Monitor their media
By Matt Brown
Growing up, watching films with my father was normally a double-edge sword. On one hand, I got to experience familial and paternal bonding, but on the other hand, I got scared shitless by images of aliens ripping through the crew of the Nostromo. The theme of the films we watched were continuously frightening and violent.
After these events, I would lay awake at night, staring out the window, actively waiting for Xenomorphs to breach my bedroom. To this day, I have waking nightmares of extraterrestrials’ bright lights plowing through my windows.
Frankly, this interaction was wrong, and hurtful. My parents, or any parent, should not expose their children to adult media.
Children see the world differently than adults do. Just because my father doesn’t think the images are visceral and frightening, doesn’t mean that I won’t think they are.
As I grew older, the films changed from horror to action. I can’t count how many times I saw Schwarzenegger’s John Matrix come out of the tool shed in “Commando” with razor saw in-hand. Exposing children to media like this perpetuates the horrific idea that violence is a legitimate problem solver.
Only as media progressed into interactive media like video games, did my family begin to take a better stance. However, my family only seemed to censor the media that my parents didn’t participate in. I distinctly remember my father snapping my copy of “Doom” for the Sega Saturn™ in half – only for us to then sit down and watch “The Gate.”
Okay family… So it’s okay to show me demons from Hell killing children, but your children can’t kill the demons from Hell? Can’t you just feel the conflicting morals from this combination of media?
According to a study by the Child Psychiatry & Human Development journal, fearful children, especially from age four to six, have difficulty distinguishing reality from fantasy. This kind of rift in perception cannot bode well for future development, especially when more and more parents reach for their tablets to sedate their young.
Be it hyper-sexualization or extreme violence, there is little debriefing that occurs after a family unit digests media.
How is a child supposed to decipher tangible or metaphorical themes if their parent doesn’t train them with a critical mind? Children just sit and accept the media. It is a parent’s duty to monitor the media their children intake.
Children shouldn’t be allowed into R-rated movies
By Lindsey Schibelhut
Imagine yourself at the movie theater. You’re sitting front row, closest possible seat to the screen. Then, as you’re watching the film, you see two children, no older than kindergarten age, run along the floor with their popcorn buckets. I’m sure you’re thinking “Oh, well that’s to be expected. Certainly they’re attending a screening of ‘Minions.’”
This is where you’re wrong. I attended the first night showing of “Deadpool.” Their surprise was evident as they stood staring up at two main characters ride each other into the sunset during an extended sex scene. This is why I am against kids under the age of at least 17 being allowed to go into an R rated movie, even with parental guidance – because apparently there isn’t any parental guidance!
These weren’t the only kids I witnessed in that theater either. At least three other elementary aged children were among those moviegoers that night. I had no recourse but to think “parents have lost their damn minds.” Unless you’ve been living under a rock, most people should know “Deadpool” had numerous reports about it’s extreme violence and crude humor, even prior to it’s release. China, not really the example of a beacon of freedom, refused to release this film because of its content. I am astounded that parents would still bring their very young children to this movie.
I don’t know whether they couldn’t afford a babysitter, didn’t have family to leave them with or they were just selfish? Were they coming to see the movie they wanted to see – kids or no kids? I don’t know what was more awkward, me sitting there enduring the sex scene with a group of people, or watching the sex scene witnessing two little kids staring at it along with me. If they haven’t learned about the birds and the bees yet, they know now and I wouldn’t have wanted to answer those kids questions after they returned home that night.
I don’t want people to think I’m just beating up on that one scene either. The violence was extreme, the language was constant and the humor was certainly not child friendly. Parents need to consider their child’s developmental stage when choosing a movie. Read movie reviews thoroughly and take the time to really decide whether a film is appropriate to bring your young, impressionable children to. It’s scientifically known that our brains don’t even fully develop until we are at least 25 years old.
As adults, we can process the information we are seeing on the screen, young kids aren’t old enough to make that distinction. So for current parents and future ones alike, how can we expect to be the guiding force in our children’s lives, if we can’t at least make the right decision to choose which content is appropriate for them to view? Parents, take charge of that little life – don’t bring your children to R rated movies.