I am very concerned over Hollywood's passivity regarding the increasing amount of child brutality portrayed in movies. One example lies in the film Mirrors, as it portrays two children being tormented with death - one child's throat is cut, and the other loses consciousness through suffocation underwater. Similarly in The Mist, the main character shoots and kills his son to prevent a worse fate at the hands of giant prehistoric insects. Soon afterward, he discovers the insects were all an illusion, yet his son is still dead. The audience (or at least anyone with a child of their own) is left with that kicked in the gut feeling while walking out of the theatre. (See O'Rourke, 2007, for more commentary on roles that reenact our voyeuristic curiosity about how far the boundaries of innocence can be extended http://www.slate.com/id/2158214/)
Who asked for this?
These disturbing portrayals raise many questions for me¦
Are we being conditioned to swallow more and more violence so that eventually society as a whole will be desensitized to issues of life and death? Furthermore, does this kind of entertainment suggest methodology for those apt (vulnerable) to commit violent acts on children?
As a father, I realize I may be a little hypersensitive to this trend; however, as a parent, I do not think I am alone. At bare minimum, a new rating system should be developed, where a simple warning is added at the beginning of a film (or part of the films packaging) outlining the type of violence to expect (e.g., Language, Drug Use, Nudity, Child Brutality, etc). If you agree with me, and you too would like advanced warning of violence against children in movies, I ask for your support in making it known to the Motion Picture Association of America and the Classification And Rating Administration (CARA). Please sign this petition and then pass it on.Thankyou. Stephen Gary