Why are kids allowed to watch horror movies?

driftingmason19 said:I started watching horror movies around age ten, and my grandfather was already introducing me to adult content even earlier than that. Honestly, the content itself isn't the issue if older generations actually sit down and talk to kids about what they're seeing. If you explain that it’s pure fiction and that such behavior isn't tolerated in real life—which applies to horror movies too 🙂—then it's fine. At the end of the day, parenting is everything...
kids aren't being pushed toward violence by Schwarzenegger movies or action stars who spend the whole film beating someone up just to show off...

I was the one who said it first: blaming violent films is complete nonsense. I'm a huge fan of Schwarzian movies and Bruce Lee, but I've never felt the urge to go out and assault someone, even if they deserved it. Violent movies, Charles Manson's music, violent video games... they're all just convenient excuses for kids who act out. It's the parents who are at fault, not the media.

I'm right there with you, crimsonmoose3.

I once heard someone argue that American action movies actually do more harm by toning down the violence for younger audiences. The idea is that sanitizing the gore makes violence seem trivial, rather than showing its real consequences.
(I can't quite recall who specifically made that point)
... but it's an interesting perspective.
In my view, parenting is everything. You have to talk to your kids about sex and violence because that is the world we live in; it's reality. However, in today's fast-paced society, many parents are either too busy or simply indifferent, leaving their children to be raised by mass media—and I'm not just talking about violent films, but all sorts of programming—or by whatever they pick up on the street. That can be dangerous. It isn't a universal rule, of course; it largely depends on the crowd a kid hangs out with. But if there isn't a parent keeping a watchful eye, things can go south quickly.

If I were a parent, I would have banned my child from listening to Charles Manson long before I’d ever worry about them watching horror movies, if I actually had to choose between the two!!!!

Nicholas Sullivan49 said:If I were a parent, I’d ban my kid from listening to Charles Manson long before I worried about horror movies. If it came down to a choice, that's where I'd draw the line...

Right. And then you'd have to ban Ozzy Osbourne too, lest the kid starts trying to bite the heads off bats they find in the barn...😂

crimsonmoose3 said:Oh sure, because then they'll just start biting the heads off bats they find in the barn if you ban them from listening to Ozzy Osbourne.😂

Look, I'd much rather my kid watch Freddy Krueger or Jason Voorhees than listen to that sick woman who actually tried to kill a child at one of her shows. Honestly, I've seen the shift in my own friends ever since they started listening to her, even though they used to be perfectly fine watching horror movies!!!! I'm not against him personally and I was all for him playing a show in Phoenix, but if I had to choose...

Gerald Rivera60 said:Someone once pointed out that when Hollywood tones down violence in action movies to make them kid-friendly, it actually does more damage than realistic films. It makes all that chaos look way too easy.
(can't quite remember who wrote it)
... interesting point.

And they aren't wrong... the stylized stuff just trivializes everything... but hey, you gotta sell tickets to kids, right? It's a closed loop. :-)
...
Someone asked why society pushes violence but treats sex as taboo... and some nameless guy put it perfectly: modern Western society basically runs on fueling sexual desire and then making sure nobody actually fulfills it. :-)

The thing is, here in the States, there aren't really any laws preventing kids from hitting up the cinema or renting movies with "adult" content. In other Western nations—take the US, for example, where we have http://www.filmratings.com/ an agency that handles ratings to decide who should watch what—there’s a formal rating system. If you want to see a certain flick, you actually have to prove your age to the treasurer at the counter.

The only thing strictly regulated by law is pornographic content; obviously, anyone under 18 isn't supposed to view or rent it (even if video store owners tend to look the other way).

As far as I can tell, CNN has started including age recommendations in their programming to suggest which year of birth should be watching certain shows.

When it comes to movie theaters, we're basically missing the legislation.
The cashiers don't even have the legal authority to turn a kid away from a screening.
What a joke.

crimsonmoose3 said:Oh, sure—then they'll probably go ahead and ban listening to Ozzy Osbourne too—because then some kid might actually try to bite the head off a bat he finds in a barn. 😂

Well, listen—I suppose even some of those dim-witted Americans might actually pull it off—if they could manage to be a bit less foolish.

