So I finally got my boyfriend to take me to watch Iron Man 2. I have heard its good, but I have also heard its not as good as the first one. Well, I think it has been established, even on film (Scream 2) that its very hard to pull the “perfect sequence” thing. Although Iron Man is watchable, but this we’ll have to leave for another time. My writing frenzy tonight is triggered by a heavier doze; dinner and movie, and an annoyingly cute three year old.
What is a PG-13 movie? We all know, or at least we all should know that a PG-13 is a movie for all ages -true- but parental guidance is suggested for those kids under the age of 13. Why? Because there might be profanities, and mild -but still- sex references. First, what is a three year old going to understand? Plot?; character development?; whether the soundtrack was good or not?; “Oh! Great movie… awesome! Let my write it down on my letter for Santa.” I don’t think so. How are you going to explain why profanities are being said? You think the kid is going to understand why the Robot man fights with the other guy? “Yeah because the “other” guy is a bad man. And why is he a bad man? Because he just became bad and hates the robot man. Really? So its OK for me to hate my school mate and hit him? I don’t know, its a little bit more complicated than that“…. But, of course! The only thing parents accomplish by bringing their toddlers to a movie that does not include cartoon characters or magic wands is embarrassment to themselves. The kid is going to be bored, hungry, or sleepy. The kid is going to talk loud, laughed at the wrong time, and scream he wants his toys, specially if when all he gets from the movie is that a giant robot can speak and fly.
For the record, I went to “Kids-In-Mind” (where every parent of a three year old should go before taking the child to a movie) looked up Iron Man 2, and got a few examples from their movie description:
SEX/NUDITY 4 – Two men admire a woman as she enters a room: one man stares, and another woman tells him he’s ogling and this is a sexual harassment lawsuit waiting to happen; the man searches online and finds photos of her posing in lingerie (we see her reclining and wearing a black lace bra, with cleavage and bare abdomen visible) and says, “I want one.”
VIOLENCE/GORE 6 – Two dead men are hanging in the background of a scene (we see them from the shoulders down); the man who killed them has blood on his hands.
PROFANITY 5 – 1 mouthed F-word spoken but bleeped by a character playing a government official, 2 scatological terms, 6 anatomical terms, 3 mild obscenities, 8 religious exclamations.
If this is a movie to take my three year old to, then I have no right to be surprised or amazed at what teenagers do now a days. Teen pregnancy? Teen violence? A teenager that killed another teenager because he looked at his girlfriend? Nothing is surprising since they happen to be watching movies with violence since their infancy. And yet, many parents not to say most, blame their kid’s outrageous behavior to violence on TV.
But going back to my movie night date, it ended with my boyfriend complaining and getting rain-check tickets for another time; he screamed some obscene word at the father of the child who happened to be outside of the theater at this point, since everybody started complaining that the poor kid was screaming too much. The father got upset and was ready to leave the kid behind -unattended- to have words with my boyfriend. What are these people thinking? You are gonna get mad because one angry man said some nasty words to you in front of your kid, and yet you don’t mind your kid hearing profanities being said in the movie? Really…
No! You can’t just simply not go to the movies for the next eight to ten years just because you can’t leave your toddler at home. But please, be aware that other people that pay to see this movie, actually care about what they are watching. If you are OK with your child watching violence and hearing profanities, that is your total responsibility. But when your child grows to be a delinquent, or -not to go to that extreme- a disrespectful jackass, not only to others but to his parents as well, don’t blame the TV. Ultimately, I ask people -in general- to please be mindful of others. If we can pay attention to the person that is next to us, we can all actually become better people.
For more info on movies ratings and censorship, go to: http://www.kids-in-mind.com/help/about.htm
Sine Cera 