The Monster Within- Is Beowulf Killing Our Kids?

A cyber-friend writer friend of mine living in the U.K posted today her astonishment and general concern for the current movie Beowulf. Well, not the movie, just the rating it received from the powers in the U.K. I won’t repost her musings because, well, they’re not mine to post. She’s a great writer though, gushing full with that wonderful British sarcastic intelligence. If you’re curious: http://www.myspace.com/rahawkins – she’s a trip.

In any event, the jist of her rumination was moral concern. When is too much too much for our young boys and girls whom we hope, at one point, will have the capacity mentally and morally, to leave things better than they found them for their own children. In the case of Beowulf the rating in the U.K is 12-A, meaning children 12 and up are free to sit in the dark and get scared out of their ever-loving-mind. Here in the U.SofA it’s PG-13. Shots are being fired on both sides of the pond on the content vs rating appropriateness.

The initial scene of the movie involves a luridly dressed king, a orgie-like party Studio 54 would be proud of, plenty of yummy sexually graphic language and innuendo wrapped up nicely with, “the mass violence of blokes being hit with the soggy end of one time companions”. –Rebecca Hawkins
(Sorry Rebecca, I couldn’t resist stealing one line, I loved that phrase.)

Her well placed point being, is this REALLY appropriate for a 12 year old kid? After some stateside googling I found that same question asked by many of the national publications so I sat, pulled out my tea and biscuits and wondered, is it? Originally the movie was to go to release with TWO ratings. PG-13 for theaters and a Unrated version for IMAX 3D houses. Sounds good, right?

Ah, Nope- The MPAA (our rating oracles in the sky) said that ain’t so Joe. A movie can only occupy one space in time (meaning one rating) while it is open to the public viewing pleasure. Put the sucker on DVD at 20$ a pop and you can have the Slayer of Slayers riding a pink fucking pony, giving all the monsters tummy aches with too much candy in a G version all the way up to a CGI, and lovely, apparition of Angelina Jolie getting gang-banged by a army of flying monkies in a X-Rated thriller. (By the way, which one do YOU think would sell better!)

As long as it’s out in theaters though, one movie- one rating- period. And here’s the other rub. A large part of the movie is in that increasingly popular, “300” vein of half live-half CG style. I mean, it’s not like the future of our world is seeing the REAL, scantily clad ta-ta’s of Mrs. Brangelina or the REAL limbs of actual people being cast aside like shucks at a corn boil. Right?

So, in my pursuit of fairness and the love for stirring up some good ole fashioned debate I replied to her very well written blog….

Yes, absolutely Rebecca, 100% correct and I agree completely. As the father of a 10 year old son I cannot fathom him capable to disperse that kind of info properly in two years, or three for that matter.

Let me play devils advocate though, and walk through nostalgia towards two of my favorite childhood cartoons. In the states (not sure in the U.K) Tom & Jerry and Roadrunner are two very long running Saturday morning cartoon staples.

Tom & Jerry plays off the ancient struggle of Cat and Mouse- arch-enemies to the end. The entire show has the sinister (but retarded) cat trying to kill the loveable (just as vicious however) mouse. The cat constantly finds severe physical harm which in the flesh and blood world would, in almost every instance, mean instant death. Lovely show really and I’m SURE there was some latent, educational subtext somewhere deep below the surface…

..Road Runner follows the same theme- just different animals- and Wiley Coyote, evil to the core and with the IQ of a warm cucumber, manages- in every show- to fall off a gigantic cliff. After the requisite plumb of dust is seen hundreds of feet below ole Wiley shakes himself off, “man’s up”, and gets right back into the business of catching the roadrunner.

I’ve never made a habit of falling off cliff’s but I’m sure that, unless you live in the world of M.Knight Shymalan, it usually results in organ damage.

My devils advocate point being that although I laughed my silly little 8-12 year old butt off I don’t think I was effected that greatly by the animated violence, absurd refusal to deal with the normal laws of physical nature, and the concept that it is ok to hunt something relentlessly if you just don’t care for them, man or beast. ??? – ya, I KNOW they’re cartoon animals but still???

Anyway, I did LOVE your post- you write so well; AND you crack me up- I also DO agree with the sentiment…. I wouldn’t take my 12 year old even if he is still 10.. to think about it, I probably wouldn’t let him watch Roadrunner or Tom & Jerry either.

Peace and best wishes

addendum 11/30/2007

I noticed a strange thing after posting this entry. My HITS went through the blogging roof! I mean they exploded! Of course I asked..

WHY?

The writing’s not great, the thoughts about as deep as a 12 year old kiddie pool so why on earth is everyone suddenly flocking to my blogging?

SEARCH ENGINES.

What are they searching for? Not ME I can assure you.

Over the last several days, after posting this entry, my page was getting pulled up by hundreds of people searching for things like..
.. is beowulf good for a 12 year old…
…is beowuld appropriate for children..etc, etc.

I DON”T KNOW! And I’m sure after reading the entry you realize I don’t have a clue. I will tell you this, my fellow parents and prognosticators…

… Don’t depend on a blog to tell you! Go see the dang movie and judge if YOU think it’s right for YOUR kids! The 20 bucks you’ll pay to find out is worth it, and my beloved movie industry could use the extra juice.

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Tags: , Beowulf, content, free speech, movies, sex

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