Beware PG Movies!

If you were to go by what you hear in the news Americans have become a nation of scared worry bees. Especially when it comes to what children are viewing on media outlets.

I recently viewed "Where the Wild Things are" having been a fan of ten sentence long story since childhood. What I remember of the story was that A. the monsters were awesome and B. it was short. Needless to say I didn't have high expectations but was merely curious as to how they managed to make a movie out of such a short story. It didn't take long to realize that all the money went into stretching those tens sentence out, but something shocked me on the way out of the threater, a group of parents were talking about how the movie shouldn't have gotten the PG rating and one even mentioned that they had to take their kid out of the threater. This was shocking because for the life of me I couldn't remember anything that was particularly fearsome in the film, and PG movies generally give me the hebeejeebees.

After doing some online work I found out that apparently this film had cause quiet a stirring of parents. In "Parents upset, bored by "Where the Wild Things Are" by Breeanna Hare one parent actually blames the film for her daughter biting her and attempting tp run away, something that Max did to his mother at the films onset. Others go on about how the film was far too violent and the images far to scary to be in a simply PG film.

One father who child watched the film said "I did not expect a film that promotes a weak parent figure who fails to seem to be concerned for her children, a main character who truly seems to need a therapist and a 'Wild Thing' that throws temper tantrums by destroying private property and physically abusing others." Yet, to anyone who read the story that is exactly what Max and his monster pals do.

Whatever happenned to parents accepting that kids are going to be afraid and that being afraid at times is a necessary fact of life? Parents use to tell scary stories at camp fires to inspire fear into their kids. Nowadays parents rant about how their 3 year-old couldn't handle the hairy monster and demand a refund.

People need to slow down and take a minute before lashing out at every conceivable opportunity. After reading about how many parents are wringing their hands over the movie, worried that it is too scary, too gloomy, too violent, and too apt to inspire bad behavior in children it makes me wonder if parents realize that they are the adults and could quiet possibly resolve all their problems without resorting to chastising the movie theater's ticket man. Perhaps, they could read the entire ten sentences of the book before taking their 5 year-old kid to the movie or wait for the rental so they can preview it like normal responsible parents.

In Ruben Navarrette Jr., Special to CNN, yeah it got that far, he brings up an interview with the films director 81-year-old Sendak that undoubtly as he says "offended many tenderhearted parents" who read it after viewing the movie with their kid.
Reporter: "What do you say to parents who think the Wild Things film may be too scary?"
Sendak: "I would tell them to go to hell. That's a question I will not tolerate."
Reporter: "Because kids can handle it?"
Sendak: "If they can't handle it, go home. Or wet your pants. Do whatever you like. But it's not a question that can be answered."
Sendak: "This concentration on kids being scared, as though we as adults can't be scared. Of course we're scared. I'm scared of watching a TV show about vampires. I can't fall asleep. It never stops. We're grown-ups; we know better, but we're afraid."
Reporter: "Why is that important in art?"
Sendak: "Because it's truth. You don't want to do something that's all terrifying. I saw the most horrendous movies that were unfit for child's eyes. So what? I managed to survive."
I appreciate Sendak's straight forward approach here, it should have been a good chasetisement for all those parents looking to blame a movie for being a movie.

Jeff