTheDogDie didn't specify any "gore" so to speak.
If you guys could give episode specifics, that'd be so fantastic. I usually try and binge shows/movies for a personal look, but I sometimes miss things. I figured I'd ask here!
For reference, she loves Phineas and Ferb but MUST avoid the episode where they shrink and go inside Candace. We're trying to broaden the things she watches. So any recommendations as well are highly appreciated!

So I'm big fan of using commonsensemedia to look at recommended age. Out of Time, the Wickerman remake, and the Animatrix are all rated for 18+ on common sense media. I've only seen Out of Time, but I don't think these other two movies would be rougher then it. If you think you know of another movie that could be the roughest Pg-13 pleas share.

Okay start from the beginning…
My brother has always had an issue with loading his EA games from steam. It always showed a message saying that the licence wasn’t valid… I realised if I signed in first and then he signed in, it would allow him to actually launch it and access his own saves etc. on his account.
Recently he was purchased a new gaming pc (had some issues but that’s another post) and I actually wanted to resolve the license issue to make things easier for him.
I contacted EA Support and this is where it gets kind of puzzling and honestly a little funny…
I mentioned mirror’s edge and mirror’s edge catalyst, as well as, Star Wars fallen order were displaying licence issues. I had tried activating 2fa; adding his account to the family section on mine etc. and other various fixes and the EA Support member said “mirror’s edge isn’t an EA game” I was literally puzzled and said “it definitely is” after a few minutes he actually confirmed it was… that was the funniest part I guess.
He’s had these games on his account for probably 3 years or more… he’s also now 16. I know specifically Jedi fallen order is pegi 16 and by all purposes he should be able to go on them… I find it really strange that he could purchase them and not be able to openly use them (without a bit of messing about…) but anyway.
The EA Support person then went on to say “Jedi Fallen Order is highly aggressive and is a pegi 16 but he won’t be able to use it until he’s 17” I found this confusing and somewhat bewildering to understand.
Discounting the fact that his parents are fine with him going on it, and the fact that I’m trying to resolve it… even considering that on sites that specifically help recommend games and make people decide if they should go on games of a certain age such as commonsensemedia they have placed it at 14+ but once again anyway.
My issue is he is 16; it’s pegi 16 and I’ve been told he can’t use it (didn’t know EA were a guardian but anyway) until he’s 17.
Any clarification or help would actually be appreciated because I really can’t get my head around this.