In a Bookseller article, authors are pretty steamed that age guidance markers are being printed on their book covers. Now, judging by the language of the article, I want to assume this is something happening in Britain as opposed to the US, if not for the language than for the fact that I’ve yet to see age ratings on books here (or I just haven’t looked close enough). Despite where this is happening, what do you think of it?
The authors have some very valid points. Considering age rating on everything else is based on content (video games, movies) as opposed to comprehension, it’s only natural that a parent buying their kid a book is going to see a 13+ book as a book that’s “too mature” for their 11-year-old as opposed to something that might be a little beyond their reading comprehension.
With the parents not wanting to buy up (despite the fact that kids often do), kids themselves might not want to buy down. I would see this as purely a superficial move. You’re 11 and all your friends are reading books with 12+ or 13+ on the back cover. Would you want to be caught with a 10+ in your hands? I don’t think so.
So the authors’ argument is that parents will be buying books for their kids with only their exact age on it because they don’t want to risk exposing them to something they’re too “immature” to deal with or boring them because they’re too far “advanced.” I can definitely see that happening with this kind of branding. Not to mention that while the comprehensive level of books might be the same age, the content they’re getting could vary widely. So you have a book that’s suitable for 13+. That could include a heart-warming friendship tale and a psychotic vampire bloodbath. This kind of branding could very well lead to that kind of gross mistake: the parents thinking the age rating is for content, not comprehension. Oops.
Personally, I wouldn’t want an age stamp on my books. Like the fears of one author in that article, it narrows the scope way too much. I want my book available to as many people as humanly possible and stamping it with 15+ will shunt out far too many that are more than capable and willing to read them. What would be the sense in that? Let the parents do what they’re there to do–parent. God forbid, I know. Perhaps, instead of grabbing books off the shelves for their kids they might actually read what the kids read so they know what’s being reading. I mean really know and don’t blindly trust an age rating that’s supposed to tell them these things.
The thing is, though, most kids know exactly what they want to read and they’re going to read it regardless, be it publicly or privately. We shouldn’t shut out a buying statistic but at the same time if kids don’t need a how-to on what to buy themselves, why do parents? What do you think?
Wow! You come up with the best topics!
What do I think? Do you mind if I hijack your blog for a half an hour or so?
First of all I think it builds a false sense of security on parents, that a simple label will tell them enough to make a fully informed buying decision.
Second, who is in control of the labeling? The authors, agents, publishers, retailers? This brings the twin issues of responsibility in art and in marketing. Artist, especially writers are, in general, pretty responsible when it comes to engaging their audiences (with a few exceptions). They have an audience in mind and for the most part write accordingly. But once the book hits the retailer side, especially if it’s spawns a viable franchise, all responsibility goes out the door. Back door advertising kicks in. and by that I mean when other media is used to circumvent the self-imposed ratings system on the central product of the franchise. If your book has a +16 sticker on it, Madison Avenue suggest that an action figure of the MC, which is 8 and up. Mom may not buy the book (or see the movie, etc) but they will buy the action figure, which ain’t so bad, so then they will also buy the comic book and the DVD and…well you get the picture.
And as you rightly pointed out, it can easily lead costumers to believe that the sticker is about content and not the ability of the target audience, which considering all that you have written about YA and not underestimating a teen/pre-teen audience would be a mistake either way.
Then there is the issue of book banning. Do you want to give this kind of ammunition to people who believe that knowledge is dangerous, especially in the hands of children or teenagers? Expect Walmart and other major retailers to cave in and either put ridiculous ratings on certain books or refuse to sell entire collections that exceed a certain rating (just look on how profitable NC-17 movies are in the US…yeah exactly).
On a final note, which brings me back to who is in control, how about editing decisions. If editors or retailers control this system (which can only be arbitrary in the best of times) won’t they force authors to constantly edit books so that they fit under one type of rating category or another? Or worse, play Hollywood’s eternal titillation game of “How much is too much?” for let say 11+ or some such. Not that some of that doesn’t happen right now, but off all the current forms of media, books are still remain largely free of such artificial boundaries that please no one, yet serve only to squeeze a few more dollars out of an ignorant consumer base.
That’s everything I can think off regarding the subject. Thanks again for letting me vent!
LOL! Thanks, Raf! I can’t take all the credit. I got this article from Publisher’s Weekly.
That’s quite a thorough answer! All of your points I completely agree with, which is why I’m against the age stamping. It’s just a means of allowing parents to let someone else parent their children while they get the easy way out and everyone else suffers. And Walmart’s a sucker for stifling so I could easily see them jumping on the banning bandwagon. Ick.
Now that I read the article, it confirms my worse fears, it’s the publishers working the sticker business.
Oh…heck no!
Now about the parenting thing….
I think it is more complicated than that. Parents get caught up in the middle of Hollywood/Madison Avenue and the so called Moral Majority tug of war. Once side wants to simply say “switch the channel” when in fact (as I mentioned above) it is they who create artificial boundaries about language, sex and violence, to appear to appease the so called Moral Majority while at the same time using “backdoor” advertising to sell the product anyway.
Its like going to the local bar or sports event. The bar may have a few scantly clad women pushing a brand of beer or cigarettes, but they don’t hand you free beers or packs of cigarettes, they give you T-Shirts, towels and other knickknacks with the brand’s logo on it. You buy first into the brand through the innocent looking hook and then the next thing you know Little Johnny is downing Buds while smoking a pack of Marlboro. Now I exaggerate, but the goal is the same and the results, predictable.
On the other hand you have the aforementioned Moralist who want to paint big bad Hollywood as Babylon on the West Coast. They don’t really care about the kids (at least many of them don’t) they simply want to holler and howl about the so called Culture Wars.
Caught in the middle are artist, actors, and writers who have to navigate the labyrinth of self-censorship, not knowing where the lines lie.
So both sides play this dirty little game and the parents, trying hard to be good parents do their best. Problem is that the labels are arbitrary and do not translate well (if at all) across the media spectrum. Is a YA television show the same as a PG-13 movie or a T rating on a video game?
The key here is responsibility.
Media moguls, stop playing the ratings game, knowing full well that you can drive whole herds of elephants between each rating classification.
Outraged citizens groups, stop with the false outrage and admit that the reason you don’t like certain books is that they might lead your kids to do such dangerous things as…golly gee…THINK!
And Parents, is time for you to take charge and educate yourself. Don’t leave the parenting to others. I’m not telling you HOW to parent, but I am telling you to do IT!
And Kids…oh what the heck…the kids are alright!
I do think that parents can be slaves to marketing. My dad’s wife argues that all the time, that it was something she just couldn’t fight when her kids were younger. I can understand that but many parents do nothing to fight it. They allow the slavery and absentee parenting so they don’t have to do it. Video games targeted specifically for education come to find. God forbid the parent actually sits down with their kid and takes a part in their education. Instead they buy the video game, plop the kids in front of the TV and do their own thing. I think the slavery can be fought. Perhaps not completely but it can be fought.
And I really hate to do this but:
Tag, your it!
Dammit. I’ll do it later in the week. Blast.
[...] over at Fantastical Imagination tackles the issue of a rating system for books geared to inform parents (in theory) about the suitability of certain books for certain ages. That [...]