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| 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. ------------- 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 ------------- I totally agree I also have two girls and know exactly what you are saying. Well said! MS ------------ 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 ------------ 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 ------------ 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 ------------- 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 ----------- 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 ------------- 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 ------------- 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 ---------------- 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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