Postby Mithrandir » Thu Dec 04, 2003 8:25 pm
Well, I can't say that I would recommend this to 'all teenagers.' In my experiance, (note: I don't mean to start a debate here, or to hurt anyone's feelings. I was probably the single most guilty example of this.) not all teenagers are ready. A few (like me) wouldn't have been able to grasp the true meaning of it. In fact, they wouldn't have got much out of it at all. It would have been, 'cool' and 'deep,' but that's pretty much it. I've noticed a good many of the teens we have on CAA are probably mature enough to get the point, but it doesn't really mean they should see it. Facing the reality of war FORCES you to grow up. Of course watching a movie is different from being in a war, but the idea is the similar.
(warning, oldphil is gonna tangent here and philibuster) I'm discovering more and more that reality is bad enough with being forced to deal with it when you are young. I think one should never, ever force a child to grow up before they are ready. I'm not refering to discipline. I'm talking about things like making them face the reality of death or war. Most of the gut wrenching episodes in my life have been watching kids (8-14) deal with the loss of a parent. I lost my own mother after a 3 year battle with cancer, which she lost because an insurance company wouldn't fork out the money for a bone marrow transplant. I was forced to grow up then, because I had to do my own cleaning, cooking etc. I just can't stomach watching that happen to other kids. I guess I'm too much of an old softie. But it's not just death. There are so many areas of life that are bad enough when you have to deal with them; you don't need to embrace them early on. (OK, that's enough philibusterin' for now.)
I guess my point is that, I just can't feel comfortable, showing something to people that will steal a litle bit of their inosence away. It'll happen eventually. When they start getting cynical, perhaps then something like this movie would be helpful in putting the 'human element' back into it.
But who knows, in 20 years I may change my view on this entirely. Perhaps my 'idealism' here is unwarrented. I don't know.
Hope I didn't offend anyone there. It's just my opinion.