Spider-Man

[Susan]

What i find amusing is how adults act when young kids see violence in a movie. Not anything gorey like beheading or guts but just violence. They have the need to say "ohhh thats kinda scary. What a bad man". I don't remember my parents constantly trying to explain or justify what was on the tube. 

On Christmas the Spiderman movie was on and my "just turned 5" year old nephew was watching the fight scene between spiderman and the green goblin. The adults in the room instantly react by trying to distract him with conversation. I smiled and sat back, remember exactly what it was like at his age to be totally into these kids of movies. Although he says he'll be a fireman when he grows up he's really into superheros: superman, spiderman, iron man. He even got a superhero cape for his birthday

So anyhow, there we are with Spider-man fighting the Green Goblin. He's completely immersed in the movie with his spiderman pajamas, paying no attention to anyone in the room. The green goblin is impaled against the wall, dying. The room falls quiet and suddenly we hear my nephew whisper to himself before the goblin even spoke....

"peter, don't tell harry"

it was only the coolest thing ever! ;-)
I was glad I bought him that spiderman blanket for xmas

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6B7d_Hi9gw

[Mr. DS]

The adults in the room instantly react by trying to distract him with conversation.

I don't recall my parents ever doing this either.  I'd watch all sorts of stuff with my brother like Jaws, Poltergeist and Nightmare On Elm Street.  He took a different approach of putting me in a headlock when the gory parts came.  I kind of figured out on my own who was bad. 

I was watching Return Of The Jedi with my two year old the other day.  Other than the part where the Rancor eats the guard in Jabba's palace, I kind of kept the first part of the movie edit free for him. 

[Susan]

I think we overthink every little thing like it's going to traumatize the child. They realize it's a movie and all fantasy. My folks kept saying "i'm really scared, that's scary!" to encourage him to feel ok about being scared. I just said "Well it looks like he takes after his aunt sue"..lol

who btw was watching horror movies at a very young age

I kept thinking these are the same parents who raised me and who let us watch Creepshow, and let me rent whatever i wanted be in chainsaw massacre or hellraiser. And yet when sex came on my dad would go get popcorn and distract everyone.

[Mr. DS]

My mother was dead set against me watching anything but my father and brother kept the materials not subtible for my eyes flowing.  I will never forget this one time my dad popped in a tape someone at work let him borrow.  It was a few standup comedians and the first one started telling a d*ck joke.  My mother, who happened to be in the room, started yelling at him to shut it off.  I wish he didn't, the joke was funny and i would have liked to hear more. 

[Susan]

My mother was dead set against me watching anything but my father and brother kept the materials not subtible for my eyes flowing.  I will never forget this one time my dad popped in a tape someone at work let him borrow.  It was a few standup comedians and the first one started telling a d*ck joke.  My mother, who happened to be in the room, started yelling at him to shut it off.  I wish he didn't, the joke was funny and i would have liked to hear more. 

lol The funny thing is it was reverse in my house. My mom didn't really seem to care. When we watched movies as a family they weren't kid movies. I remember watching "An american werewolf in London" and we got through all the scenes with the attacks and gore. But as soon as they started having sex I had to go to bed. dammit!

So the time dad rented "Octop***y" for us me and my brother kept snickering at the title.

[Rev. Powell]

My mom loved horror movies and was grateful that I was interested in them as a kid so she would have someone to watch them with.  I could see all the gore I cared to (though she really didn't care for gory movies), but whenever a naked breast came onscreen I would be directed to cover my eyes.  Of course, she couldn't watch my hand and the screen at the same time, so it was pretty easy to sneak a peek through my fingers to catch a glimpse of the forbidden fruit.

I've sometimes wondered whether this formative experience helped make onscreen nudity much more thrilling for me, so I still feel a little bit delightfully naughty when I see a bare breast on screen.  Either that, or I'm a normal heterosexual male.