Is 'The Dark Knight' OK For Kids?

 

brought my 7 year old daughter to see this movie..its almost 3hrs long and she sat through it just enthralled. She did mention that she was a bit scared later that night, but since then hasnt said anything. I think that it really all depends on your child..if your child frightens easily and doesnt understand fact from fiction then don’t allow your child to see it. That is prety much it in a nutshell. BTW if you have not seen this movie..SEE IT, ITS AMAZING

- dedoe

Posted 07/29/08 04:05 PM

 

 

To the psychologist, get over yourself!! Parents can not allow their child to live in a world of fantasy, rainbows and unicorns. Where no one ever gets hurt, bad people dont exist and life is nothing but sugar and spice and all things nice. This movie borders on artistic genius..do you know anything about the creation of movies? The shots were amazing, the acting flawless..it was an indescribeable movie that i could watch in awe over and over again. There are so many things that are REAL in this world that are worse than this movie, of which is based off of a comic book that goes back to the 1930’s and yes even then it was pretty dark..so dont say its “this day in age” its not..it is a parents responsibility to be able to say hey this is fake, this is not real,,its a movie, its an act..its ART..you do not want to do things like this for real because it can hurt someone. It is my job as a parent to teach my child right from wrong, fact from fiction. So shut the hell up..its people like you that come into our homes and try to tell us what you think is best for OUR children because of your job you think that you are entitled. Well you’re not…just because some of us have different parenting styles doesnt make us bad parents..it makes us human…You’re the type of person who would take one look at me with my pink hair, tattoos and piercings and think “what an awful parent she must be” well im not, my child plays sports, is in the top of her class in math, reading and science, and knows right from wrong and fact from fiction. so take that and stick it up your pipe and smoke it…oh im sorry, you probably dont smoke, never have a drink..i forgot i was talking to Donna effing Reed

- Anonymous

Posted 07/29/08 04:21 PM

 

 

Personally, I’m amazed at the attacks on here. Each of us have seen things in our world that appalls us - and some of us can’t see where we should be appalled…admittedly, when a three year old boy was describing Hulk, Iron Man, and Pirates of the C. to me…I was appalled. Some of us here have said that kids should be raised in reality, therefore SEE THE MOVIE, but I have to say that I err on the side of protecting innocence. My children are aware that there is evil around us, and are being taught in ways that they can protect themselves from that and even thwart that evil. But I still want my kids to live in a world that is real - not made up on a screen. And honestly - for you parents who think your child can truley differentiate reality from fantasy…ask them whether they understand that Miley Cyrus is NOT REALLY living in that house and with that brother and that she REALLY isn’t Hannah Montana…my 8 and 9 year old foster girls still can’t understand that… Now - translate that into whether they think the Joker could be real…

- God complexes all around

Posted 07/30/08 03:12 AM

 

 

my 8 year old knows that miley cyrus is an actress and that hannah montana is a girl that she pretends to be on a show..she thinks that the joker is scarey but knows he isnt real..so i mean..i dont know what im doing different, because she still loves the disney princesses, believes in santa, the easter bunny and the tooth fairy and stuff like that..but she is pretty clear on what she knows to be fake and real

- to god complex

Posted 07/31/08 12:20 AM

 

 

I was so visibly shaken by the movie I almost walked out. My husband loved it, but there were kids in the audience that were no older than 5 or 6. I actually cried on the way it disturbed me so much. The trouble is that the villain isn’t a big green monster or alien that we can reason away; it’s a real person doing real things to real people. Very, very disturbing and very much deserves an “R” rating.

- Amanda

Posted 08/09/08 07:47 PM

 

 

After reading over these comments I have to agree with the person who wrote underneath Claudia (and several others). Guess what? I too am a psychologist and I took my seven year old twins (boy and girl) to see the Dark Knight. My son was so excited when we left, babbling about how he couldn’t wait ‘til it was on DVD and my daughter (a much quieter type) had a big smile on her face, nodding in agreement with her brother. Maybe your kids wouldn’t be alright with watching this movie - but I’ll be damned if you think you can lecture me on what I can do with my kids. As for the Hannah Montana line, my daughter crushed some of her classmates’ fantasies when they were chattering away about this teen sensation (who my seven year old hates). She laughed and told them that she obviously wasn’t leading a double life - because we all knew about it. So I’m sorry if my seven year old just confused your look on life, but I’m sure you can always give Claudia a call and make an appointment to talk it out.

- Lisa

Posted 08/10/08 01:08 AM

 

 

I enjoyed the film very much. I am 12. It was very exiting/brutal/funny. I do not think I would have been able to take this if I was eny younger. I really loved heth’s psychopath crazy as hell performance. I knew at the end of the movie, they were thinking of makeing another batman movie. But now they cant because Heth’s unexpected death (so sorry for eny spelling errers) I wish that he did’nt die. :( I think this film should have been rated R. If your children can handle something like this then its O.K.

