Kids in Movies - Interesting article

[Cyndi]

I saw the movie "Splash" when I was maybe ten. That's not a child's movie, but I only watched it to see the mermaid Of course that was the movie that introduced me to Tom Hanks, who I still adore today. He was a hunk in that movie.

Now I watch it for the mermaid AND to see him naked in the giant fishtank!


I'm not sure if I understand Forrest Gump even now. All I know is he didn't change while everything around him did. But the way he talks about his experiences, where he never really understood what he was doing, is a lot like my childhood was. I did things because I was told to(unless I was misbehaving, which was often).

[Ulla dances in a silly way]

Forrest Gump is a commentary on the ability of innocence to see truth while still missing the picture. Forrest knows Jenny is his friend, he never gets that she is into drugs, free love, and that she doesn't understand the kind of devotion he has. Forrest knows he has to save Bubba in Vietnam and that he can't leave the rest of his troop to die but he never understands why he was a hero. Forrest doesn't understand who John Lennon is or why someone would shoot him, but he knows he was a "nice young man." And so on and so on.

Or it's a commentary on how one man affects so many lives but that's a bit too Hallmark for me. 

Either way, now I want to watch it again...

-Ulla who thinks too much.

[Gwywnnydd]

Another friend's sister took her kids to see The Cat in the Hat. She walked out of it, taking the kids with her, after the joke about the "silly hoe." Dr. Seuss must have been rolling in his grave over that "interpretation" of his book.

Perhaps you will be comforted by the fact that Mr. Giesl's widow (the one holding the copyrights for all Dr. Seuss stories) has sworn, after that debacle, that she will *never* authorize another live-action movie based on her husband's work. I haven't seen it, and never will, but I take some comfort in that .

[Scritzy]

Perhaps you will be comforted by the fact that Mr. Giesl's widow (the one holding the copyrights for all Dr. Seuss stories) has sworn, after that debacle, that she will *never* authorize another live-action movie based on her husband's work. I haven't seen it, and never will, but I take some comfort in that .

Thank heavens! I can just imagine what would be done with Hop on Pop, or my favorite, Green Eggs and Ham.

I do not like them, Sam I Am! I do not like Green Eggs and Ham! I can still hear my friend George performing the book verbatim in our drama class. It was a hoot.

[HogwartsAlum]

I met a guy from Germany one time who came to work on a machine at a factory where I used to work and he said that in Germany, NO ONE under 17 was allowed at 'A' films or whatever they call their R rating.  I think we should do that here.

1.  My mom and dad always saw a movie first if they had any doubt about it, and if they judged it inappropriate, we didn't get to see it, no matter how hard we begged.  So I didn't get to see Jaws until I was a young adult, and well, they were right, because it scared me silly.  At ten, I would NOT have been able to handle it.

2.  When I went with a friend to see Jurassic Park, we were seated behind a couple that had a little boy who couldn't have been more than two.  During the Tyrannosaurus rex scene (which freaked ME out), the poor kid was crying, trying to climb his dad's shoulder and shaking so hard we could see it in the dark.  And the stupid parents just SAT there.  We wanted to kill them.  It was obviously too much for him, and they would not take him out!

[Suze]

2.  When I went with a friend to see Jurassic Park, we were seated behind a couple that had a little boy who couldn't have been more than two.  During the Tyrannosaurus rex scene (which freaked ME out), the poor kid was crying, trying to climb his dad's shoulder and shaking so hard we could see it in the dark.  And the stupid parents just SAT there.  We wanted to kill them.  It was obviously too much for him, and they would not take him out!

First they market a movie to the kidlet set, (all the toys and commercials) and the parents seeing the toy market take the kidlet to the movie, and are all surprised at the the kidlet reaction to the movie.

Didn't they SEE the R rating on it?

And Why on Earth would you stay at a movie with a terrified child?

On the other hand my Great-Nephew thought that it was the greatest movie ever -- BUT -- he only saw it on TV.

It is not as scary that way, I jumped out of my skin several times during that movie.

[Sandi Papaya]

Ugh, that was the same with Star Wars Episode III. I didn't see any kids under 12 at the midnight premiere showing, but I saw plenty of kids at subsequent showings, and that movie has a pretty graphic scene, the most graphic in both Star Wars trilogies, toward the end (Star Wars fans know what I'm talking about), one that terrified several under-7 kids I saw at other showings.

I mean, other Star Wars movies have been pretty graphic in their depiction of lightsaber-inflicted violence, particularly the most recent three, but Episode III garnered a PG-13 rating for a REASON. And then the parents had the nerve to complain that the movie was "too violent" for the kids. Then keep them at home!

[T'Mar of Vulcan]

Forrest Gump is a commentary on the ability of innocence to see truth while still missing the picture.  ...
Either way, now I want to watch it again...

My brother refused to watch it because he said he hates movies that "celebrate stupidity". I tried to explain that the movie wasn't ABOUT that but he still refused. I think I'll have to show him your explanation, because I LOVE that movie!! Although I have to say a lot of the appeal is Gary Sinise with his shirt off.

My parents used to let us watch whatever we wanted, regardless of the age restriction, but THEY ALWAYS SAT WITH US AND EXPLAINED WHAT WAS GOING ON. If it got scary my mother would say loudly, cutting into my immersion in the film, "REMEMBER, IT'S NOT REAL!!" Which worked even though it annoyed me.

