Dungeons & Dragons - 60 Minute Special 1985

Necron 99 · Post November 17th, 2023, 9:00 am

A blast from the past. During the height of the satanic panic and teen suicides of the 1980s, 60 Minutes did a special, interviewing parents of one victim, along with Gary Gygax concerning the game and it's link to the deaths. I got my first introduction to the game about that time.

I think Gary nails it when he mentions that people just want to find something to blame for what happens to their kids, instead of themselves for simply being a bad parent or not admitting their child really has problems. The mother at one point talks about how well adjusted, smart, and healthy her son was, but then later on in the video, the sister says that her brother threatened to kill her. That doesn't sound like someone that is well adjusted to me.

Ancalagon · Post November 18th, 2023, 1:16 am

Necron 99 wrote: ↑November 17th, 2023, 9:00 am A blast from the past. During the height of the satanic panic and teen suicides of the 1980s, 60 Minutes did a special, interviewing parents of one victim, along with Gary Gygax concerning the game and it's link to the deaths. I got my first introduction to the game about that time.

I think Gary nails it when he mentions that people just want to find something to blame for what happens to their kids, instead of themselves for simply being a bad parent or not admitting their child really has problems. The mother at one point talks about how well adjusted, smart, and healthy her son was, but then later on in the video, the sister says that her brother threatened to kill her. That doesn't sound like someone that is well adjusted to me.

Emphasis mine.
It's unfortunate that the boy died. One might think that if a child is engaged in an activity to the point of being "obsessed" then a parent might ask "Hey, sport! Whatcha doing? You seem to be having a lot of fun with this and I'm interested."

As a member of the heavy metal community in the 80s, the same BS was happening there. Judas Priest was sued by parents of a teen who committed suicide. The parents blamed Priest for it and claimed there were backwards messages in songs that influenced the teen. It's a ludicrous notion for musicians to want to have fans kill themselves since the fans would no longer be around to buy music and concert tickets, etc. The case was dismissed.

grodog · Post November 21st, 2023, 9:43 pm

Necron 99 wrote: ↑November 17th, 2023, 9:00 am A blast from the past. During the height of the satanic panic and teen suicides of the 1980s, 60 Minutes did a special, interviewing parents of one victim, along with Gary Gygax concerning the game and it's link to the deaths. I got my first introduction to the game about that time.

I still have my original transcript for that airing—they used to send them out for free, if you wrote and requested a copy.

It was sometime around then or a bit before perhaps that I began to look up early articles anout D&D from ghe Reader’s Guide to Periodic Literature.

Allan.