Poll: How old should kids be before you show 'em Firefly/Serenity...? by chrisisall

GENERAL DISCUSSIONS

Poll: How old should kids be before you show 'em Firefly/Serenity...?

POSTED BY: CHRISISALL
UPDATED: Tuesday, January 24, 2006 03:31
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VIEWED: 8232
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Sunday, January 22, 2006 5:30 PM

My son is six, and he's seen the beginning and end of Serenity, and thinks the line "What was that?" is one of the funniest things he's ever heard.
But I feel bad tellin' him that he ain't old enough to see the whole thing yet.
How old should a kid be to let them see it?
Obviously, FF is a little more kid-appropiate, but still it can get a little rough in spots.

My guess at the moment is FF- about 8, Serenity maybe 10 (allowing for some skipped moments).
Any Browncoats w/kids that've seen some care to give us their imput?

Chrisisall&son

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Sunday, January 22, 2006 5:55 PM

SERGEANTX

I'd say 30-35 sounds about right. I'm not sure youngins under that age can really appreciate it properly.

SergeantX

"Dream a little dream or you can live a little dream. I'd rather live it, cause dreamers always chase but never get it." Aesop Rock

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Sunday, January 22, 2006 5:56 PM

TRIO

my 4 year old alternately sings the ballad of serenity and the theme to smallville (save me by remy zero)...

kids are adaptable...teach em whats right and whats wrong...they can handle it...

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Sunday, January 22, 2006 5:57 PM

DEVIDARKWOLF

I'd say do the show like the movie: PG-13.

And hey, I contest that remark! I'm 19 and I love and understand the series just fine! :)

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Sunday, January 22, 2006 5:58 PM

FOLLOWMAL

Oh, hard question.

The movie... 13 with no skipped scenes.
maybe 10 with lots of parental guidance and help thru the rough patches and maybe some skippin' some of the rough patches.

The show... well... there are indeed some conversation starters for children in the series.
There is frank discussion of sex and some pretty shall we say frank scenes too. So depending on how open you are with your kids about sex, you'd have to make a judgement about that.

Also the violence (particularly in War Stories) is something else to be thought about.

I was always open with my two daughers and watched stuff with them with lots of discussion after... they seem to have grown up fairly well rounded.

I am going to let my 13 year old grandson watch Firefly and Serenity with me when he comes for his usual visit this summer to our farm. I think he'll be fine with it... actually I think he'll become an instant fan!

"Storms getting worse." River
"We'll pass through it soon enough." Mal

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Sunday, January 22, 2006 6:10 PM

NDRAGE85

my seven year old sister watched it with my other sisters and myself. in all honesty, i tend to show my little sister a lot of stuff she really shouldn't see at her age. but i was exposed to a lot of "violent" movies when i was little. I was balanced out by loving parents and a good sense of what was wrong and right. they also always made sure i knew it was all fantasy and that some things aren't acceptable in real life. my little sister gets exposed to a lot of "content" because she was a little unexpected. i'm almost 21, my older sister is 22 and my other sister is 16. so she does get exposed to certain things that may not be age appropriate just for that fact that we are all older. but she does realize it is all fantasy and she has a very good sense of right and wrong. Firefly and Serenity isn't really something I worry too much about. There is a little violence and some sexuality, but none of it is too much of a concern. she actually enjoyed Firefly, at least enough to sit through it with my sisters and I without being a pest. over Christmas break i would watch an episode of Firefly every day with my 16 year old sister when she got home from school. my seven year old sister would usually watch too and one day the 16 year old said, "See, it's so good even she pays attention when we watch it." which is true. it is good to be careful of what little kids watch. but at the same time, it is also good to watch stuff with them and explain it on the way. as bad as it may sound, my seven year old sister has watched the beginning of Saving Private Ryan with my father and myself. throughout the entire thing though, she asked serious and mature questions and my dad clearly explained what was going on. She realized it was all fake, but she also realized that something like that actually happened, and she felt sorry for the people it really happened to.

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Sunday, January 22, 2006 6:20 PM

SERENYTY

Quote:
Originally posted by SergeantX:
I'd say 30-35 sounds about right. I'm not sure youngins under that age can really appreciate it properly.

Hey! I resent that! I'm 14, and I can appreciate it properly. I mean, I love it. Favorite TV Show/Movie.

I think that kids should be 10 or so.

~A message from Serenyty~

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Sunday, January 22, 2006 6:44 PM

JONUS

It depends on the kid and how mature and smart they are. I saw Halloween when I was 3 and saw Robocop (the uncut version) &2, Terminator 1&2, Alien 1&2, Predator 1&2 all before I was in the the 2nd grade.

Mal would kick Han Solo's ass.

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Sunday, January 22, 2006 6:52 PM

CAIUS

My 5 year old loves Firefly. I thik she's a bit young for Serenity though 8 to 10 maybee. Note I havn't let her see Bushwacked.

