The Brick Connection – A novice Lego fan explores the great brick world of LEGO

Let’s talk, my LEGO comrades…

I don’t pretend to be a huge LEGO fan. The amount of actual “playing” with LEGO bricks I’ve done is unfortunately on the low side. But I have been doing this LEGO blog for almost a year now, and through this process I have gotten to know LEGO and its brand very well. Maybe even better than people who actually play with LEGO products on a regular basis.

And then my mom sends me this link: Lego figures more violent?

Here’s what you need to know: “A report by New Zealand academics claims Lego toys are becoming more violent, as the number of Lego figures with weapons increases.”

Let’s look at the statistics behind this claim that LEGO toys “are not as innocent as they used to be”

• Nearly 30% of 2014 LEGO kits have weapons
• Up from just below 5% in 2001
• About 40% of its catalog now contains images with weapons

I have many problems with this claim. I don’t deny the statistics. I’m sure those are right. But while nearly 30% of LEGO kits have weapons, that means more than 70% do not have weapons. (Glass 7/10 full!)

You say the percentage of kits with weapons went up 25 percentage points in 13 years? Okay, I believe it. You know what had an even sharper increase in those 13 years? The number of LEGO’s licensed themes.

Does this study count Captain America’s shield as a weapon, because the Captain has been using it like one since his first comic book appearance in 1941. Superheroes are allowed to be violent, but not LEGO?? What about Harry Potter and the Elder wand; you know, the one he uses to kill Voldemort (spoiler alert!). Do we count that as a weapon? Do we denigrate the fictional boy wizard for killing a fictional mass murderer. I don’t have any stats on how many of those kits with weapons are from licensed themes (meaning, not originated by LEGO), but I’m sure it’s a good amount. So it's not like LEGO was the first to include weapons in children's products. 

As you can tell, I’m a little defensive.

And I’m not done being defensive. In the video, to “support” the claim, there is an example of the dino tracker minifigure. Oh no! I hope this doesn’t inspire kids to go around hunting innocent dinosaurs!

The Evil Knight is another example. You know, I hate when I turn on the news and the first thing I hear about is another young person starting sword fights in the streets. LEGO should be ashamed for promoting such a thing.

Phew! Give me a second. I don’t want to faint from sarcasm exhaustion.

The one example they give that I could see maybe backing up their claim is the bandit minifigure because he has two guns. But LEGO didn’t invent the idea of a bandit. Kids have been playing cops and robbers forever. I don’t think LEGO giving kids the opportunity to play it at minifigure scale is going to do any extra harm.

Really, it doesn’t have to do any harm. LEGO says “conflict play is a natural part of a child’s development” and I would have to agree.

I mean if we really want to eliminate all examples of conflict from children’s lives, should we also stop teaching them history. Because history class is basically just learning about a series of wars.

LEGO weapons were introduced in 1978, which makes sense because that’s when minifigures were introduced. (What’s a weapon without someone to wield it?)

According to LEGO when they include weapons in their kits sets, the use of the weapon is always related to a storyline. Meaning, there’s a purpose to using the weapon, it’s not just violence for violence’s sake.

LEGO also points out that they use “humor where possible as it helps tone down the level of conflict.” 

This is so true! LEGO is great at this. Take the LEGO Star Wars stuff. Star Wars is considered to be family friendly, but it has a lot of dark elements. The Force Awakens in particular was pretty dark. The mass murder of millions of people by the death star on steroids, not to mention the patricide for goodness sake! (Did I make it seem like the death of one person was more awful than the death of millions? Good, because in this case it was.)

But from the trailer of the LEGO Star Wars video game to the Star Wars shorts I mentioned last week, LEGO found the humor in it all. They are really good at making things silly in the best way possible, and we can all use a little silly in our lives.

What’s seriously silly is this study reducing the LEGO brand to something it is most definitely not.

LEGO doesn’t promote violence, LEGO inspires creation. Minifigure and minifigure accessories have been amazing additions to the LEGO brand for the last 40 years and have taken the brand to new levels. But at the core, this is a construction toy company and therefore the LEGO bricks are what people care about and what the LEGO brand will always be known for.

I know I can sometimes get super corny, sappy, and clichéd when it comes to talking about LEGO and all that it can inspire. So much so, that you would think I was their head of public relations. (Does anyone know if they’re hiring?)

But I have some proof that LEGO fans don’t even gravitate to the LEGO weaponry.

A couple months ago I discussed the 2015 sales for LEGO and in particular, its top 5 sellers. They were:

1. Disney Princess: Elsa’s Sparkling Ice Castle

2. Star Wars: Millennium Falcon

3. City: Police Station

4. Mindstorms EV3

5. Friends Heartlake Grand Hotel

Only 2 of these 5 have weapons in the set. The Star Wars sets have blasters and lightsabers. Are we really going to stop kids from playing with these extremely popular science fiction weapons?

The LEGO City: Police Station depicts the police chasing after bad guys. And don’t we like the idea that the police are the good guys and that the bad guys in the world will be brought to justice by the good guys? (Even though unfortunately, reality isn’t always so absolute.) 

From what I can tell, the police in the set don’t really have any weapons. Just handcuffs. So even with a set you think might be violent, it’s really not. 

You know why?

Because LEGO knows it’s a toy company whose target audience is kids and they would never depict anything in their products that would jeopardize that. I’m not saying LEGO is perfect, but I’m saying at the very least, they are not sadistic monsters.

The other top sellers last year were a princess castle, a hotel, and a robot. Oh, the horror!

The people who did this study and the people who are writing the articles about this study need to take a chill pill. (Are you freakin kidding me with this article’s title: Weaponised plastic: A history of Lego violence)

Here are some things they should do in addition to taking the chill pill:

Visit this LEGO art exhibit and see how LEGO transcends the toy industry.

Read about the First LEGO League and see how LEGO really educates kids.

Go watch A LEGO Brickumentary and see what LEGO can actually inspire.

Are you chill enough now?!

The only LEGO-related violence being promoted here is my strong desire to see these naysayers step on some LEGO with their bare feet for spouting such nonsense.

And that’s what I think about that…

Talking about LEGO weapons like this is a little funny for me. I work for a company that makes lots and lots of LEGO compatible weapons. In fact I post a blog every Wednesday called “Custom LEGO Gun Highlight” and every Friday I post the “Custom LEGO Weapon of the Week.”

We want people to buy our custom LEGO weapons (and other LEGO accessories). But I still wouldn’t say that we are promoting violence. Dressing up your minifigs for war, whether it’s in space or ancient China does not make you prone to violence. Our accessories make you prone to imagination. They don’t come with a specific set. You have to create the setting yourself.

Just because you can imagine violence, doesn’t mean you want it to happen. Just because you recreate historical battles with LEGO, doesn’t mean you wish there were more wars. And just because your kid wants to own a BrickWarriors custom LEGO Trident, it doesn’t mean he will be the next Poseidon .

Alright, I could probably ramble on some more, but I’ll finish this up:

LEGO is not becoming too violent, so shove that study up your……………….shredder.

Thanks for reading! Let me know your thoughts. I’ll take even just one thought. One letter. One emoji. Anything!

Until next time….please enjoy the latest episode of Behind the BrickWarriors Mask:

*Compliments, general feedback, and constructive criticism are welcome. Any haters that are gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate can go step on some Lego with their bare feet.*