If critics from the year 1969 (the year that Slaughterhouse-Five was published) were to somehow travel forward in time to the year 2011 and watch an episode of South Park, they would all surely weep for humanity. In the 49 years since the publication of Slaughterhouse-Five, the public's view of what's controversial has changed significantly; swearing, violence, and sexual references have become so common in movies and video games today, that it would take effort to find a completely complaisant movie or game. In fact, I'm sure that there is more swearing on an elementry school playground during recess than there is in all of Vonnegut's novels combined.
In society today, kids are reading less and less. Book censorship has become less of an issue today than it was a decade or so ago. Controversy and censorship do, however, remain a priority for other media. Some of the most successful movies, TV shows, and video games in today's society contain content that most would find controversial and/or offensive. Grand Theft Auto 4 is an example of such a video game. When GTA 4 was released in Spring of the year 2008, it had sold more than 3.6 million copies on its first day, and 6 million within its first week of release. GTA 4 is considered to be one of the greatest video games of all time, as it has received awards from every major video game critic. The game was also the cause of a great deal of controversy, as public figures, such as Hillary Clinton, and organizations, including MADD, spoke out against it. The game is said to have inspired a series of crimes by youth after its release in 2008. These crimes include the murder of a taxi driver in Thailand by an 18 year-old student who "wanted to find out if it was as easy in real life to rob a taxi as it was in the game." The incident resulted in the subsequent ban of the game in Thailand. The actions of one individual resulted in the ban of a game in a nation. Doesn't that seem a little extreme?
-Arshdeep
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