-Caveat Lector-
http://www.crossroad.to/text/articles/pokemon5-99.html
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The Dangers of Role-Playing Games
How Pokemon and Magic Cards
Affect the Minds and Values of Children
by Berit Kjos <www.crossroad.to>
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"Who are the strange little creatures from Japan that have
suddenly become global super-stars? Most kids know the answer
well: They are called Pokemon (short for POCKEt MONster and
pronounced Pokeymon), and they have stirred up some mixed
reactions.
"We just sent a letter home today saying Pokemon cards are no
longer allowed on campus," said Paula Williams, a second-grade
teacher in Danville, California. "The kids know they're supposed
to be put away when they come in from recess, but they're often
in the middle of a trade, so they don't come in on time. In the
more extreme cases, the older kids are getting little kids to
trade away valuable cards.... It drives a teacher crazy." 1
It concerns parents even more. "Recently, my children were given
a set of Pokemon cards," said DiAnna Brannan, a Seattle mom.
"They are very popular with the children at our church and
elsewhere. I was instantly suspicious but couldn't discern the
problem. We have since been told that they are stepping stones
to the 'Magic cards' that have been popular for the last few
years, which we do not allow."
She is right. For instance, any child exploring the most popular
Pokemon websites 2 will be linked to a selection of occult games
such as Sailor Moon, Star Wars, and others more overtly evil.
A click on the ad for "Magic: the Gathering" brings Pokemon fans
to a site offering promotions such as this:
"A global games phenomenon, Magic: The Gathering is to
the 1990s what Dungeons and Dragons was to the 1980s,
but with the added dimension of collectibility. Here is
the official reference to the biggest new teen/young
adult fantasy game of the decade, complete with
full-color reproductions of every existing Magic card."
THE POKEMON MESSAGE
The above websites gives us glimpse of the mysterious little
creatures called Pokemon. Ponder the suggestions in this
greeting:
"Welcome to the world of Pokemon, a special place where
people just like you train to become the number-one
Pokemon Master in the World!"
"But what is a Pokemon, you ask. 'Pokemon are
incredible creatures that share the world with humans,'
says Professor Oak, the leading authority on these
monster. 'There are currently 150 documented species of
Pokemon.... Each Pokemon has its own special fighting
abilities.... Some grow, or evolve, into even more
powerful creatures.... Carry your pokemon with you, and
you're ready for anything! You've got the power in your
hands, so use it!'" 3
What if children try to follow this advice? What if
they carry their favorite monsters like magical charms
or fetishes in their pockets, trusting them to bring
power in times of need?
Many do. It makes sense to those who watch the television show.
In a recent episode, Ash, the boy hero, had just captured his
fifth little Pokemon. But that wasn't good enough, said his
mentor. He must catch lots more if he wants to be a Pokemon
master. And the more he catches and trains, the more power he
will have for future battles.
So Ash sets out again in search for more of the reclusive,
power-filled, little Pokemon. His first step is to find the
"psychic Pokemon" called Kadabra and snatch it from its
telepathic, pink-eyed trainer, Sabrina. With the ghost Haunter
on his side, it should be a cinch!
But Ash had underestimated the power of his opponent. When he
and Sabrina meet for the battle, both hurl their chosen Pokemon
into the air, but only Kadabra evolves into a super-monster with
a magic flash. Haunter hides. "Looks like your ghost Pokemon
got spooked," taunts Sabrina.
Obviously, Ash didn't understand the supernatural powers he had
confronted. Neither do most young Pokeman fans today -- they
cannot understand the forces that have captivated children
around the world. And if parents underestimate the psychological
strategies behind its seductive mass marketing ploys, they are
likely to dismiss the Pokemon craze as harmless fun and innocent
fantasy. In reality, the problem is far more complex.
MARKETING A NEW LIFESTYLE
The Pokemon mania supports a financial conglomerate that knows
how to feed the frenzy. The television series is free, but it
drives the multi-billion dollar business. It also inspires the
obsessive new games that disrupt schools and families by giving
the children --
* a seductive vision: to become Pokemon masters
* a tempting promise: supernatural power
* a new objective: keep collecting Pokemon
* an urgent command: "gotta catch them all"
These enticements are drilled into young minds through clever
ads, snappy slogans, and the "Pokeman rap" at the end of each TV
episode:
"I will travel across the land
Searching far and wide
Each Pokeman to understand
The power that's inside.
Gotta catch them all!"
The last line, the Pokemon mantra, fuels the craving for more
occult cards, games, toys, gadgets, and comic books. There's
no end to the supply, for where the Pokemon world ends, there
beckons an ever-growing empire of new, more thrilling, occult,
and violent products. Each can transport the child into a
fantasy world that eventually seems far more normal and exciting
than the real world. Here, evil looks good and good is dismissed
as boring. Family, relationships, and responsibilities diminish
in the wake of the social and media pressures to master the
powers unleashed by the massive global entertainment industry.
No wonder children caught up in the Pokemon craze beg for more
games and gadgets. The Japanese makers count on it. Since the
means often justify the economic ends in the entertainment
industry, the Pokemon website is full of tips, explanations,
and ads that encourage the urge to splurge -- and to express
the darker side of human nature. Ponder their influence:
"You can catch a Mew by cheating with a Gameshark."
Ahhh. The Gameshark... Cheating is not honorable.
But many of you have requested and sent me this
information, so I have put it up for all you cheaters."
