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Hi everyone,
I'm doing research into the 12A certificate. Recently there have been some 12A films that have caused controversy with some audiences - The Woman in Black, The Hunger Games, The Dark Knight Rises etc
I'd be interested in talking to any parents who are interested in what their children watch at the cinema.
The 12A certificate is ten years old this year and I feel that it may not be fully understood yet.
Any views on the topic or any parents that would be interested in talking more about this - I'd love to hear from you!
My project is for my Masters in History of Film and Birbeck University of London.
Thanks,
Terri
Hello thems
How about designing a questionnaire for parents?
I think it depends on the temperament of your child. I was a real scaredy cat when I was young and a film like The Woman in Black would have had me awake for weeks. In fact, at 16 I was not allowed to watch "I Claudius" on the TV as it was a bit scary.
There has been a lot of publicity about violence in films and in X box/PS games but I was not concerned about this with my own boys as they were very aware it was a game and have never shown any tendencies to violence, I have brought them up to respect other people and have been quite strict with them, so they did not relate these games to real life AT ALL.
Attitudes to sex are very individual, too..families may find it is against their religious beliefs for example, or that they want their children to enjoy their childhood without having this all pushed at them. I must admit that I am often surprised that films are 12A rather than 15 when I have seen their content.
Thanks for both of these responses!
I do actually have a questionnaire for both parents and their children. There are two different questionnaires for the children - one for 7-11 year olds and one for 12-15 year olds. The responses so far have been very interesting.
If you would be interested in filling out a questionnaire I would happy to send you one?
You've raised an interesting point about video games actually and this is something I may discuss more in my report.
Sex and sexual references have come up as a concern for parents, along with discrimnatory language (homophobia, racism etc).
It is a tricky category as children vary from family to family, and even within siblings. I have a sister who loves horror and thrillers and a brother who can't stomach them at all (they are only 2 years apart).
I would be happy to fill out you questionaire if there was a private way to send my email I will sed you it.
Thanks - it will be a huge help.
My email is terri@justboom.co.uk - if you email me I'll forward the questionnaire - thanks again.
Terri
My daughter (13) watched Woman in Black although I gave her a good grilling before I let her go the cinema. I think it depends a lot on the film.
When the same daughter was five, I took her to see Finding Nemo and she cried her eyes out at the very beginning.
Why don't you put your questionnaire online and put a link to it on here? Much easier and more anonymous?
Hi,
Thanks for the reply :)
I do have a survey online actually, but unfortunately the questionnaire is not.
Both the survey and questionnaire are anonymous and will remain anonymous in the report :)
Here is the link to the survey if anybody would like to fill it in, it's just 10 multiple choice questions.
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/NR6HR8N
Thanks again!
I worked in a cinema when the new rating was introduced and without exception we were all against it! A film gets a 12 rating for a reason, and therefore I don't feel it's suitable for children under 12! I will never take my son to see a 12a until he is at least 12!
I do sometimes watch 12 rated DVDs, and if I deem it suitable, I will allow him to watch it with me at home, but even that is rare, think the only couple are 17 again, the Zac Efron movie, which the only unsuitable things were quite broad references and went over his head anyway, and Transformers, cos he's Transformers mad, and begged me for weeks until he wore me down!
Whilst I worked in the cinema, there were numerous occasions when we warned customers that a particular movie really wasn't going to be suitable for their child, and then either had them trying to claim refunds halfway through, or even, sending the child out of the screen to wait for them til it finished!!! I once spent an evening looking after a 10 year old girl who's parents had taken her to see Signs (alien invasion movie that scared me!!) and cos she was scared they'd sent her out, stayed in to watch the movie, poor thing was scared, lonely and upset, so I took her under my wing and let her tear tickets with me for the night, those parents didn't have a clue that she was safe though, anything could have happened if I hadn't looked after her!! We had parents taking a 4 year old in to Hulk, and allsorts! 12a rating was definitely not a good move in my opinion!
Nat
WOW Natsplatt, I can't believe that parents would send their child to wait for them until the film was finished!!!!!! If your child is scared then you take them home. You obviously saw a lot of interesting situations while you were working there.
Thems, thanks for the survey link. My boys are now grown up (ish) so they are out of the age bracket but hopefully you will get some more responses.
That is awful leaving their child unattended! 
Thank you to everyone who has replied so far and those who have completed the survey!
It's an interesting topic as people do have very different views on the subject.
Hi thems, I have had a few issues with this myself. I have a 12year old who like most nearly teens is interested in films and music. We have been to the cinema to see some films while she has been 12 and she has asked to leave, or hidden behind her hands. "Super 8" was the film then and that is just a 12 rating. I believe as a mother that the contents of some of these films are under-rated. Children should not have to watch horror/thriller/sexual content that is beyond their years. "The woman in black" was a film I was interested in watching but chose to watch it without my daughter. This was a smart move as I even jumped and felt scared and I have seen most horror/pychlogical thrillers. I filter what she see's, even on the news and series' on the tv. Children should be children and not sexualised through the media or fashion or anything else. Our children have enough to deal with on this site without adult themes forced on them that is beyond thier own maturity.
Hope this helps and made sense.