Friday, July 24, 2009

Don't Judge the Movie By The Title

A couple of weekends ago, David and I went to see the Transformers sequel while River was out of town on vacation. David has watched the first Transformers many times, and, I've seen most of it, as I have a bad habit of sleeping through movies, especially guy movies. What I remembered of it, though, was that it was a decent action flick, without a lot of content that totally turned me off.

So, we went to Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. We got to the box office, bought our tickets, received our free coloring book with coupon to Party City for a themed Transformers birthday party merchandise, picked up our popcorn, and settled in to watch the movie.

The movie began. The list of reasons to not let a child anywhere near the movie theater grew with almost every minute of the movie. But, hey, it was an action flick and I should have expected some of those things to be included. It was PG-13, I fact that I discovered after the movie when I was seriously hoping it didn't carry just a PG rating. The language, sexual content, and references to drug and alcohol use was surprising to me in a movie based on toys.

My intention with this post is not to write a movie review. There are great reviews at Plugged In Online that I suggest every parent read before letting their children watch any movie. My point is this. Transformers are a toy. The movie is based on children toys. The movie is marketed to children. They even gave out a coloring book. How many 13 year old boys do you know that want a coloring book and a themed birthday party? With all the hype and marketing, it is so easy for a parent to assume that a movie is just the average flick aimed at children. But, it's not. Obviously, as a Christian parent, my opinion of what should be included in a movie marketed to children was quite different than the writers and producers that must not have the same worldview as I do. I want my child to become a wholesome, devoted, follower of Christ. The themes in this movie, and many other movies and television shows marketed to kids, would be in direct conflict with the loving, grace-filled, Christ like attitude that I want my child to have as she grows up.

So, when choosing a movie for children, don't judge it by the title. Even though it is overgrown toys on screen, that does not mean the movie is meant for kids. If you want your children to grow up to be fully devoted followers of Christ, ask yourself if what they are watching or listening to is helping to accomplish this goal, and if it is not, turn it off.

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