The scariest thing

Kilarin · Post by **Kilarin** » Fri Sep 14, 2007 7:53 am

http://thelastpsychiatrist.com/2007/09/ ... _ever.html
Ran into this on digg. With very few exceptions, I don't like horror movies, so it's not like I would ever see the new version of \"Halloween\". Just this guys description of it is terrifying enough.

But then he runs into the scariest thing, and it's NOT the movie. It's the fact that a couple brought their 5 and 3 year old kids to see this nightmare.

So, my question: what do you let your kids watch? (or what do your parents let you watch?) Where do you think the limits should be, and at what ages? Do you think what children watch affects them, minimally alters their behavior, and possibly even changes who they are?

Testiculese · Post by **Testiculese** » Fri Sep 14, 2007 8:13 am

I watched Friday the 13th starting when I was 7. Scared me good! I wouldn't recommend it for 3-5 though, too much impression on a 3yo. Should have taken him to a skin flick instead. (I was going to say it's 'more natural' but it seems excessive human brutality is obviously natural as well).

My dad let me watch anything I wanted. I learned and avoided what I didn't like on my own, and he explained the things I didn't understand if I asked him.

Personally, I wouldn't let my kids that age watch todays horror movies because the effects are indistinguishable from real. But I don't think there should be limits. (Should be limits on having kids)

If the kids didn't like it, they'd scream their heads off until they left. If they sat and watched it, well they've apparently already watched enough of it on regular TV as to not have an effect.

It won't change who they are. If they are stable kids, then it will wash right over them. If they are unstable, it doesn't matter if they watch My Little Pony, they will still stick firecrackers in frog mouths.

Flabby Chick · Post by **Flabby Chick** » Fri Sep 14, 2007 9:44 am

My kids are 14, 12 and 4.

The 14 year old girl never has, and never would (i reckon) watch a horror movie. She get's scared if Doctor Who is on in the background. When she watches telly (which is rarely nowadays) she's into survivor and American Idol....yoube the judge on what's scarier.

Me and my 12 year old boy watch war films together. Braveheart, saving private ryan, the great escape ect ect. I won't let him watch horror..actually he's never asked.

My four year old watches spongebob.

Top Wop · Post by **Top Wop** » Fri Sep 14, 2007 4:22 pm

My opinion is that these horror movies are decadent garbage and anyone who enjoys such things needs to see the doctor. And I wonder if those parents who took their kids in probably needs to be looked at by Child & Family Services, taking them to see such movie and at that time of night is probably an indicator that maybe more is going on.

I never really had any restrictions on what to watch, and I never really cared about the things I didn't like, so I never seen them. Overall we were never big on movies like some people are, I think me and my dad went to the movies once or twice a year. After that it was whatever was on TV and thats it.

Topher · Post by **Topher** » Fri Sep 14, 2007 9:23 pm

Flabby Chick wrote:When she watches telly (which is rarely nowadays) she's into survivor and American Idol....yoube the judge on what's scarier.

...

My four year old watches spongebob.

You've listed some of the scariest things on television right there.

grizz · Post by **grizz** » Fri Sep 14, 2007 9:36 pm

My kids don't even get to watch Lord of the Rings 'till they're 9 or 10. the older teens have seen Van Helsing, Riddick, and Underworld. Slashers don't get shown in my home.

The older kids and I watched films like Saving Private Ryan together to give them an idea of the reality of war, though I let them know that realistic as they were, they didn't come close to what it's really like.

I'm sure Flabby Chick's children have a much better handle on those things than mine, living in a country that has been almost continually in a state of war since the 1940's.

I agree with Top Wop, anyone taking a 5 & 3 yr old to something like that needs a visit from CPS.

TIGERassault · Post by **TIGERassault** » Sat Sep 15, 2007 5:03 am

Flabby Chick wrote:she's into survivor and American Idol.

I will make it my duty to make sure that I never get to meet your daughter!

Krom · Post by **Krom** » Sat Sep 15, 2007 8:15 am

I remember watching Aliens when I was 5, I think I saw Alien even before that. Scared the crap out of me, but it wasn't too long before I got over it and stuff on TV couldn't scare me anymore. And I turned out alright.

Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Killy cant be killed...

Dakatsu · Post by **Dakatsu** » Sat Sep 15, 2007 8:48 am

Watched everything from violence to nudity to whatever, I am 14, and so far a happy person.

Ironically, the only thing that has ever scared me to be afraid of the dark was the Descent 3 intro when the Old Scratch sliced that guys head off, for four years after I first saw that I was afraid to be alone, because I thought the scratch bot would get me!

EDIT: Although what is the point of taking a baby to a movie, like they would enjoy it, and they might just start crying and stuff!

Flabby Chick · Post by **Flabby Chick** » Sat Sep 15, 2007 8:49 am

TIGERassault wrote:I will make it my duty to make sure that I never get to meet your daughter!

lol...And i will make it my duty too, bless your cotton socks.

MD-2389 · Post by **MD-2389** » Sat Sep 15, 2007 11:20 am

Dakatsu wrote:Ironically, the only thing that has ever scared me to be afraid of the dark was the Descent 3 intro when the Old Scratch sliced that guys head off, for four years after I first saw that I was afraid to be alone, because I thought the scratch bot would get me!

Clearly you've never played Freespace2.

(Hint: Play the mission "Into the Lion's Den" in a pitch black room. I'm sure most of you know what I'm talking about.

)

Seriously though, 3 - 5 is a bit young to see something on this scale. Poor kids will probably have nightmares for weeks.

I'd say no earlier than 9 or 10.

Firewheel · Post by **Firewheel** » Sat Sep 15, 2007 5:50 pm

Which Freespace 2 mission was that? I don't recall anything particularly scary from that game...

Krom · Post by **Krom** » Sat Sep 15, 2007 6:25 pm

DIVE DIVE DIVE HIT YOUR BURNERS PILOT!!!

I'll admit, I was the bug on the windshield the first time I played that mission, almost spilled my drink in the process.

woodchip · Post by **woodchip** » Sat Sep 15, 2007 7:04 pm

Back when I was a kid horror films were Bela Lugosi as Count Dracula. The scary part was the mood set by night time fogs, creep swamps and wolves howling. Today I guess you need to have a realistic body dismemberment to have \"good\" effects

Kyouryuu · Post by **Kyouryuu** » Sat Sep 15, 2007 10:47 pm

woodchip wrote:Back when I was a kid horror films were Bela Lugosi as Count Dracula. The scary part was the mood set by night time fogs, creep swamps and wolves howling. Today I guess you need to have a realistic body dismemberment to have "good" effects

Ah, Lugosi. Now people probably just think of him from that abused clip from Plan 9 from Outer Space.

It's kind of unfortunate how that's the case, isn't it? While I'm fine with the idea that other people enjoy them, I don't care much for the slasher genre. It is an effortless, crude type of movie to make. I once had a recipe for how to create such a movie (see also: a Sci-Fi Original).

Ingredients:
- One endless forest in Bulgaria, because we can't afford a set and we also can't afford actors.

- A monster. For added impact, tie monster to current events, such as a Manticore being released by an Iraqi scientist (I'm not kidding). We don't have a lot of money, though, so ask the rubber suit makers or the CG artists to make one "moving toward the camera" clip that we can reuse (poor, poor Lugosi).

- The mad scientist. He's mad because the other scientists called him a quack. So, he vows revenge the only way he knows how - by making furries.

- The mad scientist's hot assistant. Because no matter how ugly and depraved the mad scientist is, he can score a big breasted assistant.

- The beefy male lead. Usually a commando with a shady past. Bullets never hit him. The monster never kills him. He wins the girl in the end.

- The sexy female lead. She is there because... um... do we really need a reason?

- The nerd guy who warns everyone of everything, but no one listens to him. We will kill him first because no one wants to listen to his logic, but we need someone to provide the obligatory "Can you say that again in English?" joke.

- The "other woman." She has some issues and a past with the male lead. It will get complicated, but that's alright because the Monster will kill her, conveniently resolving everything.

Procedure
- Go in without a pesky script and start filming!

I prefer the psychological kind of horror. I don't watch horror movies and I can't say games like Resident Evil appeal to me. But the Twilight Zone? That show is freakin' awesome.

