A reader named Sean writes:
“Hi
John, have a question for you. I know we have children about the same age and I
was curious about which (or any) horror films you have shown him. I also have a
son 14 years of age who loves horror films and has seen pretty much every classic
horror film (that I view as acceptable). For some reason I feel more protective
of my younger boy and just wanted your opinion on what you view as appropriate.”
Sean, since Halloween is approaching, your question is a
timely, as well as very interesting one.
I sense from your question that you may feel that younger boy
isn’t quite ready at this point for a diet of the classic horror films, so I
would say first, go with your gut.
Nobody knows your son better than you do, and if something is
holding you back or making you think twice, pay that instinct heed.
My son, Joel, just turned six, and he is a horror movie fan
who has not watched any horror
movies, which sounds weird. Basically,
he loves for me to tell him horror movie stories on the drive to school, and
also at bedtime. Instead of fairy tales,
we do prequels, sequels and re-boots.
I have told him the
stories of all the Halloween, Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street
and Chucky movies, for instance.
Also, he often asks me to tell him an X-Files, or a Twilight
Zone episode. The Twilight Zone stories are
probably his favorites of all. Joel even
attended the horror convention with me, Mad Monster Party, for a little while
last spring.
In terms of what he actually watches, Joel loves
Scooby Doo, The Drac Pack, and The Real Ghostbusters. We saw ParaNorman in theaters
together last month, and he liked it but didn’t love it.
Two days ago we saw Hotel Transylvania and he loved that
one.
I would like to show Joel more horror films and TV episodes,
but as his mother reminds me, once a scary image is seen, it can’t be
unseen. I’ve written about this incident
before, but I made a bad mistake some time back and let Joel see the Michael
Jackson video Thriller on YouTube. I just didn’t think he would find it
scary, especially because he loved the “Are You Ready for Freddy” Fat Boys
video.
But when Michael Jackson’s eyes started to glow and he looked
like a ravenous zombie, Joel was indeed scared.
And I was mortified and guilt-ridden.
And my wife was not happy.
So I have decided to take it slow in terms of exposing Joel
to the genre I love so much. The horror
movies will still be there when Joel is a little older, so there’s no need to
rush. I do think that though Joel has a
great vocabulary and a keen mind, not to mention good social skills, he’s a
little younger at six than I was, if that makes sense. I can’t imagine him watching
the “Dragon’s Domain” episode of Space: 1999, even now, and I saw it
first when I was five.
I suspect this difference arises because we have a much
clearer delineation today between family movies and adult movies than we did in
the 1970s. When I was a kid, it was
natural for parents to take kids to see Logan’s Run and Invasion of the Body Snatchers
in the theaters simply because there weren’t many suitable children’s movies as
alternatives. Today there is a veritable
industry of kid-themed entertainment, and I would wager that’s a very good
thing. So I’m just going to watch
mindfully while Joel is on that track, and not push him into anything too adult
that might disturb him.
That established, I feel like I’m dying for him to watch
“Dragon’s Domain” and some classics (like The Mummy or Frankenstein) with
me. But every time I push, I remember my
lesson vis-à-vis Thriller.
It sounds like you are feeling very much the same way. You want to share your love of horror with
your younger son, but some gut instinct is holding you back.
Sounds like you’re a very good dad.
Unlike little kids, we can be patient. I’m living for the day I can watch the “Space
Vampire” episode of Buck Rogers with Joel, but in the meantime just enjoying The
Real Ghostbusters and movie fare like Hotel Transylvania.
Don’t forget to ask me
questions at Muirbusiness@yahoo.com
I am personally so glad that I grew up in the 70's and was a 13 year old in 1982 as opposed to today. It is doubtful, with the kid-industrial-movie-complex that exists today, that I would have been exposed to classic horror as a kid. I was taken to 'Alien' when I was 10, 'Friday the 13th' at age 11, 'The Howling' at 12, and 'The Thing' when I was 13. Visceral horror films early and often. As a matter of fact, the ticket guy in the theater actually tried to talk my mother out of taking me inside to see the 'The Thing', saying it was scarier than 'The Exorcist'.
ReplyDeleteOne method that was employed with my young nephew, who is now 16 is that he was allowed to look at all the horror films like 'The Ring' and 'Blair Witch Project' on dvd only, the caveat being that upon completion of the film, he had to watch the making of special features to reinforce the fact that it is just a movie, with actors, directors and special fx. It seems to have helped because he was never scared past the initial viewing of the film. This is a tactic that I would employ if ever I am to become a parent.