Your under-age film viewing experience

aurel · 27-03-2007 12:50pm #1

This thread was partly inspired by Karl Hungus in the Demolition man thread where he mentioned that he saw the 15 rated film when he was 12 or 13. I have a similar history of Film viewing. From an early age, say about 10 or 11 on I was watching 15 or 18 Rated Films week in week out thanks to my older brothers.

This included the whole Gamut from the Adult comedy of Richard Pryor, Eddie Murphy, Bill Hicks to the Violent Action films of the time and some thrillers with graphic sexual content.

My question is, how many people on here have had a similar experience? and also do you feel it adversely affected you in any way?

Also on the flip-side, for the people who were never allowed to watch these films until they came of age how did you feel about that and what effect did it have if any?

I love Film and am very grateful for the film education I received at such an early age and feel it has lead me down creative and intelligent pathways. It has never crossed my mind that it could affect me negatively. I understand this may not be true for all though so I'm looking for other opinions.

Karl Hungus · 27-03-2007 1:04pm

Good thread.

aurel wrote:

do you feel it adversely affected you in any way?

Quite frankly, no. I believe the idea of films (or more recently games) having an adverse affect, or worse, being the instigating factor in violent acts by youngsters is a hysterical notion, and one that is a scapegoat at it's purest sense.

There is an effect, of course. As in, watch an exciting film, you'll feel excited, watch a sad film, you'll feel sad. But there's not going to be any deep running psychological problems resulting from watching films at a young age, especially when you consider just how violent some cartoons that are aimed at children are, I think the human mind is quite capable at a very young age to seperate reality and fantasy.

Me and my invisible friend Frank the leprechaun both thinks so.

Ph3n0m · 27-03-2007 1:12pm

I remember thinking I was great watch and 18-rated flick when I was 10 - until I realised years later it was Chuck Norris in Delta Force

These days I'm only allowed run around my pole in the garden, as long as I am chained to it - oh and I cannot eat anything harder then soft cheese

aurel · 27-03-2007 1:12pm

Karl Hungus wrote:

I think the human mind is quite capable at a very young age to seperate reality and fantasy.

Exactly right there, Kids don't get enough credit for this.

This question has always intrigued me because when certain people find out that I watched these films at such a young age they assume I must be a little twisted whereas quite the opposite, I feel being exposed to complex ideas and images at such an age has aided my development in many ways... and of course it was great craic!

aurel · 27-03-2007 1:16pm

Ph3n0m wrote:

I remember thinking I was great watch and 18-rated flick when I was 10 - until I realised years later it was Chuck Norris in Delta Force

These days I'm only allowed run around my pole in the garden, as long as I am chained to it - oh and I cannot eat anything harder then soft cheese

sadly, the fate of too many Delta Force viewers.

layke · 27-03-2007 1:20pm

Nightmare on Elm St, Robocop, Aliens I did them all @ a very young age.
I saw the odd boobie in those flicks too.

Made sod all difference to me growing up. I have yet to kill anyone anyway.

Ph3n0m · 27-03-2007 1:24pm

layke wrote:

Nightmare on Elm St,

yeah but still Johnny Depp looking very "camp" must have disturbed you greatly

Jack B. Badd · 27-03-2007 1:44pm

After the age of about 12 or so, I doubt I paid much attention to the age rating on a film (unless it was brought to my attention by the likes of my mother...argh!). Fortunately, my Dad is a massive film fan and made sure I had watched most of what I would consider "the classics", i.e. those films everyone should have seen at least once no matter when or where they were filmed (or what age their rated for), by the time I left home.
I couldn't say that this had any adverse effect on me except possibly exacerbating my irrational fear of dolls and puppets which I reckon may be a result of watching Child's Play at a tender age.
As for my opinion on the matter, I reckon it depends on the person. I'll quite happily admit that I'm almost totally desensitised to-on screen violence but this doesn't affect my reaction to real life violence. Ditto for sexual content. I'm capable of viewing these things in the context I see them and acknowledging that what I see in a film is simply entertainment or art (or in some cases complete and utter crap). As I've grown up, I'm finding more and more that I appreciate film by deconstructing it, for want of a better word. I'll take it apart, look at it from different angles, taking it as a whole and each piece individually, and make my judgements from there. I don't know if this is just me or if watching a wide range of films as a child/teenager has helped but I'm sure it didn't hurt. Like aurel, I appreciate the fact that I had a good film education in my formative years and I don't think straying from the age guidelines hurt me at all. But I'm also aware that having a adult well-educated in the subject pointing me in the right direction was a great advantage. There are some films I've seen within the past few years that I'd have to say I wouldn't have been comfortable watching as a teenager and I appreciate the fact that there was someone keeping an eye on my viewing choices at that age.

