Kids can take it!

[Tony_Montana]

Yesterday my and my friend went to the cinema (or "theater" for you Yanks) and we had to take his 13 year old brother with us. We went off to see House of Flying Daggers (which bored the hell out of us, but that's a different story) while he tried to get in to see Bad Santa (rated 15 over here, and the cinema was still showing it). Not suprisingly, he failed. Which brought up this topic when we walked home

Why are people so goddamn overprotective of what children watch? I think most kids can take quite a lot of voilence in a movie or game, more more than people will give them credit for. They can actaully separate fantasy from reality.
Obviously this is also related to this whole Janet Jackson boob thing which apparently corrupted thousands of innocent children's minds. IT'S JUST A FUCKING BOOB!

Anyway, here is what I would ages I would say are best for watching the following:

Face/Off: 6+ (action voilence, nothing really disturbing apart from Nick Cage walking around without a face which isn't too bad, younger kids won't get the plot)
The Shining: 11+
Saving Private Ryan: 9+
Pirates of the Carribean: 4+ (PG-13, what the hell?)
The Untouchables: 13+ (not so much voilence, but younger kids won't get the plot)
Braveheart: 7+ (it's gory, but it dosn't linger on gore and there's nothing that kids could imitate)
Lord of the Rings Trilogy: 9+ (most younger kids will be bored)
Terminator series: 4+ (sci-fi voilence which makes it easier to take in)
The Matrix: 4+
Godfather Trilogy:14+ (for voilence and complicated plot)
Star Wars Trilogy: 4+
Indiana Jones Trilogy: 4+
Die Hard: 4+
Last Samurai: 6+
Fight Club: 13+
Hard Boiled: 8+ (unless you're from Hong Kong, in which case 4+)
Alien: 7+

Discuss...

[bluesbrother965]

Originally posted by Tony_Montana

Hard Boiled: 5+ (unless you're from Hong Kong, in which case 4+)


Why the nationality difference?

[Raoul Duke]

Do those ratings mean age?

[Tony_Montana]

Originally posted by bluesbrother965
Why the nationality difference?

Because people from Hong Kong can speak Chinese, but everyone else has to read subtitles. Actually, better up that to 8+.

[Lord Nikon]

I normally do agree kids should be able to pick out the movies they want to see. But those ages are too young even for my liberal views. Kids at 8 years old can't tell the difference between whats real and whats fake. Hell at 8 years old kids don't know times tables! How the hell are they supposed to watch those movies without getting scared, and knowing what is going on?

[Tony_Montana]

As much I hate to admit it, you do have a point. However, these would also take into account on WHO in that age group is watching. For example, I was at some guys birthday party when I was about 7 and we were watching Jurassic Park (rated PG over here). When we got to the severed arm part, the girls were like "eww, gross" and covered thier eyes, but we all were like "Whoa! Cool! Let's rewind it!".
I think this is becuase the girls were more into stuff like Babe the Sheep-Pig or something while we'd all had our share of semi-voilent movies.

[Damone]

I remember my parents had movie rules when I was growing up.

No movies with nudity...unless it was an ass shot. That much was ok.
Language...If it had the F word then I couldn't see it.
Violent movies they had no problem with.

Don't ask me why. This is what they laid down. Granted it didn't stop me. I'd just watch it at a buddy's house or rearrange my room so if they walked by they couldn't see what I was watching.

I remember the night Eddie Murphy: Delirious first ran on HBO. I had a pair of headphones plugged in the tv so they couldn't hear it. I also had to watch my laughing because if that was heard then they'd want to knowwhat I was laughing at.

[<3mekthx]

or rearrange my room so if they walked by they couldn't see what I was watching.

ROFL!!!!! Those were the good 'ol days.

[Lord Nikon]

Originally posted by Damone
I remember my parents had movie rules when I was growing up.

No movies with nudity...unless it was an ass shot. That much was ok.
Language...If it had the F word then I couldn't see it.
Violent movies they had no problem with.

Don't ask me why. This is what they laid down. Granted it didn't stop me. I'd just watch it at a buddy's house or rearrange my room so if they walked by they couldn't see what I was watching.

I remember the night Eddie Murphy: Delirious first ran on HBO. I had a pair of headphones plugged in the tv so they couldn't hear it. I also had to watch my laughing because if that was heard then they'd want to knowwhat I was laughing at.

I never understood that. "Timmy, you can't watch any movie that has the F-Word in it"...what the kid hasn’t ever used the word fuck, or at least heard it? Is the world going to end if they hear that word? I wonder what is going to happen, are they going to starting cursing off everyone they see? I mean come on? If you don't want them to see nudity or violence ok, but words, jeez where does it stop? Different words offend different people. Some people get offended when I say what the hell, instead of heck. How the hell are we ever going to decide what people can watch if we can't even all agree on what's bad or not?

[Damone]

Originally posted by Lord Nikon
I never understood that. "Timmy, you can't watch any movie that has the F-Word in it"...what the kid hasn’t ever used the word fuck, or at least heard it? Is the world going to end if they hear that word? I wonder what is going to happen, are they going to starting cursing off everyone they see? I mean come on? If you don't want them to see nudity or violence ok, but words, jeez where does it stop? Different words offend different people. Some people get offended when I say what the hell, instead of heck. How the hell are we ever going to decide what people can watch if we can't even all agree on what's bad or not?

