I too was shocked at the
fact that they had put "Pirates of The Carribean" toys in the happy
meal at Mc Donalds. Having seen the first one on the movie channels I
knew this was not an age appropriate toy theame. I wish they had
continued the "Cars" theame! My son loved it and we also did not get
them all(so if someone has plenty to spare I am interested). A.N.
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I
agree with you. I just watched the first Pirates movie not long ago and
it was not for young children. I would say maybe when they are ten they
can watch it. I was raised very sheltered from scary movies and intend
on doing the same for my kids. Great article, btw! DS
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I totally agree I also have two girls and know exactly what you are saying. Well said! MS
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I
am totally with you on this! My husband and I went to see a late
showing (10:45pm) of Pirates 2 and were absolutely shocked at the
number of small children in the theater. There were dozens of kids
under the age of 6, several under the age of 3, and even a couple of
babies (granted, they don't know what's going on, but it's the point of
the matter). I can't imagine what parents are thinking taking little
kids to see this movie. It was a very dark film, and was rated PG-13
for a reason. I was even grossed out by some of the scenes and the
characters themselves. Not to mention the content of the movie was way
too mature for small children to understand. Very sad that people are
so desensitized these days that they see nothing wrong with taking
young impressionable kids to these kinds of films. LG
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I agree!
We
rented the first one a few weeks ago thinking it would be better to
watch it first, then see the current one. I didn't get to see most of
it (dealing with a house contract gone awry) but it seemed pretty
intense. E. liked it but it was a little overwhelming for him. And
L. wasn't interested AT ALL. (Dad) thought Johnny Depp played his role
perfectly.
I think the problem is that you are lured into
thinking it's going to be a fun movie for the kids -- gee, wonder if
the McDonald's connection has anything to do with that? -- and once you
get there and the obvious violence & innuendo, etc. jumps in your
face, it's too late.
Needless to say, we won't be going to see the sequel. LT
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It’s not just a girl thing. Movies scare G. to death.
I
worry a lot about what you point out that “everyone else” is seeing
those movies. We don’t see many main stream movies, because as you
point out, they are inappropriate. But, I often worry that my kids
will be lacking social knowledge with their friends. And, my kids
aren’t desensitized to movies like other kids. I think the more you
see, the less it bothers you. Since my kids haven’t seen anything,
everything bothers them.
But, then my violence absorbing son isn’t pretending to kill people either. TP
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As
a bachelor of 33 and a very open minded individual I would have to say
just a few things. This e-mail might find you at odds with my thoughts
on several things.
1. I think if your children are old enough to
understand that a movie IS fake and acting is not real then they might
become completely fascinated with the whole world of acting and movies
and become the next Johnny Depp or Meg Ryan. Sometimes, with the proper
understanding, something that seems dark or scary may produce an
incredible amount of life motivation. On the other hand if your
children are scared of the content then another movie may be equally as
stimulating and far less frightful. I would probably have to wait
before showing that movie to my kids unless we had had discussions and
I knew they were at a place of understanding.
2. I believe that
you can live a life with Love as your guide or let fear rule your every
step. I believe fear guides and rules most people into a life of far
less pleasure and experience. I actually believe that the roman
catholic church is the worlds greatest source of fear disbursement.
Being taught that we Must Fear God is one of the most ridiculous things
I have ever heard. I Love my parents and can tell you that is a much
more productive assett then fearing them as I once had. I have a deep
relationship and ask God/ Father energy to flow through me with every
breath. I cannot imagine a life lived in fear of the source of all life
and love. Fear does not serve me nor will it ever. I do not live a life
without fear. I live a life free of fears constraints. BC
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No.
I do not think a young viewer will grasp the true purpose of what
Pirates is trying to do beside entertain, but you know, maybe in time
they will remember the movie and find some relevance later on in their
lives. While I enjoyed the entire movie, the plot, its characters, the
action (especially Johnny Depp's part), and foreshadowing of a third,
the one scene that rides in my mind is Turner's (Bullstrap
Bill) willingness to take his son's punishment himself rather than see
his son whipped, only to find himself face a worse punishment and that
is to whip his son in obedience to Davy Jones, for after all, hadn't he
vowed to serve and obey? OP
----------
IMHO, or not so,
please, stick with quaint, your children will thank you, even though
they may scream now. Integrity is important and so are principles,
Principles above Personalities I have heard and, it starts with us, RC
-----------
Neat article!! My boys (of course) loved Pirates of the
Carribean. I kept Ethan and Gunner at home (kicking,
screaming and crying about how they are BIG boys now). I am
very "granola" as Paul says. I don't even like cuss words
in movies. I have been renting movies from "Clean Films"
but unfortunately they have been "sued" out of business by
producers who apparently don't understand that even adults
can find cuss words and soft porn offensive. The Passion
and Narnia are the only two movies that I have actually paid
money to see at the theatre in the recent past. I don't
even like good movies that just throw in a cheating spouse
for no reason!!! CP
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Good
column. You're right about the difficulty of finding enough movies for
children to watch, but I guess we just have to deal with desentitizing
them to violence - girls, too. The eyeball scene is a bit much for
kids, but even Disney doesn't care too much about that, it seems. The
stampede scene in "The Lion King" frightened me, and I'm an adult and
it was a cartoon. DC
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I appreciate your
comments on "Pirates of the Caribbean". I felt the need to go see the
movie just to be aware of what (I'm guessing that) MOST of the students
I teach will be talking about when I ask them about their summer
vacation(s). It was difficult for me to look at the screen at times
during the movie. It is extremely grotesque!! Should we mention the
characters' dental issues???
The only way I could endure the weak
plot, brutality, blood and goofiness of it all was to step back and
think that someone was really good at make-up - or whatever the Academy
of Motion Pictures' organization calls the special effects used to make
people look like anybody's worst nightmare. Johnny Depp didn't even
balance out the atrocities. Those guys were just disgusting - dead or
alive!
What's wrong with beauty? If this is the art form of our
era, what is the legacy we are leaving behind for generations that
follow? We marvel at the beauty discovered by archaeologists when they
discover ancient ruins that honor dieties and persons of importance.
Art is historically a reflection of society. What does this movie
reflect other than we are enthralled with horror and intent on having
it ingrained in our children? Visual images are the most powerful way
to affect the brain. The movie reinforced my beliefs that WAY too much
importance is put on movies, television, electronic games and music
today. Isn't there enough scary stuff going on in the world today?
Our children should be given something else for entertainment.
LG
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I
agree 100%. We are a family that don't "do" the "kid" films either,
ESPECIALLY DISNEY! The last Disney let down for us was Chicken
Little. So much inappropriate dialogue (which luckily went over my
children's head) but to insinunate that the pig was gay, that did it
for me! My kids asked what was my favorite part of the movie, and I
said, "The end!"
I'm glad to know we aren't the only one's out there who agree that the "kid" movies have gone too far!
P.S. We are still not allowed to say "E.T." in our house either, and it has been a good 4 years! :) JB
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