I suppose—if I'm being honest—there must have been some sort of catalyst that pushed him toward that decision. 🙏🙏

wearygardener13 said:Look, some kids in America might actually pull it off, given how dim they are

I suspect something had to push him to that point 🙏🙏

Maybe alcohol? 😂 😂 I mean, didn't Ozzy Osbourne drink like a sponge? 😁

It’s basically this:

A 10-year-old kid: "Mom, Mom, I wanna go to the movies with my buddies!"
MOTHER: "Alright, fine, but what are you guys even planning to watch?"
THE KID: "I believe in love. Just give me the cash, come on!!"
.
.
And then they head out to watch a bloodbath...

Why on earth do we allow children to sit there and watch horror movies? Honestly, why even ask such a question... the answer is staring us right in the face.
It’s because it serves an educational purpose.

David Lynch said:it's basically this:

10-YEAR-OLD SON: "Mom, Mom, I want to go to the movies with my friends!"
MOTHER: "Alright, fine, but what are you planning on watching?"
10-YEAR-OLD SON: "I believe in love. Just give me the cash, please!!"
.
.
and they head out to watch a slaughterfest...

Honestly, a massacre is a much better choice than some romantic drama about believing in love. 😁

crimsonmoose3 said:Honestly, I’d much rather sit through a bloody massacre than watch a movie about believing in love. 😁

👍 😁

I suppose movies that lean heavily on those "true love conquers all" tropes are a bit tiresome. Then again, it's a direct result of people being conditioned to crave them through various other social institutions.
The whole idea that romantic love is the ultimate purpose of human existence—which seems to be shoved into about 80% of Hollywood movies—is essentially a distraction. It keeps people from focusing on much more pressing issues, like wealth redistribution and systemic inequality, though I won't veer too far off-topic from this film subforum.
It’s not that love itself isn't important, but it needs to be properly prioritized.

Gerald Rivera60 said:I guess those movies peddling that "eternal soulmate" and "love conquers all" crap are pretty trashy. But then again, people keep watching them because they’ve been brainwashed by every other social institution to think that way.
The whole idea that love is the ultimate goal of human existence is shoved into about 80% of movies just to distract everyone from actual issues, like wealth redistribution and stuff—not that I want to get too political here in the "Movies" subforum.
I'm not saying love isn't important, but it needs to be put in its proper place.

And that's point number one 😁... honestly, I don't think it's even about the content, it's more about how that "love" is packaged. The kind of love these movies talk about is something people have only ever actually seen on screen.😁

Let’s break this down: there’s this general consensus that television basically "corrupts people," especially kids—and I’m talking about today’s generation specifically, since parents tend to give them way too much leeway, turning TV into more than just a distraction, but an actual lifestyle choice. And what is the screen actually feeding them? You've got 1. violence, 2. a totally distorted view of reality, and so on and so forth...

Growing up, the one movie that actually managed to get under my skin was Ghostbusters—I don't know if anyone else remembers that shot of the ghost-infested photo from the first film, but that thing genuinely terrified me. I was right around that elementary school age, maybe nine or ten, which is funny because I’d already sat through Pet Sematary, The Thing, and a whole mountain of other 80s horror flicks and slashers without breaking a sweat. Those were all fine, but they didn't rattle me. Aside from the sheer terror of Elm Street and Freddy Krueger, nothing else really hit that specific level of childhood dread for me. 🙂

darksurfer26 said:When I was a kid, my biggest fear was actually Ghostbusters—specifically that scene with the ghost-infested photo in the first movie. That haunted me. I was maybe nine or ten at the time, and even though I’d already sat through Pet Sematary, The Thing, and a whole pile of other 80s horror and slashers, none of them touched me. Only A Nightmare on Elm Street and Freddy Krueger actually managed to scare me back then, and those were clearly categorized as horror... 🙂

Yeah, I had a similar experience. As a kid, I was watching movies like The Thing, Proteus, Alien... Then during puberty, I hit a phase where I didn't want to touch horror at all (though I watched everything else; damn, I really regret missing Warlock 2). Now? I watch just about anything...

So, I'm 17, and honestly? I’ve only watched a tiny handful of horror movies in my entire life—mostly because I just can't wrap my head around them. I don't really get why kids my age seem to be so obsessed with them, you know? Every time a nasty scene comes on, I pretty much lose it—like, I'm actually grossed out—but it seems like everyone else is just totally desensitized to it already. It's wild.