Killing Monsters

I suppose one should judge a book on the merits of the book alone... such a great topic with gads of cool information... But how do we separate the writer's biography from the actual book's content? The writer pleaded guilty to child porn and did 6 years of prison time...Sucks for all parties involved... But what part of that influences our approach to reading and appreciating this book? That's a hard fact to set aside or ignore ... Perhaps you can... ??

Awesome book, but the author's subsequent arrest on child pornography charges taints the book's premise and arguments.

Drawing from his first-hand experiences and work with kids in schools, as well as interviews with psychiatrists, family therapists, pediatricians, and other professionals; the author dishes up a compelling argument for why fantasy and entertainment violence is critical to the wellbeing of our youth - and it packs an unexpectedly persuasive punch.Killing Monsters opened my eyes. As a former video game addict and ongoing media critic, this book gave me the much-needed perspective to not only understand and reconcile my past habits in a meaningful way, but to now approach my media critiques holistically. I’ve been able to breathe life into my critical analyses as a result of the sensitivity, care, and compassion this book has cultivated within me.One of the key takeaways came in the distinction between fantasy and reality that adults so often blur. We project our own insecurities, fears, and worries on children’s play and entertainment, not pausing to question that their inner experience may be world’s apart from our own. “Our national debate about children and the media features so much time and energy wasted fighting over generalizations and so little effort given to communicating with the children themselves.”Among many other examples throughout the book; guns, swords, and magic wands can give children a sense of power and control in an otherwise unpredictable and scary world, even though they are keenly aware––so long as we encourage it––that it’s all make-believe, and that such weapons can cause significant physical harm and pain in reality.We often default to censorship and maligning when we let our adult fears reign and we ignore––mostly unintentionally––the experience of our children. But the suppression of such media tends to cause it to come back more aggressively than ever, as we made evident in the 1970s (and is spelled out in detail in the book).Our challenge is to integrate all pervasive forms of media, whether violent or sexual, and learn how to use it constructively. It’s easier said than done, but this book proposes a great starting point.Although I didn’t agree with all of the conclusions Gerard came to, I found very few of his arguments to be flawed or incomplete, and his objective and optimistic pace kept me open to all of the new ideas presented throughout.By my estimation, this is a book that all parents would greatly benefit from, along with anyone who is even remotely critical of the violent and sexualized media our culture is exposed to on a daily basis.

I am using the book as part of my own research for a class on the subject of violence with youth and video games. Let me tell you something, this book is the answer! It is a very well explained response to the media frenzy that revolves around violent game play. It's truly a need in every persons development! We all can agree that bottling up our emotions is a bad thing, because you don't let them out in a healthy manner they become something inside of you that eats at you until you reach an exploding point!! But letting it out by battling an monster in a video game is a GREAT alternative then keeping it locked up inside of oneself. I also completely agree with this book on how it talks about as a adult we place our own fears onto our children, we see them play a video game then race around the house chasing an imaginary villain with a play sward. SO WHAT THEY ARE KIDS! But because the parent sees this as a result of the game, that the game is making them behave like such and they fear that their child is now going to want to fight when faced with a conflict. That is simply not true, the kid is just exploring who they are, and also getting the change to explore they are not and their own limits. Instead of blaming a video game for violence in your child, why dont you find out what is really making them act out. Because at the end of the day, it was still the child that CHOSE to play the game, that wants to fight a villain and win, who is the villain in real life they are too afraid to confront? So get off your hang ups people, children are children and I would bet you played violent games as a child too; such as cowboys and Indianans or power rangers. Did you turn out so bad? Yeah, chew on that one...

Author currently serving a 6 year sentence for possession of child pornography.Only found this out after buying, will be returning it first thing.

A very sensible approach to a child's need to have fun and also to process life in a child's way (not an adults).....superb job!!

It is an excellent book about misconceptions and misinterpretations of research in violence and media and its influence on real violence. It is a divulgative text, so is pretty anecdotal. After some time it turns a bit repetitive as it makes emphasis over the same point all the time, just in different contexts.

Very happy overall

Great