H
Hildegarda
Guest
Deedlet said:Currently The Hunger Games is rated PG. And from some of the things you all have described I'd give this movie at least a 14-A or 18A rating (depending on how much gore we're talking here) But the idea of children killing children is disturbing on its own merit let alone being shown to kids below the age of 13!
Hunger Games is rated PG-13. But you are right that the ratings can be skewed and hard to interpret. Buffy the Vampire Slayer is rated G. I went to the Hollywood's "Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" which was rated R. I didn't expect to see full-front nudity and a graphic depiction of twisted and violent rape. Even though I read the book and knew what was coming, I choose that moment to leave the theater to run an errand and didn't regret it. It really should have been X-rated, but then, who would go see it?
There are sites now on the internet that provide a more detailed parent guides to each movie. They analyze each movie on a number of criteria and go through exactly what you are going to see. Here is an example from IMBD: _http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1392170/parentalguide. The ratings are a guideline only. Between the ratings, the guides and user reviews, I feel there is enough information available to make a responsible choice, knowing your child, whether to let them see this or that movie. And, the more the concerns are discussed, the better, because more people will be aware that they have to pay attention.
I took my 12 y.o. to see the movie. She has a thicker skin than I do when it comes to visual intensity, but has a healthy prudish attitude to what should or shouldn't be shown. She has read the book. She said that she expected the violent scenes to be worse than they were. I felt the same way. The big reason is the camera work. All the fight scenes were filmed with a jerky, hand-held-camera style, with quick cuts between frames. So the viewer can barely register what's happening: there is a lunge of one figure onto another, a swish of a weapon, and then blood on the grass, that's it. There was a lot less gore and blood than in V for Vendetta, and no depiction of sexual threat of any kind.
Some people weren't happy with this for the opposite reason: they felt that the gory scenes were too non-descript and clean, and THAT, they felt, was desensitizing children to violence. Instead, they felt, the scenes should have been more detailed and real, and the movie rated not shown to children at all. It is hard to please everyone. Again, I am just glad I found those parent guides, and will always look them up for now on.