my relief was short-lived – it turned
out that one of the underlying plotlines
involved comparing the appearance
and performance of two men’s ‘crown
jewels’. Although we didn’t actually see
anything graphic, plenty was implied
– if any parent hadn’t already tackled
the ‘birds and the bees’ chat with their
children, this cinema trip would have
pretty much done the job for them.
Double jeopardy
Whatever the age of your children,
finding films that are suitable for them
to watch can be a bit of a hit-and-miss
affair, even if you do keep one eye firmly
fixed on the film’s age rating (see below
– ‘Hong Kong’s film age ratings guide’).
For older children, concerns mainly
focus on adult themes and graphic
violence, and for younger children,
parents are wary of violent scenes and
increasingly tense – and seemingly
obligatory – jeopardy moments.
Of course, a bit of heart-stopping
adventure and excitement can be a
big part of the appeal of an engrossing
film, but films as gentle as
Paddington
or
The Good Dinosaur
can have some
children cowering on the edge of their
seats, covering their eyes, crying, or
even causing nightmares.
But tricky as it is, the issue of
working out what is appropriate viewing
for our children certainly isn’t a new
one. After all, many people cite
Bambi
as one of the most upsetting films
they’ve ever seen,
Chitty Chitty Bang
Bang
’s child-catcher scared most 70s
children witless, the
Indiana Jones
films had jeopardy aplenty, and mega-
blockbusters of yesteryear, such as
Grease
and
Dirty Dancing
, certainly had
their seamier undersides. But as the
film industry has moved on – and films
are more heavily marketed and easily
accessible – some of the issues have
intensified.
“Films have always had plenty of
tension and jeopardy, but now
they
hav
e ultra-realistic images, clarity
of projection, and they are more
immersive,” says independent film-
maker and mum of two Tia Salisbury.
“Film-making has become more
sophisticated, and it might be that the
ratings haven’t reflected that.”
Most countries have their own set
of criteria for determining which age
rating they should give a film, but
evidence suggests that in some places,
these have become more relaxed
over time – a phenomenon known as
‘ratings creep’. According to a study
by researchers from the Kids Risk
Project at the Harvard School of Public
Health, violence, sex and profanity
increased significantly in movies
between 1992 and 2003. This issue is
hotly debated, subjective, and difficult
to quantify, but if there is a ratings
creep, it could be because (as a 2014
study in the journal
Pediatrics
, which
involved showing parents a series of
film clips, concluded), “Parents become
desensitized to both violence and sex
in movies, which may contribute to the
increasing acceptance of both types of
content by both parents and the raters
employed by the film industry.”
Mass market
Another gradual development in the film
industry is that its business model has
become much slicker. Tia says, “When
there’s a new release, shops will be
filled with plenty of merchandise. In the
case of the
Jurassic Park
series, the
shops are filled with dinosaur toys with
the film’s logo all over the packaging.
The actual film is aimed at older
children, but younger children want to
see it because they recognise the film’s
logo and love the toys.
Star Wars
also
falls into that category. In the latest film,
there’s some very dark imagery, and it is
only suitable for older children. So why,
if the film is for teens, are they making
merchandise for seven-year-olds?”
The logical conclusion of all this
is that parents are then faced with a
crescendo of pester power from their
children to see films that might not be
appropriate for their age and stage. But
just as children are being drawn in by
merchandising, parents are also targets
for the film industry, says paediatrician
Dr Michael Rich, MD, MPH, Director of
the Center on Media and Child Health,
Boston Children’s Hospital. In his blog
‘Ask the Mediatrician®’, he says, “Part
of the challenge for parents is that
movies are made for (and marketed
to) those who buy tickets. Even in the
case of kids’ movies, then, the target
audience is really the grown-ups: Story
lines and dialogue with more adult
meaning are included so that parents
can enjoy aspects of the movie that
seem to ‘go over the kids’ heads’.”
This analysis seems to be borne
out by a UK survey in 2012, which
showed that 40 per cent of parents
allow their children to watch films that
are rated as unsuitable for their age.
Dr Rich comments on this trend in his
blog, saying, “As we are all guilty of
believing that our children can handle
material that’s too advanced for them,
we may inadvertently – with the best of
intentions – expose them to films that
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