Me either but the sneaking around got to be kinda fun. :)

[jeo4]

I was eight when my mom took me to see SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT. We all laughed at it. Nothing ever came of it. BAD SANTA is peppered with cussing and little kids, and not much else. Nothing is graphic. No nudity (although the "fuck me, Santa" routine is a little risque'). No gory deaths. Simply swearing, drinking, sexual discussions, and

*SPOILER* the occasional dead Bernie Mac. *End Spoiler*.

Why does this film get so much shit? There must be 50 kids in this film, including the blond kid who kept pissing Willie off. I'm still at a loss for words.

[Draccoca]

Time for me to put my two cents in here,

Why would you care what a parents lets their children watch, it's none of your business, I let my kids watch whatever movie i'm watching, albiet horror, action, war, it don't matter (except porn). They have seen the likes of leatherface, jason, freddy, and all the other horror gods, never have they had nightmares from it, never have they reenacted the scenes and they are only 2 and 4. Now before you call me a horrible person, it's all watched within my home, so not to disturb others.

I grew up on horror from the age of 3 and I'm no psychopath, I have never been in trouble with the law or anything like that. LET THE PARENTS DECIDE WHAT THE KIDS WATCH AND IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP. I do agree that kids shouldn't see those movies in theaters mainly because they may disturb and other viewers, and also because they sound is too loud and caould severly hurt their hearing.

[pyscho dude]

Actually that's something I've always been grateful for wihen it came to my parents. They didn't care what I watched as long as it wasn't porno. I mean when I was a little kid(around 11 or a little younger) I was watching superviolent movies like Die Hard all the time. I've been watching strong R rated movies ever since I was a little kid and I'm not fucked up. So yeah kids can take it. Besides kids aren't as innocent as they all seem. I mean when I used to do Tae Kwan Do there were several little kids and this one particualr kid who had to be less than 10 loved Terminator 2.

[Jamesadin]

My dad used to give me a dull little sword so I can reinact the movie Hook, from when I was back in Playschool and Kindergarden.

But yeah, I grew up on violent movies, and there's nothing wrong with me today. One of the first movies I ever remember watching was Timecop. :P

[AndrewLargeman]

I saw Pulp Fiction when I was six. My parents need some help.

[Tony_Montana]

Originally posted by Draccoca
Time for me to put my two cents in here,

OK then.

Why would you care what a parents lets their children watch, it's none of your business, I let my kids watch whatever movie i'm watching, albiet horror, action, war, it don't matter (except porn).

Good parent. No, I mean that, seriosly.


They have seen the likes of leatherface, jason, freddy, and all the other horror gods, never have they had nightmares from it, never have they reenacted the scenes and they are only 2 and 4. Now before you call me a horrible person, it's all watched within my home, so not to disturb others.

Your kids watched all that?! Wow.


LET THE PARENTS DECIDE WHAT THE KIDS WATCH AND IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP.
True, true, it's not my business, but what I'm saying here is not that every 7 year old should go see Alien (not all 7 year olds are alike), it's that in a lot of people underestimate children and how much they can take in without having thier little minds corrupted, so I think that people should be more liberal with what they let them watch. Of course, parents should be around to approve/dissaprove certain things, as not all children are alike and no-one know the kids better than thier parents.
What the problem is, is that kids don't get to see things even if they can take it. Like my friend's 13 year old brother, the language and sexaul content he's exposed to every schoolday is at least 3 times as bad as Bad Santa, and yet he was still denied admission.

I do agree that kids shouldn't see those movies in theaters mainly because they may disturb and other viewers, and also because they sound is too loud and caould severly hurt their hearing
Now there's something we can agree on.

[jeo4]

I think there is a real stigma behind sexual content in America. Kids can go to films with some of the most violent content ever seen, including beheadings, impaled corpses, shootings, and other frightening content. Yet sexual content is always considered taboo. I consider this a double standard. Sex is considered dirty and crude here. There are other cultures in the world that don't see it that way. I blame the MPAA for this line of thinking. It doesn't teach children anything to censor them, and it really comes off as a distorted sense of priorities to me. Both sex and violence are equally dangerous and should be treated with the same degree of respect. Education is an answer for both. Then it's still up to parents to control what their kids watch.

[DRbeauty]

I totally agree with u Jeo, growing up I was allowed to watch any violent movie. I watched Predator-my favorite, Aliens-second favorite,, you name it, my dad and I saw it. Especially those cheesy Jean-Claude Van Damme movies he likes so much. But God forbid there was a sex part cause my mom would go out of her way to shield my sister and I from that. Either by fast forwarding those parts or standing in front of the television. It's very ironic because I'm the least violent person you'll ever meet, but I've had plenty of sex. So anyways, it's interesting because I'm going to sound like an old bastard saying this, In my day you didn't hear about kids trying to reenact movies or whatever. Then again, I think us kids were a lot more normal. Anyways, it all depends on the child and what they can handle. Nothing more, nothing less.