Is films with very young kids using guns/weapons a step too far?

Biggins

Question: Is films with very young kids using guns/weapons a step too far?

There is a film coming out in April (Kick Ass) that is going to cause a serious crap load of debate. Why? Just see these two clips below!
Watch them then tell me what you think.
Seriously, it looks like a kick ass film (no pun intended) and according to some early reviews, the acting by most (especially the young girl) is outstanding.
See this review here for example:

Hit-Girl is going to make the Daily Mail schit kittens.

The British tabloids will most likely have a field day with the character. They'll ignore the fact that her depiction is as much of a challenge to the sexualisation of any female icon by society, or that that she has the films' best scenes with her on-screen father Damon Macready (played lovingly by Nicolas Cage), which manage to be sweet, endearing and blackly comic.
I'd already heard that Chloe Moretz is a revelation as Hit-Girl/Mindy Macready, but I had no idea exactly how fantastic her performance would be. She plays the young daughter with the same adeptness that she portrays the superhero assassin and, my god, is ‘assassin' the word. The problem is she's 12. Just her age raises an issue, but her performance is a work of perfection, never feeling mawkish or twee, and will call upon a thousand comparisons (and rightly so) to Natalie Portman in Leon. There's still going to be quite a debate arising from her performance, though.

Source: HERE

Anyway, the trailer...

Is this a step too far, just in the name of entertainment?

Poster:

admiralofthefleet

kids swearing is so funny

Biggins

admiralofthefleet wrote: »

kids swearing is so funny

"Aaa... I'm just fcuking with you daddy"
and
"Ok you cnuts, lets see what you can do now!"
Now that in a trailer from a supposedly appearing sweet 12 year old, I wasn't expecting! :pac:

...but still, the gun/weapons issue has me uneasy.

Bonito

Kid dressed up as super hero, swearing, using guns, fights bad guys.



EPIC WIN!

Biggins

It already has "sequel" running through it!

Local-womanizer

Inevitably their will be people who will give out sh1te about it,how it will have kids out on the streets with hand-guns and stuff.

But it is a black comedy,intended for adults. Cant really see a problem with it.

At first I thought it would be highlighting the plight of child-soldiers around the world,but I was way off!

Captain_Generic

The kid getting shot was a bit disturbing, but hey, its just a movie

we'llallhavetea_old

i am disturbed after watching that. but yes, kids swearing is funny.

admiralofthefleet

like bad santa, but for adults

mikom

Biggins wrote: »

Is films with kids using guns a step too far?

.........her on-screen father Damon Macready (played lovingly by Nicolas Cage),

To be honest I'd be more concerned about Nicolas Cage

ToniTuddle

Only problem I have is the whole purple hair thing. Don't like it.

admiralofthefleet

i cant wait to see it

Abi

admiralofthefleet wrote: »

kids swearing is so funny

+1


Me, Myself and Irene; when that little chick tells Charlie to fuck off...



That was pretty cool.























Way cooler when he stuck her face in a fountain though


*eyelashes*

:pac:

mikom

ToniTuddle wrote: »

Only problem I have is the whole purple hair thing. Don't like it.

Just think of it like lazytown with swearing...

Biggins

ToniTuddle wrote: »

Only problem I have is the whole purple hair thing. Don't like it.

The characters are based on a series of comics and how they were portrayed in them.





and in the film (when not in disguise):

ToniTuddle

Biggins wrote: »

The characters are based on a series of comics and how they were portrayed in them.

Ahhh I get you now.

What rating will this film have when it hits the cinemas?

admiralofthefleet

Abigayle wrote: »

+1


Me, Myself and Irene; when that little chick tells Charlie to fuck off...



That was pretty cool.























Way cooler when he stuck her face in a fountain though


*eyelashes*

:pac:

yeah forgot about me, myself and irene

'the names hank, fuckface':D

Biggins

ToniTuddle wrote: »

Ahhh I get you now.
What rating will this film have when it hits the cinemas?

In Ireland, I'm assuming/guessing 16+ (very open to be wrong).

For the record, I'm looking forward to seeing it myself - but as a parent of four young kids, am I compromising my ethical and moral principles for the sake of sheer entertainment?
Its a (daft?) internal battle that keeps knocking at the door of my conscience.

Bonito

Biggins wrote: »

In Ireland, I'm assuming/guessing 16+ (very open to be wrong).

For the record, I'm looking forward to seeing it myself - but as a parent of four young kids, am I compromising my ethical and moral principles for the sake of sheer entertainment?
Its a (daft?) internal battle that keeps knocking at the door of my conscience.

Understandable. You hardly want you're daughter turning around and laughingly saying "ah I'm just fúcking with you daddy"

Then again it depends on how you're own are influenced really with swear words being seen as funny and what not

lizardfudge

The whole thing seems to be a sort of a piss take on the super hero genre.

It's highlighting how strange it is for a characters like Batman to take on an orphan kid and train him to punch muggers in the face because of his own screwed up childhood.

Dudess

I used to love Bugsy Malone as a kid and I turned out all right...

AlmightyCushion

we'llallhavetea wrote: »

i am disturbed after watching that

Nicolas cage has that affect on a lot of people.

Son Of A Vidic

WTF! was that? Totally unbelievable of course but I'd say it's a laugh.

Bonito

Is it just me or when the girl is in her costume did anybody get the impression of the riddler/joker/trent all in one :pac:

admiralofthefleet

Dudess wrote: »

I used to love Bugsy Malone as a kid and I turned out all right...

so did gary glitter and look what happened to him


i cant wait to see this, looks hilarious.
i remember when bad santa came out it got a (then) 15's accompanied cert, there was murder when parents brought their kids to see it.

favourite line from bad santa: 'what your my mom now, once you shat me out of your fucking womb'

starbelgrade

'City of God' features a lot of kids with guns. It's a harrowing story but well worth watching.. one of the best films I've ever seen - the documentary that comes with the DVD is even more disturbing as it's a 100% real life look at the gangland sh*t that still goes on in Rio de Janeiro to this day.

Dudess

admiralofthefleet wrote: »

so did gary glitter and look what happened to him

Oh well I... eh... hate it now.







/throw out Bugsy Malone DVD

Helix

shes an actress, in an acting role, in a movie

i fail to see the issue here?

its pretend, and its for adults

K4t

That film looks like a load of rubbish. Nicolas cage is in it ffs.

Kids using profanities and guns in films? I see nothing wrong with it to be honest, as long as other kids don't get to see it, as in the certificate should be 15.

Many kids do swear and some do use guns. Good producers/directors will portray this on screen to achieve realism etc. With regards this film? There is no realism. The kid is swearing and using a gun as purely a novelty. It's a gimmick.

Shows like the Wire show youngsters swearing and shooting each other dead to convey reality, the reality of many youngster's lives in American inner cities. I have no problem with it occuring here at all. It's not simply being done as a gimmick to get people to watch the show but rather to as I said, convey realism and create a realistic tv show.

starbelgrade

The trailer looks good - very Japanese. Shame about Cage being in it though.. he past his sell by date after "Raising Arizona".

As for kids with guns? If they can shoot that well, bring it on!

Victor

K4t wrote: »

Kids using profanities and guns in films? I see nothing wrong with it to be honest, as long as other kids don't get to see it, as in the certificate should be 15.

A 15 cert is "15 accompanied".

http://www.ifco.ie/website/ifco/ifcoweb.nsf/web/15pgguidelines?OpenDocument&type=graphic

15A

Films classified in this category are considered to be suitable for those of fifteen and upwards. They may also be seen by younger children provided a parent or adult guardian accompanies them.

Depending on the actual content of the rest of the film, I would think at least 16.

http://www.ifco.ie/website/ifco/ifcoweb.nsf/web/16guidelines?OpenDocument&type=graphic

16

Films classified in this category are considered to be suitable for persons of sixteen or over. Children under this age cannot be admitted to cinemas.

starbelgrade

Do kids get I-ded (how do you say that?) at cinemas?

Piste

Yes, used to piss me off so much when I was younger and didn't want to go carrying my passport around with me.

Victor

starbelgrade wrote: »

Do kids get I-ded (how do you say that?) at cinemas?

IDed? Now half as much as they should.

homerun_homer

Who gives a crap, this film looks like it's going to be one of the best of 2010. Hit Girl is cool.

Kids with guns, who is at fault - the parents/society? Films are just an easy target. A kid can't go buy a gun, but if they can easily pick one up in their home because their parents have it in a drawer then there is noone else to blame but the parents.

"Oooooh the Matrix is at fault for the Columbine shootings!!" - Shag off.

Asmodean

Ah look now to be honest if a kid is 'Motivated' by a film to grab a handgun and run onto the streets shooting people chances are they were always going to do it no matter what media 'influenced' them. I grew up watching violent films / playing violent computer games etc etc ( I know technically I shouldn't have because I was underage ) and I grew up absolutely fine! TBH I think it actually helped my imagination / mind to develop more because I wasn't blinkered with an oversaturation to 'Kid friendly' sources of media.

The laughably ironic outcome of the PC brigade kicking up a storm over these things means that the product in question is getting millions of pounds of free publicity with all these shenanigans.

In all fairness a hell of a lot of people aren't going to see this trailer and think " Oh good Lord how terribly impressionable on the youth of today to have children portrayed as crime fighting vigilantes." They are going to say " Wow that looks sort of unique and interesting, gotta go see it when it comes out."

pickarooney

Films like Blood Diamond, you mean?

CrazyRabbit

Anyone who has a problem with this movie has a hard time telling the difference between reality and fantasy.

The same people who won't go swimming in the ocean for months after seeing a Jaws movie, or who won't go into dark rooms for fear of a serial killer lurking in the shadow.

Who cares what this fictional character does in a fictional universe created for entertainment. It's not real.

TPD

For some people, it's a step too far. For others, it's not. Whoever thinks it is a step too far, don't watch it. Problem solved

xsiborg

what next?

"three men diddle a little lady", because its funny, in name of "entertainment"?

children with guns is not any way "funny" in any respect, much less a father taking pot shots at his daughter!

i hope this doesn't even go straight to DVD, but any hopes of en masse distribution are dashed thanks to the internet and video sharing sites!

im in no way a mary whitehouse advocate but is there no line we won't cross in the name of "entertainment"?

citizen_p

no its a movie ffs.....
get over it.

AnonoBoy

xsiborg wrote: »

what next?

"three men diddle a little lady", because its funny, in name of "entertainment"?

There's no mention of sexual abuse in the film so your jumping to that as the next step is just you being sensationalist.

children with guns is not any way "funny" in any respect, much less a father taking pot shots at his daughter!

In those clips, yes it is quite funny. It's called black comedy.

i hope this doesn't even go straight to DVD

Hope away. This film is going to do huge business.

im in no way a mary whitehouse advocate but is there no line we won't cross in the name of "entertainment"?

Some lines we shouldn't cross. Depicting a kid with a gun in a film for adults isn't one of those lines though.

The film will definitely get at least a 16+ and most likely a 18+ cert.

The kid uses the c word in one of those clips, that alone will probably guarantee a 16+ cert. And then there's the violence....


But yes I expect a Joe Duffy programme devoted to this as some idiot parents will ignore the certs and take their kids to it on the basis that it's a superhero film and "Joe, aren't all superhero films for the kids? And sure I'm too thick and f*cking lazy to do my job as a parent and supervise the films my kid watches so instead I'm going to be outraged after the fact and make a non-sensical argument using whatever sh*te logic comes into my head. Won't somebody think of the children????!!!!!"

Herbal Deity

xsiborg wrote: »

im in no way a mary whitehouse advocate but is there no line we won't cross in the name of "entertainment"?