When I found a p0rn movie (at age 14) on a tape from a bunch we'd bought from a friend, my mother said, "Sure you can watch it." She proceeded to watch it with me and critique every s3xual position in the film, going, "People don't really do it like that." Put me off ever wanting to watch a p0rn movie again. Even when I got hold of Debbie Does Dallas as an adult, I couldn't stop hearing my mother's voice going, "People don't really do it like that!" in my head.

[Cellardoor14]

My parents used to let us watch whatever we wanted, regardless of the age restriction, but THEY ALWAYS SAT WITH US AND EXPLAINED WHAT WAS GOING ON.

Ditto for us.


If there were any scenes of a graphic nature (and not of the violent kind) my mom just told me I might want to cover my eyes for that bit.

I STILL do this in films   

I was actually scared to death of Disney Films until I was around eight.
(Don't ask me why. Even the rooster from Robin Hood sent me into hysterics)
And most live-action kid stuff put me to sleep.
(I apparently passed out after the first fifteen minutes of Annie)

I did get some weird looks in elementary/primary school when I said my favorite movies were Amadeus, Some Like it Hot, Empire of the Sun, and The Last Emperor.

[merkay]

The movie rating system is nonsense.  The rating system is arbitrary and the ratings mean absolutely nothing.  Many R-rated movies have wonderful messages that children should be exposed to, and many PG and PG13 movies contain nothing but sex and violence. 

My mother took my sister and I to see "Rain Man" when we were around elementary age.  It had an R rating because of a brief sex scene involving Tom Cruise.  She felt that a brief sex scene was not enough to prevent us from understanding the meaning of the movie and getting something important out of it.  And she was right. 

Movies are too complicated to be subject to such arbitrary standards about the amount of sex and violence they contain.  A movie that contains a lot of violence in a historical context is not necessarily inappropriate for older children, as in "Schindler's List."  It's a horrifying movie because of the subject matter, but that doesn't mean older children shouldn't see it. 

[littlelauraj]

Ugh, that was the same with Star Wars Episode III. I didn't see any kids under 12 at the midnight premiere showing, but I saw plenty of kids at subsequent showings, and that movie has a pretty graphic scene, the most graphic in both Star Wars trilogies, toward the end (Star Wars fans know what I'm talking about), one that terrified several under-7 kids I saw at other showings.

We saw that one as a neighborhood fun movie.  Once a year a bunch of us neighbors get together and see something at the local IMAX.  We are *big* Star Wars fans in our house, and my oldest was about 12 when we saw it.  Even though it was Star Wars, we still left the younger two at home (they must have been 6 or 7) because we *hadn't previewed* it.  OH, the shock!  I can't tell you how terribly shocked I was at that graphic scene, and we still haven't bought the DVD to complete our set because it is inappropriate.  Period.  And the kids know I'm not letting it in the house.

[Twik]

Merkay, then what would your solution be? Remember, the rating system, imperfect as it was, was introduced by movie industry as a way to avoid outright film bans. The argument being that if we warn you in advance of potentially offensive themes, and take steps to keep impressionable children away, there should be no reason to prevent the film from being shown to those who wish to see it.

Clearly, there are a large number of parents out there who are unwilling or unable to make wise decisions on what their children watch. And even if they were, it's rather unreasonable for parents to be expected to watch every single movie or television show their kids might be interested in, before allowing their children to see it for themselves.

[Brentwood]

I read once that they put the word DAM N in the movie ANNIE just so that it would not get a G rating

As everyone knows there isn't a soul in the world that will go to a movie with a G rating.

I've heard of some occurrences of directors putting the "F" word into some movies in order to get an R rating. This was in the days before PG13; I have no idea if the "F" word is allowed in PG13 movies now or if it's still an automatic R.

[Brentwood]

Ugh, that was the same with Star Wars Episode III. I didn't see any kids under 12 at the midnight premiere showing, but I saw plenty of kids at subsequent showings, and that movie has a pretty graphic scene, the most graphic in both Star Wars trilogies, toward the end (Star Wars fans know what I'm talking about), one that terrified several under-7 kids I saw at other showings.

I mean, other Star Wars movies have been pretty graphic in their depiction of lightsaber-inflicted violence, particularly the most recent three, but Episode III garnered a PG-13 rating for a REASON. And then the parents had the nerve to complain that the movie was "too violent" for the kids. Then keep them at home!

I can't imagine letting my children watch Episode III. It would terrify them.

[merkay]

Merkay, then what would your solution be? Remember, the rating system, imperfect as it was, was introduced by movie industry as a way to avoid outright film bans. The argument being that if we warn you in advance of potentially offensive themes, and take steps to keep impressionable children away, there should be no reason to prevent the film from being shown to those who wish to see it.

Clearly, there are a large number of parents out there who are unwilling or unable to make wise decisions on what their children watch. And even if they were, it's rather unreasonable for parents to be expected to watch every single movie or television show their kids might be interested in, before allowing their children to see it for themselves.

My solution would be for people to read reviews, ask people who have seen the movie, read up on previous movies by the director, etc.   It certainly wouldn't be to trust the movie industry to decide what is appropriate.  I don't believe that sex automatically warrants an R rating while more violence than the bible only warrants a PG. 

Anybody who wants to use the MPAA ratings as a guideline is perfectly welcome to, but don't expect the ratings to be the end all - be all authority in determining the appropriateness of a movie.   It is not an objective authority.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motion_Picture_Association_of_America