Posts Tagged ‘entertainment’

Caving In To Cars 2

Thursday, June 30th, 2011

Given my fierce opposition to anything violent in my kids’ entertainment and my critique of Pixar’s apparent move away from child-appropriate films (not to mention commenter Tim’s disappointed commentary on their latest film), you would not be out of line to assume that there is no way I would take my kids to see Cars 2.  And so you would likely be rather surprised to hear that my kids did indeed go with their Nana to see Cars 2 yesterday.  What, you might ask, was I thinking?  Why would I allow such a violation of my principles?

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Has Pixar Become Too Grown-Up?

Sunday, June 26th, 2011

For the last 15 years, Pixar has been known for some amazing animation, ideal, for the most part, for even younger children.  Toy Story 1, 2, and 3 were all wonderful films, according to both kids and critics.  WALL-E is a great lesson in what can happen if we don’t take care of our planet.  And I will certainly admit that I still cry at the end of Cars when Lightning gives up the race to do the right thing.  But have recent Pixar films become too violent for young kids?

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No Internet For You, Young Man

Monday, December 20th, 2010

According to a new study, parents see internet access similar to how they see watching television — especially when it comes to using it as punishment.  More than half of American households take away television viewing privileges as punishment, a figure that has not changed significantly over the last ten years.  What has changed is the number of parents that use internet access as a form of punishment as well.

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Hooters: Prurient Pleasure or Family Fun?

Saturday, December 18th, 2010

Even if you’ve never been to a Hooters restaurant and know nothing about the chain of eateries, chances are you can guess what draws people to them.  Sure, I’ve heard tell the chicken wings are good, but it’s not wings that people think of when they think “hooters”.  Indeed, the company has been successfully sued by men for not being hired as waitstaff and the employee handbook at one time allegedly required female employees to acknowledge and accept that “the essence of the Hooters concept is entertainment through female sex appeal.”

So would you take your kids there?

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How Old For Violence?

Monday, November 29th, 2010

I’m pretty strict about not exposing my kids to any more violence than I absolutely have to.  For us, that has meant that Disney films are for older kids and Harry Potter is right out.  But how old do kids need to be before they can handle some violence?  We’ve hit a situation that is testing our resolve to avoid what we think are inappropriate films.  You see, as surprising as it might be, not everyone feels the same way we do.

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Rated E for Exempt

Monday, June 21st, 2010

Most parents filter the movies their kids get to see.  Depending on what is important to them, parents will mark movies off-limits due to sex, violence, or other adult topics, using such resources as the MPAA guidelines or ratings from sites such as Kids-in-Mind.  However parents judge a movie’s suitability, though, and despite its nearly continuous violence, there is one film that seems to get a free pass onto the screens of almost any young boy.  The question is, can a movie be deemed so socially significant, so culturally important, and so much a classic that it is exempt from normal restrictions?

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