Computer Animation Arts

Like everyone else, I've been puzzling and soul-searching over this Summer's sudden contagion of riots that turned a selection of England's cities into divided, shell-shocked communities. Theories abound and knees are jerking. I've heard every kind of explanation for the 'cause' of the rioting - from the overly simplistic to the highly nuanced, ranging in scope from the laughably racis t to anti-capitalist rants , to popstars pointing the finger at the desensitising effects of dystopian computer games. What is clear, however, is that society is newly afraid of its children. Listen as this woman, in a soundbyte that was played over and over in the aftermath of the London riots, compares the mob that vandalised her property to 'feral rats'. This woman has my sympathy. She's furious, bewildered and her sounding off makes great television, but the demonisation of youth is hardly new. We have always been afraid of our children. Consider...