Would you take an 8 year old to see F911?

[BurtWorm]

I remember lots of looney fundies were subjecting their poor kids to the flaying of Jesus last spring. I've heard nothing about f9/11 that sounds anywhere near as brutal. The R it just received is for a couple of "motherfuckers"--so they say. ;) (I think there's quite a few more motherfuckers in the administration than that!)

However, my daughter, while loathing Bush on sight, will probably not "get" a lot of the movie, is my feeling. I'd take her gladly if I thought she could follow it and wouldn't be bored or confused.

What do other parents of young children think?

[SaveElmer]

1. No I wouldn't

My understanding is there are also scenes of charred bodies and a beheading in Saudi Arabia. An R rating seems appropriate to me...if parents think it is important enough for kids to see they can take them. It would be better to have an adult with them anyway to talk to about it.

[meatloaf]

2. I'm not currently a parent but considering some of the

graphic content of F9/11 I'd be inclinded to NOT take an 8 year old. Some 8 year olds may be mature enough to handle it, but I figure they might as well enjoy their innocence for as long as they can. I sure miss mine.

[BurtWorm]

20. Thanks. I wasn't aware of the graphic contents.

Why I wasn't aware, don't ask. :crazy:

[burrowowl]

3. If you do

you will have to talk with her about what everything means. I remember the HUAC hearings with McCarthy when I was around that age and it was frigthening. But formed part of my political views to this day. I am very anti-fascist and neo-con.

[radwriter0555]

4. No. I discussed it with my 11 year old and she really doesn't want to

see it, in accordance with my recommendations.

If I wanted her to see it, she would... but she doesn't need to see it now. It will have even more of an impact on her in 8 years, don't you think?

[Name removed]

5. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[SCDem]

what the hell kind of post was that?

He was just asking a yes/no question

[jdsmith]

25. Are you objecting to the poster's quoting the possibly objectionable term?

If so, this post seems pretty out of line. S/he was quoting to clarify.

[jdsmith]

34. Hey, the preceding message is completely unintelligible now

because the one it responds to has been deleted.

M. F!!

[Kahuna]

30. Heh?

What you talkin bout, Broadslidin? x(

[DrWeird]

6. Ever seen "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory?"

They show a chicken being beheaded.

If Farenheit 9-11 is anything like BFC, the violent images will be very brief and you won't know what you just saw until after it's gone.

[BurtWorm]

22. I have seen WW and the CF.

:wtf:

I saw it when I was the age to see it and was totally unprepared for that shit. In retrospect that was the most interesting part of the movie!

[Melodybe]

7. My boys are only babies, but if they were a little older I would NOT take

them to see it. I think that children under 14 should probably stay away. There are some incredibly violent images in F9/11 and the fact that they are REAL, not actors makes it that much worse. There is supposed to be violent war footage, a Iraqi torture scene, and real dead bodies being gathered and disposed of. I think that is way too much for an 8 year old to deal with, unlike the fundies who don't mind letting their children be scarred by watching the abject torture of one of the most beautiful souls that ever lived, doesn't mean we should do the same.

I suggest you get a baby sitter and have a great night on the town.

[TrustingDog]

8. I wouldn't - not to the theatre...

better to wait for the DVD and watch it with her at home. This way you can do the parently commentary during the show. You can also skip the gruesome parts with scene selections.

[Joe_VB]

9. I agree with you...

I have an 12yo boy. I just think he would get bored and not really understand or get anything out of it.

My son refers to Bush as "The Big Joke".

He's a chip off the old block.

[eyesroll]

10. I'm not a parent, but when we were young, my parents wouldn't

let us see R-rated movies, period, unless they'd previewed them thoroughly first. (This meant I didn't see my first R-rated movie until I was 13 and I snuck into one with a friend.)

Perhaps you might want to watch the movie first, then take your daughter if you think it might be appropriate for her?

I can say with reasonable certainty I would have been bored silly by F911 at 8, bad words or not. I was a precocious kid, but I didn't really get an interest in politics until high school.

[supernova]

11. 8 is probably too young

OTOH, a mature 10 - 11 yo, when they start to develop abstract thinking would be OK.

I saw my first R rated movie when I was 8. There was bad language and brief nudity but no dead bodies.

[hang a left]

12. Hell NO!!!!!!

and I carefully screen what is watched on TV. No war stuff, and absolutely no news. He watches sports and Disney and cartoons, that is it. Don't burden them with this shit, they are innocent.

[supernova]

14. I watched the nightly news live from Vietnam

and look what I turned into. ;-)

[BurtWorm]

17. I watched that stuff too.

And the assassinations and riots--and I was a little warped by it all, I have to admit. I don't want to warp the poor kid.

[ibegurpard]

13. Absolutely not.

I don't think there is an eight-year old out there who would find it engrossing enough to sit still and quietly and not disturb the other people in the theater. It has nothing to do with politics and everything to do with consideration of the other people trying to watch the movie.

[BurtWorm]

23. Good points.

:hi:

[liberalhistorian]

15. No, I wouldn't take

an 8-year-old to see it, I don't think that'd be appropriate. I am taking my 13-year-old son to see it Friday, though, freeper protestors be damned. They have the right to protest and I have the right to see it. My son has marched with me in Washington and he's very well-informed on what's happening and he's very anxious to see the movie.