"The Moon Stone evolves certain Pokemon, such as
Clefairy."
"Select your desired attack. Hold down the button
until your opponent's life stops draining."
"Once you have captured Zapados, you can use it to
quickly lower the health level of Articuno...."
"Super Smash Brothers.... This unique fighting game
features all of Nintendo's biggest stars in a bruising
brawl-fest ...."
While children delight in these mysterious realms, concerned
parents worry and wonder. What kinds of beliefs and values
does the Pokemon world and its links teach? Why the emphasis
on evolution, supernatural power, and poisoning your opponent?
CHANGING BELIEFS and VALUES
Barbara Whitehorse started seeking answers after her son asked a
typical question: "Mom, can I get Pokemon cards? A lot of my
friends from church have them." Much as she wanted Matthew to
have fun with his friends, she gave a loving refusal. Matthew's
tutor had already warned her that the Pokemon craze could stir
interest in other kinds of occult role-playing games such as
Dungeons and Dragons. At the time, she wondered if the tutor
had just over-reacted to some harmless entertainment. After all,
the cute little Pokemon creatures looked nothing like the dark
demonic creatures of D&D.
Later, during a recent party for Matthew, Barbara heard two of
the boys discussing their little pocket monsters. One said,
"I'll just use my psychic powers." Already, the world of fantasy
had colored his real world.
Mrs. DiNozzi refused to let her son participate in the "Magic
club." But a classmate gave him one of the magic cards, which he
showed his mother. It was called "Soul exchange" and pictured
spirits rising from graves. Like all the other cards in this
ghastly game, it offered a morbid instruction: "Sacrifice a
white creature."
"What does 'summon' mean?" he asked his mother after school one
day.
"Summon? Why do you ask?"
He told her that during recess on the playground the children
would "summon" the forces on the cards they collect by raising
sticks into the air and saying, "'Spirits enter me.' They call
it 'being possessed.'" 5
Strange as it may sound to American ears, demonic possession is
no longer confined to distant lands. Today, government schools
from coast to coast are teaching students the skills once
reserved for the tribal witchdoctor or shaman in distant lands.
Children everywhere are learning the pagan formulas for invoking
"angelic" or demonic spirits through multicultural education,
popular books, movies, and television. It's not surprising that
deadly explosions of untamed violence suddenly erupt from
"normal" teens across our land.
Occult role-playing games teach the same dangerous lessons. They
also add a sense of personal power and authority through personal
identification with godlike superheroes. Though the demonic
realm hasn't changed, today's technology, media, and
multicultural climate makes it easier to access, and harder
than ever to resist its appeal.
ROLE-PLAY AND PSYCHOLOGICAL ADDICTION
The televised Pokemon show brings suggestions and images that set
the stage for the next steps of entanglement. It beckons the
young spectator to enter the manipulative realm of role-play,
where fantasy simulates reality, and the buyer becomes a slave to
their programmer.
Remember, in the realm of popular role-playing games -- whether
it's Pokemon, Magic the Gathering, or other selections -- the
child becomes the master. As in contemporary witchcraft, he
or she wields the power. Their arm, mind, or power-symbol
(the pokemon or other action figure) become the channel for the
spiritual forces.
Psychologists have warned that role-playing can cause the
participant to actually experience, emotionally, the role being
played. Again, "the child becomes the master." Or so it seems
to the player.
Actually, the programmer who writes the rules is the master.
And when the game includes occultism and violence, the child-hero
is trained to use "his" or "her" spiritual power to kill, poison,
evolve, and destroy -- over and over. Not only does this
repetitive practice blur the line between reality and fantasy, it
also sears the conscience and causes the player to devalue life.
The child learns to accept unthinkable behavior as "normal".
To be a winner within this system, the committed player must know
and follow the rules of the game. Obedience becomes a reflex,
strengthened by instant rewards or positive reinforcement. The
rules and rewards force the child to develop new habits and
patterned responses to certain stimuli. Day after day, this
powerful psychological process manipulates the child's thoughts,
feelings, and actions, until his or her personality changes and,
as many parents confirm, interest in ordinary family life begins
to wither away.
You may have recognized those preceding terms as those often used
by behavioral psychologists. They point to a sophisticated
system of operant conditioning or behavior modification. The
child must exercise his own intelligent mind to learn the complex
rules. But after learning the rules, the programmed stimuli
produce conditioned responses in the player. These responses
become increasingly automatic, a reflex action. Naturally, this
can leads to psychological addiction, a craving for ever greater
(and more expensive) thrills and darker forces.
<snip>
Endnotes
1. Laura Evenson, "Seeing Red and Blue at Schools," San Francisco
Chronicle, April 20, 1999.
2. http://www.pokemon.com and
http://www.wizards.com/Pokemon/Rules/Welcome.html
(Apparently, the latter site has changed since I downloaded and
printed the original pages. Now, if you click on the above URL,
you will probably face a sign saying "The page you have requested
can not be located." If so, just click on the Wizard banner in
the upper left corner, and you will enter the site. Notice the
links to "Magic: the Gathering" and "Dungeons and Dragons" on the
right side. However, the Pokemon rules seems to have disappeared.)
3. http://www.wizards.com/Pokemon/Rules/Welcome.html
(See note above)
4. "Haunter versus Kadabra," aired on May 20, 1999.
5. Transcribed from a recorded interview with Cecile DiNozzi in
Pound Ridge, New York.
.
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