LFCFan · 27-03-2007 1:50pm

If someone goes on a killing rampage after watching a Rambo film or something, they were deranged to begin with. It's really annoying when people jump on the 'violence in films is bad' bandwagon if something bad happens and the person just happened to have watched a violent film recently. They probably watched the film because they were violent to begin with and the film was just something they watched. I'd very much doubt if any sane human being has ever watched a violent film and based soley on the film, went out and murdered someone.

qwertplaywert · 27-03-2007 2:10pm

im 14.watch any film tbh....my mam would be strict up until i hit my teens, then she saw it had no bad effect on me
but seeing the shining at age 7 had me ****ttting myself

aurel · 27-03-2007 2:13pm

Jack B. Badd wrote:

But I'm also aware that having a adult well-educated in the subject pointing me in the right direction was a great advantage. There are some films I've seen within the past few years that I'd have to say I wouldn't have been comfortable watching as a teenager and I appreciate the fact that there was someone keeping an eye on my viewing choices at that age.

Excellent point here about the difference it makes having some guidance. For me it was my older brothers.

Fair play to your Dad. I often wonder about if and when I have kids just where exactly I'll draw the line with what I'll allow them to view.

S.M.B. · 27-03-2007 2:18pm

Watched many films with an 18 classification on VHS as a young lad. Alien 3 was probably the first one to see in the cinema when I was 11. I am glad to say I have never had the impulse to go around beating all foreign species with a lead pipe!

evad_lhorg · 27-03-2007 2:19pm

mY 3 early memories were, nightmare on elm st, and yes I was scared out of my tighty whiteys, The running man,which I thought was great, and robocop which I was grand with except for the guy getting melted in the acid. but they had no effect on me really except maybe wanting to sign a document on someones back and ram the pen home like he does in Running man:p

Crucifix · 27-03-2007 2:20pm

My parents were slightly stricter than what was the norm among my peers, and I don't think it was of any benefit.
I have a fond memory from my youth of seeing Universal soldier at a cousin's house when I was, hmm, probably a maxium of 10 years old, and staring in wide eyed awe as the "baddy" gets ran over with a Combine Harvester. Ah, the classics.

Jello · 27-03-2007 6:37pm

Yep I started watching 15's movies when I was around 11 or so (I'm 16 now), and 18's soon after that. Also started buying 18's DVDs in shops when I was around 14 (very rarely got asked for ID).

But after seeing so many films, I can say none have affected me in a negative way.

mike65 · 27-03-2007 6:44pm

I come from a pre video era so it was a case of sneaking in to see stuff like Death Wish/Warriors double bill in my mid teens plus stuff like Mad Max 1, Death Race 2000/Emmuelle 2 double bill, AmityVille Horror, Death Trap, One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest, a few very crappy ahem Sex Comedies - Last American Virgin etc when I was under age.

Did I suffer cos of this depravity (wipes drool from lower lip)?

Nope!

Mike.

Ghost Train · 27-03-2007 6:56pm

Would have watch a few movies before being old enough, aliens being the big one. But compared to most people probably saw a lot less 18 movies when i was young, and now my life is probably more messed up than average, so i cant really blame the movies

do think its bad for young kids to be exposed to too much of the adult stuff, there's only so much killing a young mind should be exposed to.

at the cinema today three ten/12 year olds were all excited about seeing some movie(probably 300), till the ticket seller laughed and said "yer not going to be seeing that movie", was good to see

johnny_ultimate · 27-03-2007 7:34pm

I was subject to strict parents, I must admit. I remember it being a big deal to see the Batman films as a wee fellow.
Seeing an 18s film was an extremely rare occurance, one must admit. Saw some stuff - Face Off, the Matrix spring to mind. But twasnt til I was 16 that my parents began to not really care.
Have spent the last three years making up for all the time lost.

Karl Hungus · 28-03-2007 1:25pm

eolhc wrote:

do think its bad for young kids to be exposed to too much of the adult stuff, there's only so much killing a young mind should be exposed to.

Care to actually qualify that? What is "Only so much"? How do you quantify it, and what is the process that happens when that limit has been reached?

Rhyme · 28-03-2007 1:51pm

The parents were pretty strict about film viewing in the house even as far as sending the younger family members out of the room if a particularly violent or sexy film came on the television. We'd all complain but understood that 'those' kind of films weren't for us to watch... i used to log in my mind the films i missed so i could watch them when i was older, stuff like Rambo, Predator, Aliens and the like still give me a chill because as if i'm not supposed to be watching them. Makes the viewing that little much better.

Still didn't stop me from sneaking downstairs in the middle of the night to watch 'Event Horizon'... terrifying.

Rabies · 28-03-2007 4:17pm

My parents were fairly relaxed about the movies we watched growing up. Horror/gore/swearing/sex all fine. I'm the same with my younger brother, I would allow him to watch most things if I'm in the room. It would need to be a really weird or freaky scene before I would tell him to leave the room.

melekalikimaka · 28-03-2007 4:18pm

i saw trainspotting when i was young, no idea what was going on...thank god

Ghost Train · 28-03-2007 4:31pm

Karl Hungus wrote:

Care to actually qualify that? What is "Only so much"? How do you quantify it, and what is the process that happens when that limit has been reached?

Well it depends on the age of the kid, the particular movie/tv show, the particular kid. The parent has to decide what the kid watches, if something is going to upset the kid. While I don't believe violent movies will turn a kid into a violent thug/murderer, kids learn their behaviour from whats around them, that includes movies/tv.

mike65 · 28-03-2007 5:47pm

Back when I was 12-13 years old RTE was all we had and RTE did'nt show too much "X rated" stuff, I think Barbarella was as hot as it got back then!

