Videogames vs. Shakespeare

Dear WGD,
My 14 year old son keeps trying to talk to me about video games which I've never played, and I told him if he wanted to have a conversation with me he should read some literature and not grow up an illiterate heathen. He retorted that video games have potential to be a whole new art form and people just don't realize or appreciate it.

We wound up with a compromise wherein I am going to play some video games, and he is going to read some Shakespeare plays. He has already read "Romeo and Juliet" in school, but I am trying to figure out what else he should read and in what order. I was thinking a comedy next...he has seen the movies for "Midsummer Night's Dream" and "Much Ado About Nothing." Any suggestions?

-Literary Mom

WORLD'S GREATEST DAD RESPONDS:

Shakespeare?!?!? why don’t you just send the kid to Homo School? Take evasive action immediately. Sic-ing the Bard on him now will make him HATE literature -- all of it. And, AND, god forbid he starts to love it, he'll take up with the drama kids at his high school, who are universally despised by adults for their incredible capacity for PROJECTING THEIR VOICES.

Meanwhile, everybody knows that Romeo & Juliet drives teens to suicide and endorses the non-honoring of thy Mother and Father. Compared to that, i'd much rather have the kid pretending to be an Italian plumber driving around in go-kart made out of mushrooms.

As for the video games, at least he can plug in his headphones to the TV and completely isolate himself from the world. With any luck, he'll become a nerd. That's win/win: he'll make more money in the long run and also, being a nerd, he's less likely to have parties at your house or knock up some tart.

Let the kid play his bloody eyeball games, for God’s sake.