James v. Meow Media and the Role of Responsibility

In James v. Meow Media Inc., Michael Carneal, an avid video-gamer, is responsible for the murder of his high school peers. Research of Carneal’s daily habits showed that the content of his video games was a potential cause of his disastrous behavior. When dealing with a minor, factors of life while approaching the level of maturity must be taken into consideration. This case shows the ease in which fingers are pointed in efforts to protect a child in need of help. Negligence was the common theme for why the affected families felt Meow Media owed a duty of care. In the case of a 14 year-old minor, the presence and the proactive nature of a parent is vital. Because Carneal’s parents …show more content…

Thousands of video games, ranging from Rated M (mature) to Rated E (everyone), can be found on display for anyone to see at local video stores. Rated M games, usually filled with violence and vulgarity, are generally advertised with guns and women wearing the bare minimum of clothing. Stores have a social responsibility in protecting young children from these games and have taken proper action. Wal-Mart has been an advocate in censoring Rated M games by placing black sleeves over these covers. “It is the responsibility of Wal-Mart to protect our children from potentially damaging content, such as the covers of some video games,” said a company spokesperson (Jonathon, 2008). It is also a requirement for minors to have a 17 year-old and older I.D. or a guardian present to purchase these games. When parents purchase these video games for their underage children and fail to supervise or acknowledge behavioral and growth patterns, they increase the likelihood of future violence. This scenario parallels with that of the Bad Frog Brewery Case. In that case, Bad Frog Brewery was forced to sell their beer in