Wait Won’t Be Over for Some : Experts Caution Parents About Violent Scenes in ‘Jurassic Park’

After watching lifelike dinosaurs devour humans on the opening day of the movie “Jurassic Park,” 12-year-old David Stein emerged from a theater here Friday and judged the film with all the flair of a young Siskel or Ebert.

“It was not really too scary,” the Costa Mesa boy boldly reported as his parents stood by. “And I think the dinosaurs in the movie were better actors than the people.”

Thousands of Orange County moviegoers swarmed local cinemas Friday to see the picture, which opened at a record 55 screens throughout the county.

“They seem to love it,” said James Blake, manager of the Edwards Newport Cinemas, where more than 400 people had surrounded the theater to wait for an afternoon showing.

Although many moviegoers questioned gave the $60-million film a thumbs up, some thought several scenes were too graphic for young viewers. The movie is rated PG-13, which means the film industry “strongly” advises parents that “some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.”

Whether the violence in the movie will have a negative effect on children’s psyches was widely debated Friday among educators, parents, counselors and even children themselves.

For 6-year-old Tanner Fistler of Seal Beach, the movie was too real “because some of the dinosaurs jumped out.” His father, Tim, agreed that “it was too violent” for the youngster. “But I think (movie director Steven) Spielberg did it real tastefully,” Tim Fistler said. “I don’t think he is going to have nightmares.”

Chris Davidson, a former school psychologist who is now director of special education for the Tustin Unified School District, suggested that parents concerned about the violence in “Jurassic Park” see the movie first before deciding whether to take the kids.

“They need to make the decision about whether they want to expose their children to it,” she said. “They have to determine whether their children are mentally and emotionally able to handle it.”

Davidson said children younger than 5 are especially vulnerable.

“These kids have a lot of fear, like fear of the dark. They need security and love.”

Davidson expressed particular concern about violent scenes involving dinosaurs and children.

If children “see other kids getting hurt,” she said, “they might feel like ‘This can happen to me.’ Then come the nightmares and everything else. I think they can have their emotions upset like when there is an earthquake.”

The fact that the children know dinosaurs no longer exist will not make them less afraid, she said.

“Why do little kids make up monsters? They know they don’t exist, but they are still afraid to go to bed at night because of ‘monsters,’ ” Davidson said. “They could equate (the dinosaurs) with other monsters.”

Mike Monahan, an Anaheim City School District school psychologist, agreed that the movie could upset some children..

If a child “tends to be frightened and have sleepless nights after seeing graphic violence, then parents might not want to take the child to the movie unless they want to deal with that,” Monahan said.

“On the other hand, other children are perfectly calm and have no trouble dealing with it. Parents should be in a position to know where their children stand.”

Carolyn McInerney, president of the Stone Creek Elementary School PTA in Irvine, said she is concerned about advertising-induced peer pressure to see the movie.

“I am concerned about the hype that they are forcing on the kids,” she said. “It’s at McDonalds, on T-shirts, everywhere. It makes (the movie) such a hot issue. . . . It makes it really hard on the parents.”

With “all the hype,” she said, “I am not sure if (parents) know what they are in for when they buy the ticket.”

Linda Rappaport, a clinical social worker with the county’s Health Care Agency, said it is “kind of sad that there is not a movie on dinosaurs that all children can see. . . . I wish there were a Disney movie on dinosaurs.”

Times correspondent Bert Eljera contributed to this story.