You Got Some 'Splainin' to Do!

I'm on a rant. It's not pretty.

Against my better judgement, we took the Human Cannonball to see Cars 2.  The movie is very heavy on the James Bond theme.  While I usually appreciate Pixar's ability to weave in adult jokes to their kids movies, the inside jokes were a little too outside for my taste.  There was a LOT of shooting, chasing, torturing, and using the phrase, "KILL HIM" (especially in reference to the beloved Lightening McQueen).  I'd heard the reviews (spoiler alert: The reviews are bad), I'd had friends tell me how disappointed (and downright angry) they were after taking their children to see the movie, I'd even thought long and hard about my personal beliefs as a parent (despite the fact that the Human Cannonball was all geared up for the movie - which we got him excited about before the movie was released, we are a family who does not promote pretending to shoot or kill). I'm here to tell you now, I should have listened to my gut and not taken him to the movie.  That's not what I'm all revved up about. Having taken him to see the movie was MY mistake.  I own that.

We are huge fans of the Pixar movie UP.   We have watched it on DVD umptifoo times, and the Human Cannonball will quickly list it in his top five favorites (likely behind all three Toy Story movies). I love the story of Up. I love the relationship between the curmudgeon Carl Fredricksen and the "boy scout" Russell (the Human Cannonball does, too. We have had a series of goldfish named Carl and Russell). I adore the theme of animal rights that weaves through the movie.  I am head over heels for the way the movie defines the big idea of adventure. I am even abundantly satisfied with the themes of death and grief that the film portrays.  I have very, very few gripes about this movie.  And yet, if you check the rating, it is rated PG in response mostly to the aforementioned themes of death and grief (as noted by the Motion Picture Association of America as Some Peril and Action).


Then there's Cars 2. The bulk of the movie is fast moving, shooting, bombing, torturing, action with dialogue about destroying and killing characters.  Yet, the movie carries a G rating. Whether the G rating came as a result of the fact that the cars in the movie are "imaginary characters" vs. "depictions of real people" in my opinion is a moot point. To my child, these cars are as real as I am. I have to agree. I attach myself the characters and their personalities because THE CARS TALK! They don't just need gas every too few miles, or pester you for an oil change every three months. They talk. They have friendships, they fall in love, they have self esteem, they are more than just cars.

Here's where I'm really mad: What is with our culture that we are so jammed up about talking to children about real death? Part of the cycle of life.  People die.  Babies die, Elderly people die, and people of every age in between die. Yet, it appears as though we are perfectly able to reconcile conversations about intent to kill and shooting. Are you with me here?  I was watching the faces of other parents in the theater and wondering if they were as disturbed and aggravated as I was at the theme of the movie and I was surprised that there was no reaction at all on their faces.  I can't tell you how many of my friends (whom I have always, and still do consider really good parents) have thought nothing of the violent themes in the movie. I have sat on countless panels on the topic of how to talk to children about death, and yet I have no idea how to talk to my children about violence and intent to kill.  While I know someday that conversation should and will come, I don't think it's appropriate to have now. I do, however, think that the conversation about death and dying as a part of the life cycle is a vital and appropriate conversation to have at every age and stage.

I'm not mad a Pixar (although, I can't believe that they failed so miserably with Cars 2), and I'm not really mad at the Motion Picture Association of America, after all, they were just responding to our culture.  That's who I'm mad at, our culture. A culture that seems to promote violence and intent to kill as entertainment, but views natural death as too difficult or (dare I say it) REAL to expose people too.

Where are you with this? Are you with me? Or do you think I'm so far off base I should send it an email and get GPS directions to find my way back? Or anywhere in between... I'm up for a civilized discussion...