[jedicord]

16. My son is ten...

I would really like for him to see it, because I would like for him to know about what's going on in this country, so I've asked my own self this question.

He answered it for me the other day on the way home one afternoon. He had his headphones on, so I was listening to NPR. They were talking about the Iraq war and what was happening to the civilians and our soldiers. At one point he took his headphones off and asked for me to put in a music CD (right now Cake is his favorite) because the news was making him upset.

Case settled - if doesn't want to hear about the gore, he sure doesn't need to see it.

[BurtWorm]

18. I was unaware that there would be gore.

I have no problem with her witnessing politicians and pompous jerks being punctured and hoisted on their own petards, but I'd like to spare her scenes from the war.

[k in IA]

19. I would not take her. She is too young and will learn about this as she

grows older. I think it would not be appropriate at her age.

Why make her deal with this stuff at her age?

It is hard enough for adults to handle, don't force it on the kids.

Teenagers are a different story but she isn't even close.

[Nevernose]

21. My kid is 8, too -- I'm having the same dilemma

She acts good at the movies, even boring ones.

She's always asking questions like "Is the war still going on? Why/ Why did we go to war? Why would anyone want to kill each other?" We watch the news together (aometimes by force), because I want her to grow up to be an active, informed citizen.

Can I shelter her from the evils of the world, and yet still let her see the things done in her name?

(and the kids won't be bored the whole time. There is, after all, seven minutes of a story about a goat)

[tigereye]

27. ny son is 8 and goes to a progressive school

so he is fairly aware of the * situation. He yelled at the TV when Bush was on once, I was really surprised, since my husband and I are careful to help him be aware of things, but let him make up his own mind. I am always surprised by how smart kids this age are. I don't think I would take him to see F 911 - too graphic - but discussion of the issues surrounding it would probably be okay. He asks me questions when I have NPR on similar to the ones your daughter asks. On the other hand, he sat through LOTR 3 twice. That was a shocker in itself.

[AlCzervik]

24. No

My daughter is 9 and although i have explained 911 to her many times and also the current Iraq war i think this movie is a little much for the under 13 set.

[noonwitch]

26. Probably not

11 or 12 year old, yeah. I took my then 11 and 14 year old cousins to see "The Blair Witch Project", which had a lot less intellectual value than a Moore film.

I think that the same age level for "The Passion" is appropriate. I was dumbfounded when the local news interviewed a woman who had just taken her 3 year old to that film. I think that even most die-hard "Passion" fans among the freepers would think this was inappropriate.

I still think that any teenager who wants to see this movie will find a way. Getting into an R movie is easier than buying alcohol.

[MercutioATC]

28. How about a relatively mature 13-year-old?

I'm debating, but leaning towards taking him.

Any comments?

(this is a kid who, when his teacher said "Democracy is much better than Communism" told her "But, Democracy is a political system and Communism is an economic system"...)

[Kahuna]

29. Absolutely not! 8 yo's should not be burdened with politics.

nt

[belladonna]

31. I wouldn't take an 8 year old

Why subject them to the same stress and fear we adults have been subjected to over the past 3 years? I'm taking my daughter to see it this weekend, but she turns 15 this weekend and she's almost as well informed as I am on the subject by now. When she was 8 though? It would have either bored or scared her and there is no way that she would have gotten anything good from the experience.

[Speck Tater]

32. A recent study showed that kids exposed to the results of violence

were less likely to act out violence.

When young kids what violence is really like they shun it.

[tnlefty]

33. Struggling with who may go and who will stay with a sitter here, too...

We've had more than one discussion about this. We were supposed to be in Jackson, TN, Fri. with no sitters. It has turned out that hubby and the 14 yr. old will be in Jackson and I will be here with the 11 and 9 yr. olds. During our last discussion (last evening) we agreed that the 9 yr. old doesn't need to go because we don't think that he would deal with it very well (he cried and was very upset when shock and disgust started). I've told (warned) the 11 yr. old about some of the content and he's thinking about it with the understanding that we'll discuss it some more, but that I will make the final decision.

Strange, but I would never consider taking any of them to one of Arnold's movies because of the sensationalized violence.

[SoCalDem]

35. 14 and up..

By the time a kid is 14, they are pretty savvy, and a 14 yr old NOW will be 18 during the next presidential term.. Their lives can be cruelly changed forever, by the stroke of a pen..:(

[CBHagman]

36. I wouldn't.

Granted, many children are used to extremely violent images from video games and film, but the difference with Moore's film is that they are actual footage of tragedies. On the one hand, that does bring home the extent of the suffering, but on the other, it can be very traumatizing to view, no matter what your age.

What I'd suggest is that you get some of Michael Moore's old "TV Nation" videos to view with your daughter. They're witty and entertaining and have a real sense of values. She might not get the all humor just yet, but at least they're safe.

[rbnyc]

37. It depends on the 8-year-old.

Also, I'd have to see it first. I was exposed to a lot of adult material when I was very young and I think it had a very positive impact on me. But I was different from other kids my age, and my parents were very involved in what I was viewing. I think the films and programs I saw wouldn't have been appropriate for most of my peers, especially those whose parents were less comfortable explaining sensitive material.