Boston-based watchdog group Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood has targeted LEGO Batman: The Videogame for its first annual TOADY, an award given to Toys Oppressive And Destructive to Young children. It's going up against the Powerwheels Cadillac Escalade, a Barbie dressed as a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader, Fisher-Price's Smart Cycle (an exercise bike connected to a game system), and Baby Alive, a doll that poops.
The knee-jerk reaction of anyone who plays games and is familiar with the latest interactive LEGO adventure will be to think the CCFC must be an organization composed of fuddy-duddies who are completely out of touch with modern culture. In reality, the CCFC is a coalition of health care professionals, educators, advocacy groups, and parents with the stated goal of limiting the impact of commercial culture on children.
Given the group's mission, their focus on LEGO Batman starts to make sense. Indeed, it's about as commercial a game as can be, combining a popular toy with a comic book property that has spawned multiple television and film series. What's more, the LEGO game franchise has itself become a pop-culture phenomenon, having already generated several highly successful titles based on Star Wars and Indiana Jones licenses.
That said, the CCFC's reasoning for nominating the game is faulty. Here's the blurb they wrote about LEGO Batman to accompany its nomination:
“How do you turn the ultimate creative toy into a symbol of commercialized childhood? Begin by partnering with media companies to sell that toy in branded kits designed for recreating movies like Star Wars, rather than creative construction. Then, dispense with hands-on building altogether by turning your toy into a video game so that instead of deciding what to build next, children choose which cyber weapons to use to beat up their opponent. Finally, ignore the fact it was rated suitable for ages 10 and up and partner with McDonald's for a Happy Meal toy giveaway to simultaneously promote the video game, junk food, and the violent Dark Knight movie series to preschoolers.”
The CCFC's beef, it seems to me, has more to do with the Danish building blocks than the game. They're upset that LEGO has partnered with various companies to offer building sets based on commercial properties. Fair enough. But the complaint that themed construction sets make children use their imagination less than non-themed sets has no bearing on a video game.
And to suggest that LEGO is dispensing with hands-on building altogether by turning its toy into a video game is simply wrong. The aisles of toy stores that have been dedicated to LEGO products are proof of that. The game is, at best, a supplement to the toy, not a substitute. It's a completely different kind of experience. It doesn't satisfy creative desire, and if kids have this desire they'll still want to play with the blocks.
Plus, the CCFC's description of the contents of the game makes it seem as though they didn't even play it. LEGO Batman is less about selecting “which cyber weapons to use to beat up opponents” than it is about solving puzzles, adventuring, collecting bricks, and building stuff. That's why the LEGO games have earned accolades from parent-oriented review outlets, such as Common Sense Media.
And their final complaint, that McDonald's offered LEGO Batman-themed toys with Happy Meals, has nothing do with the actual game. This was the work of a group of marketing executives who would have had no input on the game's content or design. Take it up with Ronald and the Warner Bros.
Commercialism is unavoidable. It's part and parcel to our way of life, and something parents have to deal with carefully. It's okay, for example, to let our kids watch Cars and buy them a couple of toys based on the movie. It's probably not so good to dress them head to toe in Cars-branded clothing and acquiesce to their demands for Cars-themed bedroom sets.
LEGO Batman is commercial, yes. But is it a toy oppressive and destructive to young children? Hardly. The CCFC's nomination of this fun and innocuous little distraction as being one of the most offensive games of last year puts the organization's motives and practices under suspicion.
