Saw 300...So, am I becoming a prude.....

[William]

Or maybe just a responsible parent?

My wife and I were really shocked to see the number of young children that accompanied their parents to this movie. If you've seen it...and we loved it....you know that it's pretty graphic in the battle scenes and a bit of nudity and sex as well. We saw at least 8 or 9 kids that had to be in the 8 - 12 age range. One grandpa brought in two boys about 10. We figured that Gramps might have been duped into taking them, but once things got going he didn't leave. I know that when I was younger I would have tried to get into this movie. But as a parent, I'm kind of shocked to see the number of folks who apparently think it's just fine taking youngsters to a movie like this.

I'm left wondering?

Am I prudish?



William

[toaster]

Happens all the time. Recently, a mom brought her son and daughter ages 5-9 years old to the last half of The Departed. The profanity and graphic shooting to the head scenes are permanently burned into their little brains, I'm sure.

Nice.

[Kevan]

but my 16 yr old, junior in high school, hanging with his senior pals, went and he thought it rocked. Even at age 16, as mature as Tucker behaves, I wondered if this film was appropriate. Problem is... by the time they start driving, not every hour or event is accounted for beforehand. He knows his parent's concerns and we try to discuss situations before they hatch. Still...

I saw the same grandpa taking his very young grandsons (6-8 yrs old maybe) to go see "Saving Private Ryan". Guess Pops wanted to share in the nostalgia.

[pjm]

I was in the video store the other day when I see a 9 year old with a copy of Borat in her hand go up to Mommy and say, can we get this, Pleeeeeease?
Mom says, I guess so. Boy were they in for a shock!

Then again, maybe not.

[oldfatslow]

And would agree that it was inappropriate for kids younger than 13. It was rated "R" not PG-13. It features a lot of graphic violence, consensual sex, as well as non consensual sex.

All that said, I enjoyed the movie as did my fifteen year-old. I would not have been comfortable had my 13 year old been there. Everyone needs to make their own calls on these things and talk to you kids about what they see.

[slowgoing]

My 11 year old son wants to see it. I saw it without him so I could decide for myself without relying on ratings/reviews/word of mouth. No way he will see it, at least for a few years. Great movie though.

[Ahneida Ride]

Hey William, it's real simple

The modern Media's message is: "Find a girl and do her, do her again,
then dump her and the do another."

After all, this is how real men behave. Sex sells ......

I unequivocally reject this indoctrination.
I am tired of it and I am not afraid to express my indignation in this
public format.

Proud to be a Prude .....

[Kevan]

puritanic no. I'd rather my children see an "R" rated love scene than a violent one.

We certainly are violent creatures at heart.

If you have any kid over the age of about 12, and probably less than that, in a public school, you are not and cannot, protect them from being exposed to anything. Violence, sex, drugs, or otherwise. You can equip them with the information they need to make good choices but these days they have incredible access to the complete smorgasboard of human vice.

IMHO, the best you can do is to maintain lines of communication and talk openly & frankly about any subject that comes up. If you really want to stay current, watch South Park with your kids. Every social taboo or issue you could ever think of will come up and be dealt with in a surprisingly even handed fashion. Extremes will be skewered mercilessly but the message always comes back to the middle. No, I'm not kidding.

[gt6267a]

I kind of thought it was a chick flick.
Unrealistic 10 foot tall fantasy g-d-wanna-be-alla-barbie char, check
Unrealistic oiled men in speedos with capes, check.
Independent woman killing a man who wronged her, check.
Minimal dialogue and lots of music montage, check.
High contrast film, check.
Did I mention the naked men? check.

The one part of this movie which really left me thinking they missed the mark, where was the char development? Where was the activity that had me thinking, I give a carp about these people? It never happened. When all those guys kicked the can, there was not a wet eye in the audience. They just turned the lights on and we left.

Is there not a story of heroic people that did not get told? Or, said another way, did not get told in an entangling way? Sad.

I am going to agree with Kevan and take it a bit further. The impression of the battle scenes, especially ones where we don’t care about the chars lives is much worse for wear than a little hard-core kissing.

