The key word being "most" in the above statement. *SIGH*
But this week I didn't take time to preview a movie that I, myself, chose for movie night with the kids. And I was shocked to find a clip in which the 2 main characters (10yo boys) are flipping slowly through tv channels and land for at least 30 seconds on a nasty music video! It was "Girls, Girls, Girls' by Va.n Ha*len (I think Va.n Ha*len - it's been a few years) and was loaded with half naked women dancing more than provocatively. And the boys acted and talked as if it wasn't degrading since it was just tv ("No, it's not .... it's just tv. It's not real." says one boy).
Call me ultra-conservative. Call me overprotective. I don't care. But this is NOT how I want my boys to think of or treat women or my girl to think of herself as such. I do not want them de-sensitized to immoral junk just because they view it on the tv! I am irritated at the makers of this movie for wrecking a classic story AND I'm irritated at myself for thinking that a PG movie would be okay for my 7 and 5.5 yo kids.
This serves as a reminder to myself and dh - our children are gifts loaned to us for only a short time. Their innocence is more fragile and valuable than many people think.
So if you haven't seen it or haven't shown it to your kids,
please don't rent the movie
"The Indian in the Cupboard"
8 comments:
Thanks for that update!!!! I was wondering about that movie!!!!
Oh, I hear you on this one. I hope my kids haven't seen it- I never know because Grandma and Grandpa love to watch "kid" movies with them.
It is angering to realize the complete disregard that the media has for our children. As parents we work diligently to protect them and allow them a chance to be children. But to be handed a "package" that looks like it is designed for children, but is provocative, is ruthless.
Thanks for the heads up.
That is the reason our family has not seen it. I have been doing what my mom did with my brother and I. Watching the movies befor she allowed us to watch them.
Hi Andrea,
I found this very interesting as we just borrowed this on DVD from the local library and watched it together, enjoying how close the script was to the book.
Having said that, because it was a library DVD, people don't take quite the care they should with the disc and there were three places where I had to skip ahead a few screens because the DVD was scratched. I'm pretty sure this situation was in one of those places, because I never saw it and I watched the DVD twice with our kids. Now I'm thankful for the inconvenience of those scratches!
Actually, I found the scene where there was a cowboy/Indian fight on the TV the most interesting. (I suspect the two scenes were close and that would fit with my recall of where one of the scratch jumps was.) Mostly because this scene showed (as was made clear in the book as well) just how naive people, like our kids, hopefully, and Little Bull and Boone in the novel, react when they see fast moving, noisy, fast changing images on TV. They get emotional, and don't always think about the reality of the scene. They can get carried away and behave in ways which show that their emotional reaction - what they feel - has overcome their intellectual assent - what they think. This led to a great conversation with my kids about what is real, what an actor is and does, and what the TV writers are trying to get us to think when they get their actors to do and say different things.
Also on the topic of movies of classic stories, if you get a chance to watch the movie of Five Children and It, be warned it is very different from the novel, and has quite a few bits in it where I had to stop the DVD to talk to the kids about what was going on as it was, for my kids, beyond what they could or should cope with. I was quite disappointed as we enjoyed the books so much.
~ Sharon
I find that the recently-made movies for kids are more offensive to me (I have not see this particular one and I did enjoy the book) for reasons that kids-movie producers don't seem to care about.
Our kids love to watch an old John Wayne movie, Hatari, for instance, that depicts some wrong behavior (drinking, smoking, a couple of swear words) but I find it much easier to cope with than the sarcastic, nasty humor and attitudes of most kids movies made recently.
Yes - that surprised me, too. I recorded it on the DVR and we had read it together. There is nothing like that in the book. So I was totally caught off guard.
Thankfully I was sitting there with them and could fast forward, but no matter how quickly we react, it only takes a moment to create an impression.
I'm not as conservative as you are, and I found that scene objectionable, totally unnecessary for the story, and thought the director/producer should have known better, too.
Don't beat yourself up over it though, you are a great mom and you really are creating a soft place to land.
I have found an awesome resource in helping me decide what to allow my children to experience. It's a review website through Focus on the Family, and they offer detailed reviews of TV shows, movies, video games, and music. I LOVE this site! Not only do they tell you - specifically - what wrong words or scenes occur; they also offer conversation ideas for working through certain issues with your kids. (And, I greatly appreciate the time saved in not having to watch every.single.thing my kids want to view. Sometimes, we just don't have the time for that.) :)
http://www.pluggedinonline.com/movies/
I, too, have been so disappointed by movies. I don't like to rent PG movies for my boys. I stick to G... but even then there are words like "idiot" and "stupid".
I think we'll stick to Thomas the Train and Bob the Builder. :)
Thanks for the heads up on this movie and for bringing up a very valid point that many parents deal with.
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