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Parents in UAE worry about effect of violent movies

Many believe that children should not be allowed to watch films with horror, nudity or profanities.

  • By Vinti Laungani, Community Journalist
  • Published: 23:43 August 20, 2008
  • Gulf News

  • The release of Hellboy II in UAE cinemas on Friday marks a stream of consecutive violent movies that have parents worried.
  • Image Credit: Supplied Picture
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Dubai: Ever since she watched a scary scene in a detective television show, 10-year-old American expatriate Sabrina Hoss has trouble taking a shower without peering out in fear every few minutes.

"There was a really scary scene in a TV show called Monk, and after watching it, I've been too afraid to draw the shower curtain," she said.

The release of Hellboy II in UAE cinemas today marks a stream of consecutive violent movies that have parents worried.

Sabrina's mother, Shazzie Hoss, said: "Movies like these make kids numb to violence because they see an actor dying in a movie, and then in another movie the actor is alive, so children don't understand it. It's extremely unrealistic."

She believes that children should not be allowed to watch movies with violence, nudity, horror or profanities.

Bassim Boulos, an Egyptian expatriate with a nine-year-old son, agrees.

"Personally, I don't like children watching violent or horror films, but sometimes there is no way around it. I prefer to go with my children, because that way I can explain that it is just a character in a movie, it's not real," he said.

For nine-year-old Turki Bohassan, an expatriate from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, watching movies with graphic violence is not an option. His older brother, Farhad, said: "I won't let my brother watch The Dark Knight. I think it's better if children don't watch such violent movies."

However, when Gulf News caught up with 14-year-old British expatriate Tom Ginge on his way in to watch the Batman sequel, he was opposed to the idea that children should be prohibited from watching action movies.

"I reckon children should be allowed to watch action movies if they want. I don't mind watching gory scenes," he said.

He explained that contrary to the belief of most parents, children are aware of the fact that violence in movies is fictional: "The violence isn't real, it's just a movie, so it doesn't matter."

Even though young teenagers believe they are old enough to make their own viewing choices, they are not aware of how the underlying theme of a movie can affect them.

According to Hoss, the solution lies in more controlled supervision. "The responsibility of keeping underage children out of adult movies is split between parents and the cinema house, which should be checking ages and identity cards more carefully," she said.

Unless such measures are taken, simple tasks like closing a shower curtain will be a daily obstacle for children.

Consequences

Watching a gory scene in a movie may not have a direct effect on the psyche of children, but it can have harmful consequences in the long run.

Dr Padmaraju V., a senior psychiatrist at New Medical Centre Specialty Hospital, Abu Dhabi, said: "Violence in films often acts as a trigger that stimulates hostile behaviour in children who are prone to aggression."

Bullying in school, disobeying parents and teachers and unwarranted aggression are some behaviours children pick up from watching movies with graphic content.

Dr Padmaraju said: "Of course, not all movies have such an effect and not all children are affected, but certain scenes act as a precipitating factor in bringing out violent tendencies."

He added that parents should be responsible for the viewing choices of young children, especially those in the "tween age group" between the ages of 8 and 12 years.

- By Sanya Nayeem, Community Journalist

Do you think movies are becoming more graphic? Have children become more desensitised? What can be done to control children's exposure to violent movies? Tell us at letter2editor@gulfnews.com or fill in the form bellow to send your comments.


Your comments


This statement "I don't like children watching violent or horror films, but sometimes there is no way around it" is very passive. I have children and I am taking full responsibilty for their care. It is up to the parents to control their children's viewing habits. We don't have a television in our home and we don't go to the cinema. Our children do activities that are much more riveting, stimulating and enjoyable for their minds. It is too easy to sit in front of screen and be entertained, our children deserve more than this.
M. Edwards
Abu Dhabi,UAE
Posted: August 21, 2008, 10:55

Its the parents responsibility, they shouln't take their kids with them if they watch these kind of movies. Stop blaming these movies.
jan
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: August 21, 2008, 10:06

Children 10 yrs are not suppose to be watching monk...parents should have a pg check before letting their children watch movies. Agree there are violent movies and they are gruesome but we have the responsibility to see before we show them.
Jasmin
Dubai,UAE
Posted: August 21, 2008, 09:51

I have a 10 yr old girl, I never stop her from watching scary movies but I always tell her take it as a movie which is for our entertainment not reality.
asma
Dubai,UAE
Posted: August 21, 2008, 09:28

I think there is no point in prohibiting children from watching scary stuff or violence. Because they are going to be exposed to it either through internet or TV shows. A better option is to allow them to watch along with parents so that they can give some clear guidance.
Rathish
Dubai,UAE
Posted: August 21, 2008, 08:59

Ratings on movies and TV shows exist for a reason. If the parents aren't responsible enough to check on what their children are about to watch, then it isn't really the channel's/cinema's fault that the child was traumatized.
Aisha
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: August 21, 2008, 08:50

Personally, parents should always be there to explain these things and not disallowing children to watch these kind of films. Films may help them to be creative and will open their minds to explore and learn new things, new plots of stories and new ways to improve movie industry for the next generation. It can be solved through proper teaching of children that what you see can be used as a tool and be improved in the near future.
Clark
Dubai,UAE
Posted: August 21, 2008, 08:14

Violence is everywhere these days. All you have to do is open a newspaper to see or read about violence. What toys do we give young boys? Plastic guns with sound effects, action figures from famous TV shows and movies and so on.
Anastasia
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: August 21, 2008, 08:08

Of course violent or scary movies are not suitable for young children. That's why movies have age-suitability ratings such as "PG 13" or "16 yrs and above", etc. And I am delighted to see that *finally* cinemas in the UAE seem to have begun enforcing these ratings when allowing families or teenagers into certain movies. In the past, I witnessed toddlers in the cinema watching violent action movies, or an 8-year old boy watching a horror movie in the cinema next to me. This is total irresponsibility on behalf of the parents, but also of the cinema management who have to enforce the law.
Jessica H.
Dubai,UAE
Posted: August 21, 2008, 08:07

Cinemas checking for identification in Dubai? What a joke. I haven't seen children stopped for PG16 and above movies there in ages. In fact, I remember a movie with the rating 18+ and cinemas didn't even bother checking, even though anyone could see the people buying the tickets could hardly have been 12 or 13. Dubai checking for identification! That'll be the day.
Anthony Permal
Singapore,Singapore
Posted: August 21, 2008, 06:03

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