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Sunday, January 22, 2006 7:13 PM

SHINYTALENT

Both my brothers have seen some episodes of Firefly- one's 6 and one's 9- I haven't shown him Our Mrs Reynolds or Heart of Gold or the last episode with Early. But the one who's 9, Jack he loves Mal! and the 6 year old, Tom thinks Wash has the best job ever.

They haven't had any bad dreams or side-effects so I think it's OK. Mum's a little worried after Jack explained what Reavers were but she's come around since I showed her Jaynestown.

The human body can be drained of blood in 8.6 seconds given adequate vacuuming systems.

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Sunday, January 22, 2006 7:20 PM

JACQUI

It really depends on your son and how well he is able to differentiate between reality and television.

My eight and nine year old nephews have seen some episodes of Firefly (not all, not War Stories or Bushwhacked) and they love it, they also *love* the movie Serenity.

(Then again, we are talking about a nine year old who recently asked me to take him to the Immigration Museum during the holidays because they had a special Greek Artifacts display... and also said he wouldn't want to go on a holiday to "Disney Land", but would really love to go to Egypt and Greece to look at the ruins... and an eight year old who was able to name three of his favourite directors at the age of four)

They were a little scared during Serenity, but they got through it and we talked it over.

Not sure about six for Serenity, though, that still seems a bit young. Then again, I don't know your son. It's possible he can handle it.

Heh. After the immigration museum, the eight year old was upset 'cause he'd been bored, so I told him he could choose something fun to do and he said "Can we just go home and watch Serenity?"

*~*~*
"He's hurting a woman, he really *is* a bad guy... and I wouldn't call him a gentleman."
- Kyle, 9, watching 'Serenity'.

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Sunday, January 22, 2006 7:24 PM

AERIN

My brother used to let me watch violent movies with him when I was a little kid. He's 7 years older than I am and was supposed to be babysitting. I think we watched Conan the Barbarian taped off of TV when I was like 5 (I know, not too bad). He swore me to secrecy, which made the whole tons of fun. We tricked my dad into letting us watch T2 (my dad fell asleep) and we begged my mom to let my little brother and sister (5 years younger) watch Alien3 with us. They should have been way too young, but they weren't really affected by scary movies. Maybe watching with older siblings that aren't scared changes how youngsters respond to movies? (Not that I suggest any experiments.)

Overall, it depends on your child's maturity and what bothers him or her. Some kids might not be disturbed by blood and gore, but seeing a beloved character die could be too much. And it depends what you want them to know about sex.

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Sunday, January 22, 2006 8:04 PM

CAPTKAR

I would have to go along with alot of other posts on this one.

It doesnt all depend on how "grown-up" they are (I use that word because I'm 18, my father is 50, and my friends range from 18 to 24 and I don't know if you could classify any of us as "grown-up" because we still love to act like children at times, but of course everyone does). The important thing is to make sure and explain things to them that don't make sense, and especially make sure that they have the right idea of what is right and wrong.

But if I had to put a number to it I would say about 5-6 for FF, and about 7-8 for Serenity (Dependng how comfortable you are with the "Sex-Talk")

Really all you have to do is what any parent does. Love your kids enough to spend time with them explaining life. Whats right or wrong, what is acceptable, and how to be a good person.

If these areas are covered I don't think that they will have a problem handeling FF or Serenity.

-Bravery is not the absence of fear, that is foolishness. Bravery is bieng able to make the right choice when you are afraid.-

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Sunday, January 22, 2006 8:48 PM

BELOWZERO

My son is 8. He watched the entire series except for "War Stories" and the one with the bordello, because his godmother, whose boxed set it is, felt I should preview them first. His dad let him watch "Serenity" with us and had him close his eyes at the Reaver scenes. He has watched the Harry Potter movies and Lord of the Rings which IMHO were far scarier as fas as a kid is concerned. He doesn't *get* a lot of it, but he looooooves Jayne, and I'm not gonna deprive the kid of decent TV. I think it would be far more damaging to raise him on a diet of sitcoms. :P

He also knows he can ask me about anything he is having trouble understanding and I'll do my best. He watched "Saving Private Ryan" too--war is hell, that is the truth, and sheltering him from that is not going to do any good, I think. There is worse on the evening news, which is why I rarely watch it.

So: having said all that, I would also say as a caveat: it depends on the kids. YOU know your child. If they had nightmares when you saw Harry potter wait on the Serenity bit.

"Do not go gentle into that good night....
Rage, rage against the dying of the light. . .

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night. . ."
--Dylan Thomas

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Monday, January 23, 2006 10:47 AM

CHRISISALL

Well, my son's a mite sensitive, he can't watch The Empire Strikes Back, by his OWN word.
I guess when he can handle that, he'll be ready for an upgrade in quality sci-fi, heh heh.

Chrisisall Vader

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Monday, January 23, 2006 11:02 AM

RAVENHAIR

my own kids are 5 and 6. They've watched edited scenes of both the series and the BDM and I explain a lot. They know all the characters and really want to watch the whole thing, but I think some scenes are just too much. (Just watched Ariel with my husband and there are scenes in there that I covered my son's eyes for).

Every kid is different, though. Use your best judgment.

note: my son has seen all of the Lord of the Rings movies and got a little bothered by all the non-human characters until we watched the extras and he saw all the actors in costume and make up. Now he has no problem differentiating between what is real in the movies and what is make up or special effects.

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Monday, January 23, 2006 11:04 AM

STEALTHGUY

I like using the Movie Mom reviews on Yahoo Movies for such questions. She reviews the movie and let's you know what themes from the movie can be discussed with your kids. She rates such things as Profanity, Nudity/Sex, Alcohol/Drugs, Violence/Scariness and Diversity Issues.

Here is a link to her Serenity review...
http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1808583132/parentsguide

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Monday, January 23, 2006 11:05 AM

SPINLAND

Start 'em in the womb with a tummy speaker. Let 'em cut teeth on the scratched-up DVD as you break out the next fresh one.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"That's what governments are for, [to] get in a man's way." -- Malcolm Reynolds

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Monday, January 23, 2006 11:16 AM

FOLLOWMAL

Quote:
Originally posted by Spinland:
Start 'em in the womb with a tummy speaker. Let 'em cut teeth on the scratched-up DVD as you break out the next fresh one.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"That's what governments are for, [to] get in a man's way." -- Malcolm Reynolds

I love it!

" I start fighting a war, I guarantee you'll see something new. " Mal

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Monday, January 23, 2006 11:18 AM

SHINY1

My son is 8 and he will watch parts of an episode. Though he has taken to trying to cuss in Chinese when he gets mad...LOL Though nothing he says makes any sense, but I gotta say it is funny.

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Monday, January 23, 2006 12:28 PM

CARTOON

Yeah, I actually think the series had more inappropriate stuff than the movie. The reavers were pretty nasty in the movie, but it was more "what you didn't see" than you actually did.

The show had a lot of blatant sexual inuendo, as well some outright sex scenes. Wouldn't let anyone under 70 see the show (without a parent, that is.)

"He's the boss, now? Day keeps gettin' better and better."

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Monday, January 23, 2006 1:09 PM

HAPPYBRAIN

I watch with my 3yr old nephew. He sits on his rocking horse and shoots his toy revolver at the bad guys on the screen,chanting "Mal the good guy.Mal the good guy." Mal is his hero.

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Monday, January 23, 2006 2:01 PM

SERYN

ok, I think I love MovieMom, that was such a good review! Unlike most of the 'real' movie critics, she actually got all of her facts right and seemed to grasp the spirit of the show. yey for moviemom.

my favorite bit?

Quote:

and a guy who seems to Tivo the galaxy named Mr. Universe

I don't think Joss could have summed it up that well.

anyway, geting to the point - my niece (now almost 5) has grown up around the likes aof Buffy Angel and Farscape.

Not actually sitting down to watch, but they've been on and she often get very interested, like all the other kids in this thread, asking intelligent and insightful questions. She knows the difference between real and fantasy, she can handle it, and has always been able to, so we don't worry so much (though we do usually turn over at the sexy bit, my sister isn't quite prepared for that talk)

The craziest thing is that recently she's started having nightmares about dinosaurs -this after The Land Before Time and that pixar kiddies movie -go figure.

I'm basically repeating what everyone else has said - kids can handle an awful lot, they just need a stable place to stand while they observe.

p.s. she's seen most of Shindig, she liked Kaylees dress cause it was pink, and she thought it was very funny when Mal got hit on the bottom with the sword, but that he was a very naughty boy for hitting that man again (not the first time note) But she had no issues whatsoever with the events, so try letting him see Shindig, then maybe Trash (letting him watch the end scene depends entirely on your families standpoint on nudity) and see how he reacts to them before making a decision on the others.

-------------------------------------------
"She's a mite whimsical in the brainpan." Enormous thank you to KOL for the pictures!

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Monday, January 23, 2006 2:13 PM

CARTOON

Quote:
Originally posted by seryn:
I'm basically repeating what everyone else has said - kids can handle an awful lot, they just need a stable place to stand while they observe.

I think it depends on the kid, what they've been exposed to, and how naive they are.

For instance, I saw four of the James Bond movies first-run as a kid. I was 5 or 6 years old, and my Dad would drop me off with my 9 year old cousin (things were a lot simpler back then).

Anyhow, watching those same Bond films years later on TV as a teen (then multitudinously as an adult), the sexual stuff stood out like a sore thumb. Yet, I never noticed it as a child (it was probably over my head at that time -- I must've been very naive).

Although, come to think of it, I couldn't have been too naive, because I remember telling people at the time that I would never want to be a spy like Bond, because he had to lie all the time, and I knew that lying was wrong. So, I picked that up as a 5 and 6 year old, but not the sex stuff.

Everyone's different.

Personally, I'd let my 10 year old niece see "Serenity", but I wouldn't even want my 16 year old nephew to see some of the "Firefly" episodes.

"Was just about to spring into action, captain. A complicated escape and rescue op."

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Monday, January 23, 2006 2:16 PM

ELEKA

I'm 16 and my brother is 10 and I've shown him both Firefly and Serenity all the way through w/out any skipping. We were raised in an open household where there weren't really boundaries about what we watched since it always sparked a good discussion afterwards (i.e. saving private ryan was my first R movie, saw it on STARS soon after it came out.) Then again that's just my house hold. My mom always says that it depends more on your kids and what they can handle then what the ratings board says, though she does draw the line at some things (gratuitous sex, super gore) with my brother.

I watched Firefly during its run in '02 so I was 12, and turned 13 during the run of the show.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jayne! Try not to steal too much of their shit.

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Monday, January 23, 2006 3:54 PM

PHI

Quote:
Originally posted by cartoon:

I think it depends on the kid, what they've been exposed to, and how naive they are.

I agree with that entirely.

I’ve been looking after a three year old, five year old and eight year old for the last year. Frankly, I found some of the children’s movies that I took them to were down right scary compared to what I saw at their age.

Even the eight year old would be absolutely terrified of serenity or some episodes of firefly because his family is very careful about what the children watch and have never let them see anything above G rating.

Then again, I’ve known five year olds who have gone to see Lord of Rings and come out not batting an eye or sporting nightmares afterwards.

It seems to me that children get so desensitised at such a young age that perhaps for some, serenity would be run of the mill. Personally, the thought disturbs me somewhat.

It depends not only on the child but also the family and how they address the issues raised in the show or movie.

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Monday, January 23, 2006 3:59 PM

SPINLAND

Sounds like a very healthy household, Eleka; bravo.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"That's what governments are for, [to] get in a man's way." -- Malcolm Reynolds

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Monday, January 23, 2006 5:01 PM

ELEKA

Yeah its healthy and all, but we put the fun back in dysfunctional.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jayne! Try not to steal too much of their shit.

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Monday, January 23, 2006 5:34 PM

DAX82

6-8 months old. Id say thats good.

Or whenever they wanna watch it.

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Monday, January 23, 2006 6:00 PM

RAVENHAIR

My daughter is scared of the Were-Rabbit from the Wallace and Gromit movie, go figure, but had no problems with Doc Ock in Spiderman II. You can't always predict what kids will react to!

Advice: watch with your kids, your reactions/explanations can go a long way.

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Monday, January 23, 2006 6:17 PM

JOELIST

I would imagine the Serenity really has little in the way of objectionable material.

Firefly the series has, frankly, a LOT of sex talk plus (as noted) some explicit sex scenes. Add in Inora's occupation (which Serenity really never gets into) and the series really requires watching only with adults present to explain and discuss.

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Tuesday, January 24, 2006 3:12 AM

COPILOTLEONARD

Well I'm gonna say I know a 7 year old who has seen it, but of course he didn't understand most of the adult humor. So I guess 7 or 8 for the series and movie

"Oh no what could it be? We're all going to die. Who's flying this thing? Oh right, that would be me, back to work"

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Tuesday, January 24, 2006 3:31 AM

THESOMNAMBULIST

Tough call Big "C"

Kids can be scared by the most banal of things and then they can seemingly be completely disaffected by stuff.

I remember when Jaws 1st came on TV, I was about 10, and my mum was worried about letting me watch it. By about the time the head coming out of the hole in the boat scene came along, I was covering my mums eyes up for her and telling her when it was ok to watch :D She covered up her own ears when the score kicked in :D Soon after I watched things like Alien and Zombie Flesh Eaters without ever flinching.

Then one day the news showed the Storming of the Iranian embassy live on tv and I couldn't sleep for days. It was just too much for me. It was real.

I don't have kids so it's difficult for me to say really - but I watched Beethoven (the dog film) with my niece and nephews. Now that last half hour where you think the dog's gonna die, just about shattered my nerves to hell! I thought my niece and nephew may get distraught, but no nothing, they loved it!

Then we watch a harmless film like the Iron Giant and the pounding of his feet on the ground really put the shivers up them, and we had to turn it off.

There's no way to tell. I guess if they see your at ease with things it may also put them at ease, but I think some of the way the Reavers is shot would maybe cause some fright, more for the sudden way it flashes in front of you.

So hard to tell mate.

The
Somnambulist

www.cirqus.com

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