Tunnelcat · Post by **Tunnelcat** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 8:31 pm

I remember when I was around six, my parents liked to go to the drive in movies and watch Alfred Hitchcock flicks. They couldn't afford a sitter, so they would put my sister and I in the back seat (she's two years younger than me).

I distinctly remember getting the crap scared out of me during Marnie and The Birds, especially the fire poker murder scene in Marnie and the visions of pecked out eyes in The Birds. The memories are still burned into my brain after all these years.

Those movies are tame compared to movies today. I hate to think what goes through young children's minds viewing modern horror movies.

Kilarin · Post by **Kilarin** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 8:57 pm

My personal belief is that by beholding we become changed. What we watch affects us, ESPECIALLY for very young minds.

When a young child can walk out of a movie billed as \"torture porn\", yawning, I've just got to believe that there has been some very serious desensitization going on.

I don't think it's a good thing that a child can watch realistically simulated graphic murders and not be disturbed by it.

And I know I really shouldn't be, but I AM shocked that parents would allow it.

But then, I suppose I'm on the opposite end of the spectrum. I still get upset when Bambi's mother is shot.

Ferno · Post by **Ferno** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 10:31 pm

ya know what's scary? living in a group home and having to deal with juvenile sexual offenders.

yup, you read that right.

TIGERassault · Post by **TIGERassault** » Wed Sep 19, 2007 11:58 am

Kilarin wrote:I don't think it's a good thing that a child can watch realistically simulated graphic murders and not be disturbed by it.

...are you sure about that? Honestly, I wouldn't say so. I don't see why fear of gore is supposed to be a good thing.

Foil · Post by **Foil** » Wed Sep 19, 2007 12:34 pm

TIGERassault wrote:
Kilarin wrote:I don't think it's a good thing that a child can watch realistically simulated graphic murders and not be disturbed by it.
...are you sure about that? Honestly, I wouldn't say so. I don't see why fear of gore is supposed to be a good thing.

I think Kilarin is right.

It's not about fear or being scared, Tiger. It's about how what you see and hear affects you over time.

For example:
- We say what we hear; kids will repeat the things they heard in movies, even when they don't understand it (and usually at the most inopportune times!)
- Watching porn will eventually give you a screwed-up sense of what sex really is (we've all seen the guys who approach and treat women as sex toys).
- Watching slashers will eventually erode your compassion for people in pain (I've seen people who witnessed someone horribly injured in a traffic accident, laughing! That's disturbing).

Granted, it's the same for adults as for kids, but I think Kilarin's point is still relevant. My wife and I watched "The Last King of Scotland" last week, a film about the dictator Idi Amin and the atrocities he committed. It was bloody and brutal in places, not at all something I would want kids to see. Not just because they could get scared, but because children are still developing their sense of reality. (Disclaimer: Once a kid/teenager is old enough to understand the history behind films like that, it may be a good thing for them to see, as an educational experience.)

Tunnelcat · Post by **Tunnelcat** » Wed Sep 19, 2007 4:24 pm

When a child is between 15 months and 10 years of age, the brain goes through a period of what's called 'neuron pruning', extra connections that are not needed or used are broken or destroyed in a effort to streamline the brain's functions.

During that period, many memories are made permanent, good or bad. Language, grammar and social interaction skills are also formed at this time.

Things that you learn during this time frame are literally hard wired, so I hate to think how some of these movies may be forming the young brains of future members of a civil society.

Duper · Post by **Duper** » Wed Sep 19, 2007 10:01 pm

Ferno wrote:ya know what's scary? living in a group home and having to deal with juvenile sexual offenders.

yup, you read that right.

uh. yur a juvenile sexual offender?!??

Ferno · Post by **Ferno** » Wed Sep 19, 2007 10:06 pm

nope, but they stuck me there for some reason, which still hasn't been explained to me.

Kilarin · Post by **Kilarin** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 5:43 am

Ferno wrote:nope, but they stuck me there for some reason

That stinks.

Duper · Post by **Duper** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 7:10 am

Ferno wrote:nope, but they stuck me there for some reason, which still hasn't been explained to me.

Well, next time you'd better obey curfew, huh?

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