A computer called me last night. It said it was switched on by the Dove Foundation. It asked me a few questions. It said that many families feel as if the ratings are getting too lenient, and Hollywood is presenting our families with too much inappropriate material, and that people are feeling "powerless" to change the situation. It asked me if I agree.

I said no.

I do not agree for a few reasons:

1) As a parent, I feel that it would be irresponsible to look at a rating alone and base my decisions solely on that rating. I think it would be irresponsible to listen to any one source about the content of a movie and/or television show, and thereby decide what is best for my children. I have friends who think that movies are great for kids - and I do not agree. I am not going to listen to a rating anymore than I'm going to listen to a friend. There are times when a movie seems like the subject matter is appropriate for my kids, but I'm questioning whether aspects will be too violent, or too edgy, for their ages. I will at that point look to whether a movie is PG or PG-13 for guidance. With the girls being 8 and 10, those are really the only ratings which we choose between. They feel that G-rated movies are too young for them, and I feel that rated R movies are unacceptable.

Yet the rating is not enough information, and I don't know why it should be. Are we supposed to turn over parental decision making to a letter?

An example: Jaws is rated PG. We watched Jaws with E. last June. She loved the movie. It didn't bother her - not even a month later when she spent weeks in the ocean. Weeks! She was actually disappointed that they didn't show more.

However, J. would have flipped out if she saw that movie. She wouldn't have survived it. Even though the rating was well within our window.

2) I am not powerless. I don't need for Hollywood to make different movies in order to protect my children. I don't need for television to make sappy shows about angels and horses in order for my children to remain children while they are children. If they made more- I'd still watch NONE of those shows. NONE. Because they suck. And I'm not raising my kids to like sucky things. I am not interested in shoving SAP down their throats - no more than I'm interested in shoving them into a fictional world of sex and drugs and abuse.

3) I do not think that current Hollywood encompasses all of our options. This is because of Beloved. When I was a kid, I balked when my mother suggested we watch a musical, or an old movie. My kids love musicals. They love old movies. They have gotten to where modern movies actually bores them. Why complain about what's coming out in the theaters NOW when there's so much more?

4) My kids don't really watch television. This year is the first time that we all watch a television show in the evenings during the week -- and that's American Idol. We've had fun laughing with the auditions. I have never watched this show before (I didn't even realize it's been on for six years. Geez), and so I do not know if it will be okay for them once the audition phase is over.

Other than that, though - they watch some t.v. on the weekends. They watch PBS shows - either things like Zoom, or travel shows and cooking.

5) It was clear to me from the start that this Dove Foundation was mired in religious bullshit. The front pages of their website don't make it apparent, but a little digging does. Check out their review of Harry Potter. They didn't approve it, because they show magic without any reference to the fact that "it is evil." okaaaaayyyyyyy.

I resent people clothing religious bias with the term "family friendly." Deeply resent it. And therefore, I told the computer I would be MORE than happy to participate in their poll. Call me back, PLEASE.

In all honesty, I feel that I need to protect my children from hidden religious messages MORE than I need to protect them from the things that "family friendly" groups find offensive. At least these damned movies aren't hiding anything.

posted by Zuska @ 8:58 AM

0 Comments: