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Silent Library

(Rated TV-PG, Game shows, Starring Zero Kazama, Where to watch: MTV)
  • Is it age appropriate?

    About our ratings

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    Not age appropriate for kids under 12, age appropriate for kids over 15; suggested age 13.
  • Is it any good?

    2.0
  • Common Sense says

    Game show contestants silently endure humiliation and pain.

Why We Rated This iffy for Ages 13–15

What to watch out for

  • Messages:

    The fact that contestants are willing to participate in the show's bizarre challenges -- which can be humiliating, silly, painful, or all of the above -- sends an iffy message about what people are willing to do for money.
  • Role models:

    The contestants allow themselves to be demeaned and embarrassed in the name of entertainment. The host is quite severe with contestants. As with most game shows, a cash prize is the motivating factor here.
  • Violence:

    Some tasks require contestants to endure discomfort or mild pain -- such as electric shocks or punches to the stomach.
  • Sex:

    No sex or nudity, but contestants must sometimes strip to their underwear to participate in the challenges. Others involve a man attaching a breast pump to himself, etc.
  • Language:

    No audible swearing (in fact there's not much talking at all in this largely silent show), but the unusual challenges do lead some contestants to clearly mouth "what the f--k?" -- which is visible even though parts of their faces are blurred.
  • Consumerism:

    Not an issue.
  • Drinking, drugs, & smoking:

    Not an issue.
 

What Parents Need to Know

About Silent Library

Parents need to know that this quirky game show requires participants to endure a series of very strange challenges while suffering in near-total silence; even wincing in pain earns a stern rebuke from the unusually severe host. The tasks can be painful (enduring electric shocks), strange (eating spaghetti shoelaces from a jogger's shoes), or humiliating (being tied to a spit while basted in barbeque sauce). On the up side, there's no sex; though some tasks require contestants to strip to their underwear, it's anything but erotic. And since silence is the goal, there's little salty language to worry about.

Did this review help you decide?

Families Can Talk About

  • Families can talk about the show's challenges. Do you think the tasks are degrading or just silly?
  • Would you be willing to be humiliated for money? If so, how far would you be willing to go?
  • This series is based on a game show imported from Japan, where embarrassment seems to be a common theme in game shows. Do you think that makes Japanese game shows different from American ones?

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Our Members Say

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Most Recent Reviews

  1. Teen Reviewer Age 14
    Lives in Virginia
    I rate this title on for age 12 and give it 2.0

    stupid yet interesting

    the game's stupid. the things they have to do r whats funny. it keeps me entertained - i guess that's what matters.

  2. Adult Reviewer
    Lives in Texas
    I rate this title iffy for age 12 and give it 1.0
    My concerns are:
    • Negative message

    Worst show ever!

    This show is so bad it's even worse than I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here! No wonder it's a daytime game show. I was expecting something fun and entertaining like Wipeout. All I saw was Fear Factor in a fake "library" where there is supposed to be "silence". Yeah right. The host evaluates the contestants after their tasks, some of the tasks make noise, and you can see the contestants laughing very quietly. Even America's Funniest Home Videos is much funnier than this garbage. I hope this show gets canceled.

  3. Teen Reviewer Age 15
    Lives in Texas
    I rate this title on for age 11 and give it 4.0

    US version of a hilarious Japanese game show segment. Pretty funny, and excellent by MTV standards

    This show, Silent Library, is based on a segment from the Japanese game show "Downtown no Gaki no Tsukai ya Arahende!!" (translated to "Downtown's This Is No Job for Children!!" or "Downtown's I'm Not An Errand Boy!!"). This Japanese game show's segments (including Silent Library) losing a bet and subsequently being forced to take part in an unpleasant, humiliating, or just plain mean challenge, which is called a batsu (punishment) game. Well, Silent Library is one of these types of segments. In Silent Library, six contestants in a (staged) library are each handed a card, and the contestant holding the yellow card with the skull and crossbones is subject to the batsu game. Some of the games include attaching a balloon to a man and inflating the balloon to bursting, snorting Pixie Sticks, and midgets jumping out of cardboard boxes armed with boxing gloves punching the contestant. You get the idea. True, some of the games are just plain mean, especially the ones involving the electric shocks, but they're not as bad as Fear Factor. Overall, this is a hilarious game show. I hope the people who produced this show do another one based on the "Don't Laugh" segments of the show Silent Library is based on. Now THOSE are HILARIOUS!

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