[Ozz]

Originally Posted by gt6267a

I kind of thought it was a chick flick.
Unrealistic 10 foot tall fantasy g-d-wanna-be-alla-barbie char, check
Unrealistic oiled men in speedos with capes, check.
Independent woman killing a man who wronged her, check.
Minimal dialogue and lots of music montage, check.
High contrast film, check.
Did I mention the naked men? check.

The one part of this movie which really left me thinking they missed the mark, where was the char development? Where was the activity that had me thinking, I give a carp about these people? It never happened. When all those guys kicked the can, there was not a wet eye in the audience. They just turned the lights on and we left.

Is there not a story of heroic people that did not get told? Or, said another way, did not get told in an entangling way? Sad.

I am going to agree with Kevan and take it a bit further. The impression of the battle scenes, especially ones where we don’t care about the chars lives is much worse for wear than a little hard-core kissing.

Ummm.....the movie was an adaptation of a Frank Miller graphic novel (aka comic book). I believe the purpose of the film (imho) was visual stimulation rather than story telling....although it was (loosely) based on the battle of Thermopylae. It would be interesting to see (which I have not), like a train wreck or house fire is interesting to watch....

Fwiw - the History Channel did a pretty interesting show a couple weeks ago about the Spartans, Greek and Persian society and the people and events leading up to Thermopylae.

BTW - if you want to see a good movie with similar storyline set during Vietnam see Go Tell the Spartans

[wooly]

Call me conservative, but I saw that flick with my 16 yr old and would never take my younger ones to see it. I remember when Jurassic Park first came out. My wife and I sit down and notice that this dad has his 6 year old daughter with him. Early in the movie, she's screaming bloody murder because she's scared and the dad's telling her to close her eyes and be quiet. NICE! Fast forward. My wife and I are watching 40 year old virgin and there's a family with their 9-10 year old son. The dads laughing his butt off and covering the kids eyes when the sex scenes are playing. Not like there's any moaning or anything.

I just don't get some parents.

An yes, I think you can protect your kids with stuff like this. I would never watch Southpark with my 6 year old and try to explain some of the cr@p that goes on in that show. Admittedly, if I catch a scene when my kids are sleeping, I'll enjoy the pure over the top obsurdity of it. But kids grow up too fast these days anyway. Why rush it.

Rant over. Also, forgive me for attending some of these films .

[72gmc]

I don't think you are a prude, William. I think kids are seeing way too much, way too soon these days--but like Archibald said (he's still here?!) the genie is out of the bottle.

Re 300: I've taken no end of grief in the office for daring to say that it could have been better. I read the comic, I knew what it was and wasn't, but even with its limitations it could have been much better with a competent editor. It smelled of editing-by-storyboard, and had nowhere near the storytelling power of the comic.

[gt6267a]

I know it comes from a comic book, but that does mean poor char development is cool? sometimes, what works in a book does not work in a movie. better to take a little poetic license then make crap. and yes, i said it, i was not impressed by 300 and feel no need to acquire the dvd. on the other hand, i watched van wilder the rise of taj this weekend and it was pretty funny. not as good as old school, but still a tasty flick.

[vandeda]

Ahneida .... Thank you!!! Man, at just leaving my 20's, that attitude seems to be the predominant one of my age group, and man the younger generations seem to be even worse :-/

I hate to see what a "family" will look like in another decade. There will be no need for a family tree ... you flat out won't be able to map one

As for me, I couldn't see taking a teen to it other than 17 and beyond ... Younger minds just aren't as developed as we'd like to think they are. They still are in fact kids.

So I wouldn't say you're a prude William, just a shrinking number of people with a bit of sense.

d

Originally Posted by Ahneida Ride

Hey William, it's real simple

The modern Media's message is: "Find a girl and do her, do her again,
then dump her and the do another."

After all, this is how real men behave. Sex sells ......

I unequivocally reject this indoctrination.
I am tired of it and I am not afraid to express my indignation in this
public format.

Proud to be a Prude .....