Age certificates are for a reason

12:56pm Thursday 9th August 2012 in Letters

I WAS shocked to hear about the American movie theatre massacre at the midnight showing of The Dark Knight Rises the other week. Surely this gives rise to the debate about taking children to late-night screenings. Most of the victims were children and there was one baby. How wise it is to take very young children to film screenings of violent movies. The Dark Knight Rises is rated 12A, which means that children under 13 years of age can still see the film if they are accompanied by an adult. Kids as young as three months old were injured. Why are we taking babies to screenings of this film?

Sadly the majority of films are now 12A. It seems like ages since I last saw a 15 or 18 rated film at the Odeon cinema. The problem with a 12A rating is that you often get kids messing about and giggling at scenes that are not even funny.

GARRY HAMMOND

Latchford

Comments(5)

Nick Tessla says...
1:25pm Thu 9 Aug 12

AMERICAN movie theatre


therefore not "we" - them


AMERICAN movie theatre therefore not 12a certificate - that's a UK rating

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grey_man says...
3:02pm Thu 9 Aug 12

It's a good point about kids messing about. I know they don't have a monopoly on selfish and idiotic behaviour but I always try to make sure I'm nowhere near groups of kids when I go to the cinema.

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silverlady54 says...
9:13am Mon 13 Aug 12

Whichever country, taking young children to a midnight showing of a film is bad parenting. it's not as if they won't have another chance to take them at a more reasonable time. It was clearly more about the parents wanting to be at the first showing of the film and is a selfish act.

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Chijo1 says...
12:43pm Tue 14 Aug 12

I'm confused... so it would have been okay if it were all adults at this screening that got shot? And even during school holidays you send your children to bed early? Come on! Lord of the Rings had midnight screenings with kids in the audiance, it's part of the excitment, going to the first screening of an eagerly anticipated movie, esecially Batman! Why do people over the look the obvious? It wasn't the movie or a video game that caused this. It was a nut job with a gun that caused this!

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choperado says...
11:09pm Wed 29 Aug 12

Chijo1 what are you on about. of course its preferred adults are shot rather than kids. The point is the sardonic parents inappropriately taking kids to a violent movie in the middle of the night. Not acceptable parenting by most standards, except perhaps your low ones. It doesn't matter it was holidays or even if it was a kids birthday. Good parents have morals, principles and set limits for their offspring. There is nothing for kids after 9pm just inappropriate TV or trouble if outside. They should be in Bed! Perhaps reading an appropriate book/comic if you allow them to stay up a little later.
Their is something wrong with someone who takes a newborn to a cinema and something wrong with the staff allowing it.
That's the US of A for ya, United states of Arseh0les.

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