>LEGO, the popular Danish maker of children's construction toys, has steadily included more weapons and violent imagery in their products over the past 30 years, according to a new study.
>LEGO, which was founded in 1949, first issued weapons in 1978 with a castle kit that included swords, axes and lances, according to the study by researchers at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand and published in the latest issue of the journal PLOS ONE.
>But the inclusion of violent symbols in LEGO toys have become more commonplace since then, with weapons now included in 30 percent of LEGO kits, according to an analysis of LEGO catalogs from 1973 to 2015.
>Roughly 40 percent of all catalog pages included some type of violence, such as shooting or threatening behavior, the study found.
>The changes in LEGO toys likely points to a broader trend in children's entertainment, researchers noted, where children's entertainment corporations escalate violent imagery to keep pace with the demands of the marketplace.
>"Creators and producers of games and movies strive to push the limits of what violent media is allowed to be released to prevent their audience from getting bored of similar content," the study states. "This creates content that is increasingly creative and violent."
Have toys became too violent in general?
>>5690184
>researchers at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand
as if i wasn't ashamed enough already to be a new zealander,
>>5690201
At least you guys make great movies.
They're only as violent as the kids who play with them.
Did my lego men crush each other's bones with a giant mallet? Yeah, but I didn't get a giant mallet piece. I made it myself.
(Two 2x2 cylinder on a 1x1 multistud attached to a bar)
>>The changes in LEGO toys likely points to a broader trend in children's entertainment, researchers noted, where children's entertainment corporations escalate violent imagery to keep pace with the demands of the marketplace.
I call bullshit.
LEGO is one of the few hold outs when it came to making violent shit and they've only relaxed their position because of licensing things that have been popular and saturating the market place since at least the 80s.
If anything, there is probably less violent stuff for kids today than there was in the 80s and 90s. The 00s was pretty ballless.
pretty sure this is because they've been adapting more and more media lately instead of original kits, and those media have some kind of violence in them
it's a pretty simple thing when you think about it, not some kind of big societal statement
>>5690647
Even their OC is largely conflict based nowadays. Cops vs Robbers, Knights vs Demons, Bears vs Hillbillies, Ninja vs Skeletons/Snakes/Cyborgs/Sky pirates...
>>5690771
What and classic pirates vs red coat, classic castle and classic space didn't have different competing factions?
Fuck this pussified western society man. Third world kids grow up seeing all sorts of genocide, rape, murder en masse and then they fucking immigrate to places where the biggest priorities are ensuring children are raised with appropriate toys that don't imply gender roles. Next generation is so fucked its not even funny.
>aaand laadies and gentlemeeen, it's time for dubious and unfounded moral panic #4636272747474646346329988765738838!
>>5690780
>classic castle and classic space didn't have different competing factions
When my dark ages started I only had one knight faction and two colors of spacemen.
>>5690184
>Have toys became too violent in general?
https://youtu.be/cvCTJlADySQ
Isn't this more of the result of them having more themes in general compared to where they were in previous decades? I mean, in terms of number of unique sets released, their 2015 output was more than twice that of 2000 (which was in turn twice that of 1990). Most of the themes from the 70s and 80s which introduced "violent imagery" (castle, space, pirates, etc.) still have counterparts in the present day, as do most of the nonviolent themes. The difference is that on top of that, they're doing a whole bunch of licensed and original themes which contain conflict, thus inflating the study's numbers. They're still making the same number of "nonviolent" sets as they always have (if not more); they just make them alongside "violent" ones.
>>5690771
>Bears vs Hillbillies
Chima?
Ninjago did had a lot of original weapon pieces made for them.
>>5693865
that's simply amazing, and i bet they were durable as fuck too.
I had one of these. A battery powered water gun that had vibrated like it had recoil when you pulled the trigger.
Didn't get shot or anything!
Soccermoms didn't even scream neither, because they didn't exist like the banshees of today.
>>5690647
pretty much this
their normal sets are pretty much the same as before: City, Space, Cars, etc
>>5693865
>looking at the related videos
>see this
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XC50qCW0dV0
huh
something about this is kinda pleasant, just a kid talking about his toy guns
>>5694397
I had a Beretta 92 like that, ya, pretty much people are more retarded these days.
>>5690203
New Zealanders don't make great movies, great movies are filmed in New Zealand. There is a very distinct difference.
>>5694397
Women's rights was a mistake. Just sayin' they want to ban everything
Yet there's likely no mention of one of the most based themes currently running- Elves, which while it plays to the girl accessory tune, also brings in tons of transparent and magical pieces for some really solid sets.
>>5694842
>limey kid talking about his illegal toy guns
>bobbies not raiding his home
is he in the US or something?
>>5694225
It's a meme thing.
>>5690614
dinosaucers!
