By E K Wills
Sitting in the airport to fly back from a short job interstate, I was wondering what I would write about when my eye was caught by a face I recognized.
Rob Carlton, an actor, had been in town doing the TV show ‘Wanted’ at the SA Film Corporation. It has taken up residence in the majestic old psychiatric asylum at the site next to where I was working in the current mental health facility.
Rob and I had worked together years ago (BC = before children) on a film called You Can’t Stop the Murders. He told me he had been to a recent screening of the film with his 14 year old boys who loved it.
He then commented on it’s content which made me wonder whether I would show my kids. I did a mental note to self to refresh my memory by checking it out before deciding.
I’ve been caught out before by thinking something would be appropriate and suggesting it for our family only to have the kids baulk at the content. Eighties movies are particularly bad for this.
I grew up with them and they were full of smoking, swearing, misogynistic themes (if not at least undertones) and much creepier content, think Edward Scissorhands, Top Gun, and the likes of Purple Rain.
Then I wondered whether I had protected them too much because I recalled when I tried to expose them to the types of series I loved as a kid like Dr Who or Buffy The Vampire Slayer, they got scared.
Admittedly, when I grew up with Dr Who, the sets and the props were dinky and transparent. You knew they weren’t real but it was exciting to suspend disbelief and dive into the make-believe world.
Now digital technology has advanced to the point where special effects are seamless and the line between reality and fantasy is not as obvious to young minds.
I have three children at different stages and it is getting increasingly difficult to come up with watchable options that everyone is happy to endure to the end.
They spend time on individual devices that cater to their particular tastes on demand. There is little delayed gratification and no tolerance for what is timetabled because they can draw on it anytime.
Imagine watching a 22 minute episode of Dr Who one week and having to wait till the following week to continue the thread? Inconceivable.
Our family movie night needs to cater to the lowest common denominator, the youngest child, but interestingly he is keen to watch Deadpool, whereas the girls wouldn’t dream of it.
The middle child likes Eclipse and syrupy romance stories.
The eldest child tries to leave the room and stay out as long as possible checking her phone that we have told her she doesn’t have access to during movie night.
Studio Gibli can only go so far.
It is supposed to be a family event but it is increasingly fragmented.
We have tried one child choosing a movie each week but it resulted in protests. We tried consensus but never came to one so now we, as parents, get to make the choice.
But we are persevering with movie night because it is important to have shared family time even as they get older and it helps them to learn tolerance, sharing and hopefully some family values.
Comments