Destructive Influences

If there is one thing I hate, it is being scared so bad I almost wet myself. I hate it when my friends jump out at me from behind corners or as I’m washing my face in the sink, I look in the mirror to find my friend looming over my shoulder in order to scare the bejeebees out of me. I hate being scared.

Controlling Content

How many of you have seen The Goonies? In case you haven’t, let me give you a summary. It’s a great film about a bunch of teenagers who set off on a great adventure to find a pirate’s treasure so they can save their town from being bought and destroyed by a rich man. Throughout the film the kids have to avoid the pirate captain One-Eyed Willie’s booby traps, and must run from a trio of thugs bent on taking the treasure for themselves.

Overall it’s a pretty good film for 1985, and it was one of the first films for actor Sean Astin, who is best known for his role as Samwise Gamgee in the Lord of the Rings franchise. The film is fun and the plot keeps you on the edge of your seat.

But I must say that I have a serious issue with this film: the language.

How old are these kid actors? Astin was 14 years old, as were fellow actors Feldman and Quan; actor Jeff Cohen was only 11. And I must say that nothing annoys me more in a movie than when children under the age of fifteen are cursing some of the vilest pieces of our language because some adult script writer told them it was appropriate.

And not only were these kids asked to speak foul language in the film, there are a few scenes when the kids bring up an innuendo of some kind. I don’t find this type of content appropriate no matter the age of the actor, but an eleven year old? Come on.

I’m sure you’ve noticed by now how much this truly bothers me. And I hope it bothers you too. Let’s go through a few more examples of language content, shall we?

Considering Content

How old were you when you began wanting to make decisions on your own, outside of your parents’ rule? Fifteen? Thirteen? Ten?

I can’t remember exactly how old I was. I suppose I was thirteen or fourteen when my friends started watching different movies or listening to new music genres. The difference between me and my friends was that I was a follower—I did things out of peer pressure, to fit in. Most of my friends took on a leadership position; they went out there and made choices because they initially wanted to.

When young people get into that preteen stage, it is perfectly normal for them to want to move outside of the boundaries a bit, to roam free from under their parent’s protective shelter. They want to be “free” and have “more space”.

This is just part of the growing experience to figure out what kind of people we want to be in life. Most teenagers will admit that one thing they consider on a regular basis is their future: figuring out their identity or life’s calling.

But along with that natural push for freedom comes all the responsibility with deciding what to believe religiously, ethically, economically, etc. And in today’s society, what could better influence our young people other than devoted family and friends?

You guessed it: media.

Absorbing Content

If there is one thing that I have observed about children, it is this: children are sponges.

That might sound a bit strange and maybe you chuckled to yourself, but hear me out. Children absorb everything they see and hear. I’ll let that first thought soak in (haha) as I continue.