It’s been exactly 30 years since the Sony PlayStation made its debut in Japan, a product that was created because of a failed venture between the video game maker and Nintendo – another Japanese company that began in 1889 by selling playing cards.
PlayStation made it to America and the rest of the world the next year, and to date has sold over 400 million consoles. The PlayStation 5, or PS5, is the latest iteration.
Hailed as a game where “Play has no limits,” the company is promoting the console in a fantastical, gritty, city-based video advertisement where everyday structures turn into playful objects. A metal street garbage can becomes a basketball hoop, awnings are trampolines, the side of a building is a “Connect Four” game, and a stairway turns into a slide on which commuters are invited to descend, work clothes, bags, and all.
The message is clear: Play shouldn’t be limited to the conventional.
Adding flair and additional fun to the ad is the all-important musical soundtrack. Appropriately, it’s called “I Feel Just Like a Child” by an artist named Devendra Obi Banhart. A Venezuelan American singer-songwriter, Banhart wouldn’t be familiar to those who prefer Christian music. Instead, his music falls into the genres of what’s known as “Freak Folk,” “Psychedelic Folk,” and “New Weird America.”
But consider the lyrics you hear as the PS5 ad unfolds:
The advertisement doesn’t feature all of the song, and not all of it is as clear and sensical as that portion, but are you picking up on the larger truth being shared?
Without intentionally making a moral point, the artist – and by extension Sony – acknowledge it’s a child in the womb. Not a blob of tissue. A child.
Truth has a way of cutting through the fog. You can try and shade it. You can try and deny it. You can even attempt to ignore it altogether. But that doesn’t make truth any less true.
As the battle over abortion rages, especially given the rising-red-state-versus-blue-state divide, it’s encouraging to remember that truth is not a geographic construct. Although voters in California or New York might not want to acknowledge the legal rights of a preborn baby, their delusion and denial don’t make the child any less viable or human.
Inadvertently, Sony has just endorsed the fact that it’s a baby in the womb – a truth that’s actually very good for Sony’s bottom line. After all, babies grow up to buy PlayStations.
As pro-life champions, we’d be wise to point out these admissions, even if they’re not intentional. Last month, we highlighted Volvo, the Swedish car manufacturer who celebrated the value of children while celebrating the quality and safety of their automobile.
Sony may believe that “play has no limits,” but when it comes to the sanctity of life, there are moral limits. Indeed, all life from the “womb to the tomb” is worthy of dignity and protection.
Image credit: Sony
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