Sue's "children of men" review

[sirgallahad2]

Dear god in heaven.....


Sue...



You NAILED it!!!!!!!!!

In a situation like the one presented in the movie....


Grab a fifth of Jack Daniels and a cigar and welcome the Apocalypse!!!

BRA-bloody-VO!!!!!!!!

[varana]

My teachers went one step further than yours, Sue: At the age of 13 we were subjected to extremely detailed documenatries on Hiroshima, and all the horrible ways to die in and after a nuclear attack. Complete with fct sheets on radioation sickness, and an instructional video about amputations without proper pain killers.
And to top it off, it was never clear wether it would be big bad Soviet or let's pretend they are friendly USA who would decide to nuke us first. For weeks after "Nuclear war preparation week" I would pray that when the bombs were dropped, I'd die instantly.

[sirgallahad2]

When I was 12 My teacher made the class watch documentary footage and archive footage from the Nazi Concentration camps of WW2. After the second hour of naked, emaciated people being tossed alive into large pits, I felt some of my childhood innocence slipping away.
I always knew that the human race was a sick experiment by an omnipotent being, but this film footage truly showed me what depths that the human race can sink to and NOT be eraticated by God's wrath.

[varana]

This opens up a debate: What should teachers show kids? and at what age? Should we try to preserve innosence, or let kids know what the human race is truly capable of?

[sirgallahad2]

They should at least wait until kids are in high school before showing them how disgusting and depraved the human race can be. Let kids have SOME kind of happiness and sense of decency in the world before they get to find out for themselves exactly how worthless and random our very existence is.
Not in a good mood today ladys and gents. I should buck up and get happy sooner or later.

[varana]

I see your point, but what about when kids ask? You know: "Miss, why is Amir from Afghanistan scared of plane noises? How come Eric's dad says Jews are stupid?" (Names and examples all made up of course) Should a responsible teacher simply say "You'll understand when you grow up."?

[Lissa]

Well, there's middle ground between complete isolation and complete immersion. A responsible teacher should answer, but on a child's level.

The thing is- especially at 12 or so- some kids are ready for the more detailed answers, and some just aren't. It really depends on the kid. Heck, I know a lot of adults who can't take watching Holocaust footage, and I really can't blame them. I was 17 (I think) when I saw Schindler's List for the first time, and I had a really, really hard time watching it. I can't imagine watching it when I was 12. But on the other hand, I had a kid in my youth group who'd seen it and was ready for it. It really varies.

I read <i>Night</i> by Elie Wiesel this weekend. It was interesting, because the book didn't affect me nearly as much as a movie would have. My brain simply would not allow me to visualize some of the horrors he was talking about. It shut off. Period. (Not that I mind.) I don't remotely doubt what he was saying- my brain just wouldn't let me think about it.

But it kind of drives home to me that, for many people, a verbal explanation of this sort of thing isn't quite as traumatic as a visual one. I'd do the verbal with a younger age, and save the visual for high school students.

Oh, and great review Sue! Your kids really are true Mutant material

[pfrsue]

I'm going to side with sirgallahad2 on this (thanks for the props, btw!). At least kinda sorta.

I see no fundamental need to add terrorism, world destruction or historical depravity into an elementary school curriculum. Kids in that age group aren't equipped to deal with such overwhelming issues. As a parent, I tended to focus on "why we don't get into cars with strangers" over "the geo-political ramifications of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict".

(9/11 was a major crisis for parents, but I'd still rather try to explain and comfort after the fact then inform a small child that the world could come crashing down at any moment because there are people who hate us that much.)

Having said that, my daughter is in the seventh grade now and her class has just begun to cover the topic of racism and the Civil Rights movement back in the sixties. In fact, last week I had to sign a permission slip to allow her to watch a documentary film that including coroner photos of a teenaged boy who was lynched and shot. She came home shaken up, but in a good way I think, because she's old enough now to look at the subject thoughtfully and with determination to work against racism, discrimination and the violence it breeds. That's the sort of reaction I hoped to see, but I'll admit that I'm very glad that the teacher informed the parents and asked for approval before showing that film. It gave me a chance to think about it, and then to discuss it with my daughter.

The way I look at it, you don't learn math by doing calculus right off the bat. You learn in small steps over the course of years. I think a child's understanding of the world - including the worst of it - should be learned similarly.

But that's just me.

[sirgallahad2]

Well, it was a good review so you're welcome. I was in a foul and rather bitter mood when I made those last few posts. There is SOME good in the world, but the evil FAR exceeds it.

[varana]

There is a huge difference in a twelve year old and another twelve year old. I think this is a really tricky issue, with no clear answers. I don't believe in hiding the world from kids. But I also don't believe in showing nightmare indusing images down their throats. The most important thing in my opinion is providing an arena for kids to voice their fears and questions. I really wish someone had talked to me after nuclear week, given me a way to digest what I'd seen, if you know what I mean?
and most importantly: Make sure kids aren't taught to hate and /or fear entire groups because of what a small minority within said group did.

[pfrsue]

Agreed that not all twelve year olds have matured equally, but until the time when kids are more or less at the same level (Juniors or Seniors in high school, I'd guess), I think the real decision of explaining the pertinent parts of the ugly side of the world should be at the discretion of their parents.

Parents, however, should make it a point to be absolutely approachable, so that when questions and concerns arise, their kids aren't afraid or embarrassed to talk to them about it.