It seems to be a peculiarity of North America in particular that violent content is so readily available to non-adults. Historically, early cartoons -- widely regarded as children's fare -- displayed a history of some fairly graphic stylized violence. Characters are frequently shot, blown up, sliced into pieces, flattened by cars, drowned, crushed, set on fire, and so forth. Seen through the lens of parental criticism, it must be said that there probably should have been more oversight in conducting that sort of activity to television screens around the country.

Yet many of us, having grown up watching -- and loving -- that sort of content have not used it as a scapegoat upon which to blame our own violent behavior. We went through the typical phases of playing Cowboys and Indians, Cops and Robbers, Superheroes, Knights and Dragons, etc. For most of us, we understood that playing at combat was not indulging in actual combat. After all, those of our friends whose heads were lopped off, or blasted with tommy guns, or any of a thousand different scenarios, walked away without a scratch. We understood the difference between reality and make-believe.

Yet these days it's common to hear that someone on trial for committing a violent crime has blamed for their actions a video game containing violent content. Jack Thompson has made a name for himself by decrying the corrupting influence of video games, and games have been taken off of store shelves for exposing the youth of America to experiences that have taught them how to kill. Merely slapping a Mature label on a video game is clearly not doing the job it was intended to do.

Part of the problem lies in the continued public perception that games are for children, just as cartoons, toys, and comic books are for children. Where did this viewpoint come from? It probably lies in the pernicious idea that adults aren't supposed to enjoy play. Being an adult is supposed to mean that one gives up on dashing around with mad abandon, pretending to be a fighter jet. It means saying goodbye to your beloved stuffed animals. It means adopting a serious attitude and taking on responsibility. It's a very organized way to introduce the concept of adulthood to an adolescent: everyone does it, so you must as well. We're told that the rewards inherent in adulthood are more potent and lasting than those of childhood, and buckling under parental pressure, we submit.

Yet there is no study extant that proves that losing one's imagination and childlike zeal for simple fun makes for a better, more effective adult. In fact, quite the opposite: those grown-ups who have managed to hold on to their ability to indulge in flights of fanciful dreaming are the ones who dream up the entertainment that so many use to escape their mundane existences. Those who have retained their ability to play, in other words, are the ones who use that ability to give the rest of the inhibited, button-down, repressed world some kind of badly-needed release. And one of the best ways to feel that cathartic release is through playing a violent video game. But is this maturity?