Naruto1Codey Porter, 10, has died after playmates buried him headfirst in a sandbox — an act inspired by Naruto’s ability to bury himself in the ground. Despite the tragic and horrible circumstances — his friends buried him in fun and didn’t realize he was really in trouble when he began struggling — the initial news reports are going fairly lightly on the cartoon connection:

Among media watchdogs and those who research the effects of television on children, the anime program [Naruto] has created barely a ripple.

“To my knowledge, there is no research specifically targeting anime,” said Doug Gentile, director of research for the National Institute on Media and the Family. “But what we do know is that media in general do have a very large effect on people.”

Nor is this a modern-day problem. People have been imitating television shows since the 1950s, Gentile said, recalling how boys jumped off garage rooftops, wearing towels like capes and pretending to be Superman.

The major difference today, he said, is that violence is often portrayed more realistically than, say, the TNT bombs that characterized “The Road Runner Show” or “Tom and Jerry” cartoons of a generation ago.

“A lot of the aggression in ‘Tom and Jerry’ is not easy to copy,” Gentile said. “You won’t have access to a ball of TNT to stuff in your brother’s mouth, but you might have access to a sandbox. It’s a horrible tragedy, but it’s not surprising that at some point somebody is going to try almost anything they see.”

28 COMMENTS

  1. For the love of all that is holy, why do we blame everything else for our own actions? Kids do stupid stuff ALL THE TIME. That’s the very nature of being children.

  2. I am currently reading Ten Cent Plague, a history of comicbook censorship during the 1940s and 50s. Comics were blamed for influencing criminal behavior in children and teens.
    I am hoping for a slow news day. Because what happens when an election-year politician discovers the little understood world of Manga? Even if yaoi and hentai are ignored, how many panels from a Naruto or a Dragonball Z or from a Fruit Baskets can be taken out of context?
    The parallels between then and now chill me to the bone. I hope we do not repeat a history many have forgotten.

  3. I would bet money that the actual impetus for this was more along the lines of “We’re 10 and bored,” and the “Naruto did it” excuse was some quick thinking on the kids’ part to deflect parental wrath.

    Worked, too.

  4. The idea that the violence in Naruto is more realistic than the violence in Tom & Jerry is… kind of mindboggling. TNT actually does exist, but I’m pretty sure there has never in the history of humanity been a person who could split himself or herself up into a hundred equally-strong doppelgangers.

  5. This is absolutely tragic.

    I do agree with Michael. They may have seen Naruto do it, but it was one of the millions of dangerous things 10 years old try because they’re bored and curious. “Naruto did it” was something to lean on for when confronted by the parents and authorities. Technically true, and yet Naruto is hardly to blame.

    When I was that age: I jumped off a roof. My friend kicked me in the head as hard as he could (by my request). I plugged in a socket with my thumb in the middle. I drank hair spray.

    I asked my English class some of the crazy things they’ve done: Jumping off the roof onto their trampoline, trying to stomp on nails (pointy end up) while wearing flip-flops, pretending to be Peter Pan (sugar = fairy dust) and trying to fly, hitting each other with large sticks, etc.

  6. the reason why kids don’t do tom and jerry violence is because it’s pretty crap to run around pretending you are a mouse/ cat/ canary/ dog. Kids wanna be someone cool. I mean, who you prefer running around the playground as – He-man etc or mickey mouse?
    Doesn’t really take a boffin with a PHD in everything to work that one out…

  7. the reason why kids don’t do tom and jerry violence is because it’s pretty crap to run around pretending you are a mouse/ cat/ canary/ dog. Kids wanna be someone cool. I mean, who you prefer running around the playground as – He-man etc or mickey mouse?
    Doesn’t really take a boffin with a PHD in everything to work that one out…

  8. The reason why kids don’t do tom and jerry violence is because it’s pretty crap to run around pretending you are a mouse/ cat/ canary/ dog. Kids wanna be someone cool. I mean, who you prefer running around the playground as – He-man etc or flippin’ Tom and Jerry? is i just me or do they tend to throew the odd kitchen knife at each other to (maybe that’s Itchy & Scratchy)?

    Anyway, all I can say is Common sense is lacking. A lot.

  9. The reason why kids don’t do tom and jerry violence is because it’s pretty crap to run around pretending you are a mouse/ cat/ canary/ dog. Kids wanna be someone cool. I mean, who you prefer running around the playground as – He-man etc or flippin’ Tom and Jerry? is it just me or do they tend to throw the odd kitchen knife at each other to (maybe that’s Itchy & Scratchy)?

    Anyway, all I can say is Common sense is lacking. A lot.

  10. The reason why kids don’t do tom and jerry violence is because it’s pretty crap to run around pretending you are a mouse/ cat/ canary/ dog. Kids wanna be someone cool. I mean, who you prefer running around the playground as – He-man etc or flippin’ Tom and Jerry? is it just me or do they tend to throw the odd kitchen knife at each other to (maybe that’s Itchy & Scratchy)?

    Anyway, all I can say is Common sense is lacking. A lot.

