Janie Grace Posted March 22, 2013 Share Posted March 22, 2013 The Boys Adrift thread reminded me of this quandary and I wondered what you all think. I agree that violence is a problem in the media, culture, etc. I don't want my kids calloused towards it. We teach good sportsmanship over winning. We don't do violent video games. We don't do gory films. My boys (10 & 12) have seen Band of Brothers, which dh felt was okay because of the greater value (history, lessons of loyalty, bravery, etc). They loved it. Ds12 also read Unbroken, which he loved. We just introduced the Bourne movies to them. The first one was okay (yes, lots of fighting), but in the second one, there is this scene where he is fighting another ex-operative and it's pretty bloody. He ends up strangling him. It made me uncomfortable because it did feel like violence for entertainment's sake... or, I don't know, just too MUCH. But I felt that way because my boys were there -- if they hadn't been, I don't think I would have been as sensitive. How do you make choices about violence in movies? If we avoid ALL violence, there are honestly not going to be very many "guy" movies left for them to enjoy. My boys (and my dh) have a wide range of tastes in movies, but I have to admit that they really do like those stereotypically male films -- car chases, things on fire, bad guys vs good guys, fighting for what's right, etc. I'm curious about how others make the call on how much is too much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Marple Posted March 22, 2013 Share Posted March 22, 2013 We had a policy of no R rated movies (whether sex or violence) when the boys were in their early teens. I don't have as much problem with R for violence esp. if it is a historical type movie (Black Hawk Down comes to mind) now that the boys are all older although I still preview them through various online sites. As far as PG-13 I had issues with many of the violent movies their friends could watch and they were off limits for many years. But, for us, the criteria for watching a violent show depended on their age and maturity. My youngest is far more mature in many ways than his older brothers were at the same age so he is probably watching things at 16 that his brothers didn't watch until 18. My oldest would have had nightmares with some of the movies his youngest brother has seen. In a household of boys it was often hard to be heard about such things and I had to rely on their dad to reinforce my rules or to tell me my rules were too far out there for boys. To this day, none of them exhibit violent behavior and they are all suckers for animals, babies, and treat women well :) ETA: All my boys have seen the Bourne movies (and I enjoyed them as well). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SarahW Posted March 22, 2013 Share Posted March 22, 2013 I think in the Bourne movies death is presented as very real and final. So I don't have that much of a problem with it. But the spin-off video game is (apparently) just a shoot-em-up, so Damon refused to release his likeness for it, iirc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janie Grace Posted March 22, 2013 Author Share Posted March 22, 2013 I think in the Bourne movies death is presented as very real and final. So I don't have that much of a problem with it. But the spin-off video game is (apparently) just a shoot-em-up, so Damon refused to release his likeness for it, iirc. Good for him! Thanks for the input so far. I do have to add -- I love the Bourne movies myself. The prequel that came out a year ago or so was pretty dumb, but the ones with Damon are great. It's just interesting how seeing things through kids' eyes make you evaluate in a different way... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texasmama Posted March 22, 2013 Share Posted March 22, 2013 My boys are 12 and 10, and I would not show the Bourne movies to them at this age/stage of development. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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