Mike.

Ruu_Old · 28-03-2007 5:54pm

I saw Conan the Barbarian when I was about 10 I think, all those nakey snake wimmens! :eek:

kevmy · 28-03-2007 6:40pm

I saw loads of films underage. The only one that scared me was Batman always afraid of clowns since. Saw that when I was about 8 or 9. Was regularly watching 18 films by the time I was 12 or 13. I think it benefitted me actually as I was much better able to converse on an adult level because I by the time I was 14 the thrill of watching a 18s film was gone. So I was more interested in good films rather than 18s films. Also by following complicated plots with some stuff you couldn't possibly understand made me quicker at putting things together in real life to.

28-03-2007 9:20pm

Where I work we have to stop kids doing this. I feel like such a hypocrite as I used to do it myself. My youngest memory of something along these lines is when my parents allowed to watch One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest when we were really young, I was around 7.

BlitzKrieg · 28-03-2007 11:13pm

heh

I know how bad my young viewing was because my aunt refused to let our cousins stay at our house because of the films we watched.

I know for a fact that by the time I was 12 I had seen all the alien, predator, robocop, terminator and die hard films. I know this because Alien Resurrection hit the cinema when I was in 1st year secondary school and made every effort under the sun to see that film due to my love of the series. I know I had seen most of these films by the time I was 10 if not younger. My sister saw Terminator when she was 4, and I think I saw it at a similar age...because I think she showed it to me.

I also know I had seen a good few Kubrik films (The Shining, Full Metal Jacket but not clockwork orange, saw that when I was 13) also I had seen Trainspotting a host of violent "manga" anime (cyber city oedo and ninja scroll sticks to mind)

the only films I remember having a problem watching were IT and firday the 13th part 1. they had the only effects on me in being scared, I wouldnt sit on a toilet properly and I trained myself to sleep on my side so that if a drill came up through the bed It would hit my arm first and I would wake up and dodge it. friday the 13th I saw when I was very young and was scared, saw it again when I was 13 and the fear was gone.

The only film I remember my parents opposed to me watching was Pulp Fiction,the first night we sat down to watch it as a family, we got as far as the OD scene and it was stopped to take me to bed. I watched it on my own the second night.

Its impossible to say what mental effects these films have had on me, I personnally believe my moral code has been unaffected, but I have been known to be unsensitive in some cases, which could be because of the film.

On my original statement. There are only 2 big families on my mother's side, ours where the children were allowed alot of freedom when it came to their viewings and interests, my sister grew up to be a cartoonist/animater. I'm working my way through television and film.

The other family, the parents were very strict on what the children could watch, only disney films until the children passed the age of 12. I cant really criticise the choice, the children have grown up to be very socialble young people, all going through college. But much more traditional in their choices (business science etc) then my sister and I

Boston · 28-03-2007 11:23pm

In fairness I saw caligola, pulp fiction and the crying game as a child, never affected me one bit. As a child though nightmare on elmstreet really ****ed me up. I didn't sleep for days, and for what seems like months now, I went to sleep everynight fearful of dying in my sleep, that stopped when I decided dying wasn't all that bad...

Now that I think about it, all those films did fuk me up, more then just a bit.

TerrorFirmer · 28-03-2007 11:27pm

Watching Starship Troopers at age 11 or 12. Stands out as the most anticipated movie for me ever, personally, at that age I could barely contain myself when my friends mother arrived home with the rental box.

My parents typically did not let me watch 18 rated movies until I was about 14 or 15, which is reasonable - although they were flexible based on the content of the movie. If it was a mindless action movie, they were ok. A film featuring excessive sexual content - no. I'd suspect most peoples parents were the same.

I'd love to hear of someone who never actually saw an 18's rated feature until they were actually 18...

BostonB wrote:

In fairness I saw caligola.....something about being a child???

Jesus I'd rather any potential children of mine to sit through a marathon of Romero films then see a certain five minutes of that film. It'd be more or less akin to saying 'I saw hardcore porn as a child'...

Jack B. Badd · 29-03-2007 6:18pm

BlitzKrieg wrote:

the only films I remember having a problem watching were IT and firday the 13th part 1. they had the only effects on me in being scared, I wouldnt sit on a toilet properly and I trained myself to sleep on my side so that if a drill came up through the bed It would hit my arm first and I would wake up and dodge it. friday the 13th I saw when I was very young and was scared, saw it again when I was 13 and the fear was gone.

I had little tricks like that to help cope with irrational fears when I was little. Like if you have your whole body under the covers when you sleep and no gaps between the cover and the bed things can't get you. I don't think it's necessarily a reaction to watching scary films, it's just the way kid's brains work when faced like concepts like the boogey man or monsters or whatnot.
...I used to watch scary films with my hands in front of my eyes, just peeking out through my fingers though. And I would stand at the door to the living room ready to run away if anything really scary was on. But I was a bit strange as a kid.

Your under-age film viewing experience

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