  11. The reason why kids don’t do tom and jerry violence is because it’s pretty crap to run around pretending you are a mouse/ cat/ canary/ dog. Kids wanna be someone cool. I mean, who did you prefer running around the playground as – He-man etc or flippin’ Tom and Jerry? is it just me or do they tend to throw the odd kitchen knife at each other to (maybe that’s Itchy & Scratchy)?

    Anyway, all I can say is Common sense is lacking. A lot.

  12. The reason why kids don’t do tom and jerry violence is because it’s pretty crap to run around pretending you are a mouse/ cat/ canary/ dog. Kids wanna be someone cool. I mean, who did you prefer running around the playground as – He-man etc or flippin’ Tom and Jerry?
    Is it just me or do they tend to throw the odd kitchen knife / fork / pointy object at each other to (maybe that’s Itchy & Scratchy)?

    Anyway, all I can say is Common sense is lacking. A lot.

    I’m waiting for the one where some poor child drowns and his friends say “but he was Aqua man”

  13. I don’t know why everyone is angry and yelling, “Why do parents always blame someone else?!” I see no where where the parents blamed Naruto for this incident. They simply said where the kid got the idea from.

    Take it easy peeps.

  14. I feel sorry for the family, but what makes me even more sad is that people seem to worry more about the welfare of a medicore cartoon than the fact someone died. Even if watchdog groups fought as hard as they could, they could never even come close to do a thing. It’s a show on cable, which naturally has less rules than your local channels, plus the show is already edited by the company and shown at a later time. Not to mention, the crappy show is really popular, with a DEEP fanbase. Then in the rare case Naruto does get taken off, you still have DVDs and Bittorrent to get Naruto. Naruto is pretty much here to stay (sadly), and some kids killing each other will not change that.

    It’s all the same for those kids who watch Jackass or Fear Factor and then try it out. But of course, unlike like some lazy parents, these parents aren’t blaming anyone.

    Also, Manga and Comics are the exact same thing. So, no, noone is going to go apeshit about some Japanese comic book.

  15. It is sad what happend,yes, but dont blame the show. Kids do things by their own free will. And this accident has greatly affected how people see ninjas, and thats wrong.

  16. This is just stupid naruto is not a little kids show any way so the parents cant really blame naruto.I really like naruto and from what i have seen it is ment to be for older viewers the violent characters and the jinjuacan in it are going to be really scary for little kids. There is blood and fighting i just don’t think that little kids should be watching it. I’m sorry that you lost your little boy it is a very sad thing.

  17. A little boy just lost his life! All everyone talks about is how stupid the kid was. And its TRUE! But the fact is he is gone and its sad. Why flame the kid? If i lost a little brother or son like that i would be devistated. The last thing on my mind is “Is Naruto at fault?”. Really people. What surprises me the most is that people are more concerned about a TV show than the life of a LITTLE BOY that was TAKEN away TOO EARLY! Ive watched Naruto and I love the show but the fact of the matter is the boy is gone.

  18. Indeed that this is a sad factor. And truly I feel horrible for the loss. However, I understand parents never like to be at fault so they redirect it at something else so they don’t look bad, but in truth they can have control over what they watch and put forth the understanding things done in TV shows like fighting or in this case burying self in sand (still tragic nonetheless) or so on is fatal and/or hazardous, that is what I’d do if my future kid was ever beginning to get into that stuff. For if the kid well usually it is to fallback on it to move the blame and as said before, avoid parental wrath and saying “We’re only kids, we don’t know any better…” (Myself and most people I know have used that line before). Trust me I know all of you have had these moments too and should have seen this coming and actually sitting down and actually absolutely make sure they understand what cartoon, anime, and so on are the things that are for entertainment not reenactment purposes in real life. Also that cartoons and anime are outside the physical boundaries where if done in reality could lead to health or worse… life… Plus as I’ve said this is sad that a 10 year old died, but I question if parents even payed attention to him and made sure he understood this boundary between reality and imaginary world turned into a show. Lastly Naruto is indeed a show for the more older viewers and any parents out there reading this I’ve seen the original Naruto from Japan even without the swears and blood, this is still not for your children, I mean Naruto’s Sexy no Justu kinda involves mild nudity of women kinda would hint some little advice that it isn’t ment for kids. I can’t stress this enough parents you must stand up and ensure kids know boundaries of reality and fiction… if parents did this more often maybe this 10 year old’s life wouldn’t be cut short because you taught them well.

    P.S. Sorry for the long reply but I’ve heard this sort of stuff so many times, and usually the parents don’t make an effort to teach children logic behind things or anything. So yeah, try to make an impact in your kid(s) life/lives… For their sake…

  19. The boy who did this is stupid (but i do pay my respect to the family) He was old enough to know the difference between reality and fantasy! AND HIS STUPID ASS BUTTARD FRIENDS SAW HIM STRUGGLE YET THEY DIDNT HELP ASS WIPES

  20. Just goes to show that Naruto is NOT a kids show. The only reason for that is because you have the sucky English dub that ruins everything and trying to make the show more kid friendly when its not.

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