- Christopher

Posted 08/10/08 09:39 PM

 

 

As a brand-new 13 year old, you may argue that I have neither the experiance nor the authority to comment on a page for mothers’ information. However, when my PSYCHIATRIST (a.k.a *real doctor*) father took my eight year old sister and myself to see Christopher Nolan’s masterpiece, I thought it dark, intelligent, sublime, and more than a little creepy. True, intense scenes and images may be disturbing (i.e. bat-wannabe smacking a window attatched to a noose, Aaron Eckhart’s grotesque ‘Two-face’), but ultimately, it’s up to the discretion of the viewers themselves, or their parents as a failsafe, to decide whether or not to see The Dark Knight. For example, my sister loved it and wasn’t at all disturbed by the violence, but other children (and a few adults) were visibly shaken, and some left early, horrified children in tow. I would highly advise screening this movie before taking under-thirteens, or asking trustworthy friends who have already seen it about its suitability for your kids. If your children, like my sister, are mentally mature (which has nothing whatsoever to do with age) there is also the plot complexity to consider, as that may be a defining point in The Dark Knight’s enjoyability to a younger audience. I’ll tell you, at parts the plot left me wondering, but it wasn’t for uncredability. Anyhoo, stop ranting on the rating system, (it says PG-13 or 12A for discretion purposes, and rightly so), stop ranting at each other, and enjoy the movie. Hope I’ve been a help, if not, sorry.

- Anonymous

Posted 08/11/08 07:19 PM

 

 

Any parent that thinks these images of violence are ok for their children should think about the social impact that they are supporting as we are desensitized to violence, but taught to fear and be secretive about sex. The fact that Mamma Mia is also PG-13 should reflect this problem with our rating system. Killing people=OK, Sex/Nudity=BAD. When your kid hits his friend with a baseball bat “because he saw it in a movie” you have only yourself to blame.

- Todd

Posted 08/12/08 01:42 PM

 

 

I watched this movie with my husband and kids ranging from 8 to 13. All of the kids were very scared. The dialogs were R rated and many of the scenes were R rated too. My 13 year old also was of the opinion that PG-13 rating for this movie was inappropriate. I am kicking myself for not having read reviews before going for the movie.

- anonymous

Posted 08/19/08 01:42 PM

 

 

its pg 13 of course its not for your young kid so why even bother complaining about it also this movie is not even close to rated r ok

- relax

Posted 08/25/08 02:09 AM

 

 

ok i am 13 and i saw it 3 times it is awsome comepletely PG13 appropriate my 9 year oldsis who has seen basicly every joker scene on youtube says he is cool funny and not in the leest bit scary except for the scene with the wannabe batman so all u parents who r whyning about it maaybe its just because youve been raising ur kids without letting them watch good action movies[lord of the rings and several others] nobody complained about starwars ep.3 and it was way worse than this so cmon give ur kids a break and let them watch a real movie

- joker

Posted 11/17/08 01:51 AM

 

 

Im posting this mouths after it came out.Its Rated P-g-1-3 ok? stop complaining.Children will be thetend. What Anikin Skywalker,Micheal Myers,and Fredy Kruger did was just as worse,and yet you let wacth those guys.GET OVER IT

- Nicholas Otero

Posted 11/18/08 09:07 PM

 

 

I’m not a parent, unless you count my dogs as children, but I can’t believe this movie scored a rating of only PG-13. Wow! It is definitely more life-like than any of the other comic-books-turned-movies and for this reason is hard to dustinguish between a movie and the 10:00 news. I am a fan of Maggie Gylenhaal (sp), Christian Bale, Morgan Freeman, the guy that plays the butler, but honestly, if Heath Ledger weren’t in this movie I don’t think I’d be watching it right now. It is nice not to have all the profanity that accompanies so many blockbusters today. Heath’s role as The Joker is definitely one of the best roles I’ve seen in a long time…very clever and comical! Hopefully parents will watch this movie with their children, even if they are teenagers, and will be able to discuss certain plot points.

- Trish

Posted 12/10/08 10:54 PM

 

 

It was great!I think it should be rated pg.I’m just 6 and it was hardely scarey.I watched my first r rated movie at 5 or 6.I played 10 m rated games i think ages 6 and up.My mommy let me watch every single part.I swear to god!Overall I loved ITTTTTTTTTTTT!

- Tomtom

Posted 12/11/08 06:48 PM

 

 

ggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhjhjh hjkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk hj j jh h h h h h h h h h hh h hhh hhh hhhhh h h hh h hhh h hh h hh h h hh hhh h h h hh h hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh h hhhhhhhhhhhh h hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh h hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

- tomtom

Posted 12/11/08 06:50 PM

 

 

Much too violent for children. It was too violent for me! Any value in the story was completely lost in the violence.

- Shannon

Posted 12/15/08 01:25 PM

 

 

I’m 12 and I think this movie is great. I got scared a little, but I got over it. It’s just a movie. I watched Blood Diamond last year and I never got scared of it! The pencil scene was kinda funny, but the tape scene disturbed me. I think it depends whether your child is ready to watch such things like that. If you just tell them not to watch it, they’re gonna get more curious about it and end up watching it. This movie was AMAZING, but violent and gruesome. But i understand because they’re showing the Joker’s and Batman’s dark point of view. I got the dvd as a christmas present, so I never watched it in theaters. My friend watched it theaters and almost left the rest of the movie because there were too much crying children. I LOVE THIS MOVIE SO MUCH,but it’s NOT for kids like 6-9. The rating should be the same as it is. IMO,if your child has watched movies like POTC, I think he/she will handle this movie

- Shanya

Posted 12/20/08 01:10 AM

 

 

i saw it and i am 11 i did not think it was all that bad yea they cuss a little but it is still a good movie you cant just keep a kid from real life there are ppl that hurt other people but thats right but i would let there mom or dad watch it and see if it is Ok

- Anonymous

Posted 12/21/08 04:31 PM

 

 

probably, the scariest part were the stories he told and those aren’t even graphic, im 10 i saw the movie and i loved it, it just depends on how mature the child is, thats me two cents.

- Anonymous

Posted 12/23/08 08:38 PM

 

Comment Page: <<   1  2  3   >>