No, there are no lines that shouldn't be crossed.

Fuck censorship.

Everyone has the choice not to view any film they think they might find distasteful.

The movie looks pretty crap tbh. And pretty tame compared to the likes of Battle Royale, which features gratuitous and gruesome children-on-children violence.

Oh, and if parents are going to get outraged over this movie, why, on the other hand, do they insist on giving their children (mainly their sons) toy knives, guns, soldiers etc.?

Nevyn

Child soliders do exist, child assains and child terrorists.
This is nothing new.

As for the movie being made of the anime Gunslinger girls
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunslinger_Girl
I am looking forward to it.

minidazzler

That film looks AWESOME!! Thanks for showing it Biggins, I hadn't heard of it yet! Can't wait until it comes out!!!

xsiborg

ok, honestly i hadnt meant to be sensationalist, we obviously dont share the same sense of humor...

the movie looks a bit like spy kids with guns, the dialog is terrible, the acting looks like it was ripped from a manga movie plot, it's really just not my kind of film.

it will only be big business depending on how many people pay to choose to watch it, which remains to be seen. me personally im sure it'll have it's cult following but among mainstream movie go-ers? i couldn't imagine avatar or titanic proportions.

interview with the films starlet here:

http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1630006/story.jhtml

interviewer made me cringe tbh!

and reading through this article made me feel like this film was made for the emo 4chan generation:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kick-Ass

i have nothing to worry about methinks...

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1250777/

RIODEJ

I believe the media in europe are very irresponsible

I love a good action film but all this content isnt suitable for kids, thats why the world has got so violent, many people are very disrespectful to others in general.

Many films have content such as sex, bad language, sadistic acts, horror, rape. all done with intense special effects to make them look 100% real and often 100% acceptable.

Kids of 10/12 are watching this even when its rated 18. This has negative effects on the minds of kids and adults too. Kids and people learn new things from what they see

In sweden tv ads targeted at kids are not allowed. i think this is great, ads brainwashing kids with silly toys and sweets etc is unhealthy, then they go into a shop and drive their parents mad when they see a lolly pop that was glamourised on a tv ad. The media and adults in general need to be more responsible and not be always embracing the pollution of capitalism and greed

DamoDLK

Kinda like Stephanie from lazy town - well just gone a bit nuts..

TPD

RIODEJ wrote: »

I believe the media in europe are very irresponsible

I love a good action film but all this content isnt suitable for kids, thats why the world has got so violent, many people are very disrespectful to others in general.

Many films have content such as sex, bad language, sadistic acts, horror, rape. all done with intense special effects to make them look 100% real and often 100% acceptable.

Kids of 10/12 are watching this even when its rated 18. This has negative effects on the minds of kids and adults too. Kids and people learn new things from what they see

In sweden tv ads targeted at kids are not allowed. i think this is great, ads brainwashing kids with silly toys and sweets etc is unhealthy, then they go into a shop and drive their parents mad when they see a lolly pop that was glamourised on a tv ad. The media and adults in general need to be more responsible and not be always embracing the pollution of capitalism and greed

So the media are failing because the adults ignore the films age rating? Everyone should only be able to watch childrens films?

GTFO

Midnight_EG

Biggins wrote: »

Question: Is films with very young kids using guns/weapons a step too far?

There is a film coming out in April (Kick Ass) that is going to cause a serious crap load of debate. Why? Just see these two clips below!
Watch them then tell me what you think.
Seriously, it looks like a kick ass film (no pun intended) and according to some early reviews, the acting by most (especially the young girl) is outstanding.
See this review here for example:


Source: HERE

Anyway, the trailer...

Is this a step too far, just in the name of entertainment?

Poster:

Rarely is the question asked 'Is our kids learning?'. In this case, grammar.


Thanks Jorg Dubya!

kowloon

The film reminds me of the below clip. It's a little dodgy. You know there are people who look on it all in a different light.

Clip has NSFW language so I'm not embedding it.