Mythology vs Video Games

 An interesting question was posed to me lately. The person asked if people viewed traditional mythology as negatively as say, a video game. This actually is pretty interesting to me. Logically you would think that if people denounce the plot and concepts of video games as pagan, something that is actually pagan would have just as much of an effect. In fact, one might even expect a stronger reaction. But how do people normally react?

Surprisingly enough, I have actually noticed less of a reaction to traditional mythology. The same parents who refuse to allow their child near a Pokemon game, are perfectly happy to let them read fairy tales and learn about Zeus. Now obviously there are still some parents who wont allow either, yet more often than naught, they tend to not mind the latter. So why is this? Why does a parent who balks at the idea of their child fighting dragons, tell them the story of a night who does just that? What is the difference between Harry Potter and Merlin? Many parents might say that they are just stories. That it is not that much of a concern because it is only fairy tales. I must point out I could say the same thing about video games. That they are in essence, merely stories to play out. Those who fret over the child who plays DND losing their faith, should not smile fondly at the child who reads King Arthur. “But wait!” yell the parents. “Greek mythology and King Arthur are part of our history! It is educational to read them! And fairy tales have life lessons for our children to learn!” I would like to remind them that there are many things in our history that are not very Christian. That there are many things in the past that can be dangerous to faith if not handled well. And as for the life lessons, those are present often in the TV shows and games you reject. Sadly, parents often ignore this contradiction and continue on in their ways. The main thing they maintain in all of this is that a fairy tale is just a story. That reading about the daring young knight will not have any lasting affect. Yet they reject this reason as advocating for video games. So why the contradiction? Why one and not the other?

I think the main reason people support mythology is that they grew up with it. They all heard about Red Riding Hood and they all learned about the Greek gods. They are familiar with it. To them it is not some dangerous unknown thing that is lurking to snap up their children. It is a harmless classic and essential part of childhood. Dungeons and Dragons is alien to them. Digimon is new and unknown. They do not necessarily dismiss these concepts because of what they teach, but because they are shadowy figures in the dark. My mother for instance, used to be very careful what she let us watch. Eventually, after watching the shows and games herself, she came to understand that they were really no different than those old fairy tales. She realized that they had the same potential merits and faults. That fairy tale could be as dangerous as a video game. That a TV show could be just as useful as a classic story. I think that a lot of parents would understand this if they gave these things more of a chance. In the end, it is not about which story is better or worse. It is about which ones you want to be told.

-BlackFox

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