9781422272664

That is why entertainment media companies often adhere to such rules and guidelines. Whether they are making movies, video games, comic books, music, or television shows, businesses can decide not to sell the products if they do not follow their respective rating systems, which are meant to reassure parents that the products will not be inappropriate for their children. The Comics Code wound up having major effects on various comic publishers. Some cancelled titles, while others simply stopped publishing altogether. Sometimes, the Comics Code was misused to prevent stories that featured Black or female leading characters. However, by the 1960s publishers began to push back against the code, and it diminished in strictness and relevance. The Comics Code finally ended in 2011, when the last two publishers who observed it—DC Comics and Archie Comics—cut ties. During the 1980s, a major issue of concern for gaming occurred in the realm of tabletop games. Dungeons & Dragons, a popular role-playing game, faced massive criticism from religious organizations and conservative parent groups. Some of this opposition was fueled by misunderstandings, as in the 1979 case of James Egbert, a college student who disappeared and eventually committed suicide. Stories about Egbert that noted his involvement in Dungeons & Dragons, as well as the fact that he had tried to commit suicide in maintenance tunnels under the Michigan State University campus, inspired numerous novels in which characters lose touch with

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Entertainment Controversy Through History