Grown-Up Movies May Be Confusing to Some Sub-Teens

A recent afternoon off afforded me the rare opportunity to catch a matinee. Being in the mood for a comedy, I chose the PG-13-rated “The Wedding Singer.”

The biggest surprise of the afternoon had nothing to do with the quality or content of the film, but rather my utter shock at the fact that the audience was at least 75% what has been newly labeled “sub-teens”--7- to 12-year-old girls (and boys) who would neither appreciate the ‘80s subtleties nor the general content of such a film (“A New Kind of Hollywood Girl Power” by Michele Willens, Calendar, Feb. 16). Adult sexual situations, profanity and references to drug use filled the screen. Questions filled my mind: “What are they thinking? Is this really suitable for children?”

I was concerned for these children because they are being sent a “why not?” kind of message in “The Wedding Singer” and other movies, while in schools and churches they get an oversimplified “just say no” slogan, which can send them into a moral tailspin. There is a middle ground between those extremes that begins with parents, teachers and clergy dealing straight with children on life’s difficult moral issues.

Although I have no problem whatsoever with free artistic expression, it is only as we mature and gain life experience that we begin to obtain the critical faculties needed to fully appreciate devices such as the irony, parody and satire in many movies today.

Although I applaud Willens for her accurate assessment and observations, I feel two important areas make up the core of the problem: As mentioned, parents and their horrid abdication of responsibility and, secondly, the hypocritical double message we are sending to our children.

In a free and open society, I recognize it’s critically important that parents maintain a guarded and protected right to raise their children how they see fit, independent of bureaucratic intervention. However, perhaps we parents are in need of a long overdue wake-up call. Although I would like to believe that other parents’ decisions and choices for their children are none of my business, the reality is that my children interact with these children. The choices we make as parents have an effect upon the whole of society, not just our children alone.

The two central issues within this matter are those of power and choice. Many parents feel overwhelmed at the lack of power they possess in the oncoming tidal wave of unsuitable family entertainment from Hollywood. Be it film, television or music, there is a weakened mentality that we are enslaved to these mediums.

Here’s an idea: No choice in films? Don’t attend. Nothing on television? Shut it off. Parents need to be empowered to make suitable choices and not be enslaved to particular forms of entertainment.

During our children’s early years, we must make choices based on their best interest while personally accepting the responsibility of dealing with life’s issues honestly and genuinely. Should we fail in this regard, the Wes Cravens of the world will gladly and impersonally do it for us.