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I didn’t know people were opposed to showing Grave of the Fireflies to kids. I always thought it was one of the better war movies to show to kids because there isn’t much explicit violence and the main characters are children.
I think some folks are just opposed to thinking it’s good for all kids when obviously the material takes some amount of maturity and empathy.
I’m definitely not taking the stance of “every child needs to see this film”, but I AM of the opinion that kids should occasionally be presented with something that might make them uncomfortable or try to instill empathy as a good thing that they should strive for. Yeah, it might be difficult for them, but that’s why they should have a parent/support system readily available so they can process and learn from it, instead of watching it at 2am alone in a dorm room and crying until 5am like I definitely didn’t do ahaha ha ha…
Yeah, that seems to be a good point. Maybe kids around the age of Seita would understand it better.
There’s a rightwing push in Japan to censor Barefoot Gen in schools because even though the Japanese civilians are depicted as victims, it ostensibly anti-war and they want more military spending. I wouldn’t be surprised if Grave of the Fireflies is in their crosshairs as well.
A skim of the article shows that it was not written from the viewpoint of a parent having to calm a hysterical crying child after having watched the movie. GotF is an emotional gut-punch even for adults. Incredibly powerful film, but that means it has to be treated with care and respect. That doesn’t mean it can’t be shown to children, but anyone who does so needs to be prepared for the consequences.
(As for me, I was in grad school when I saw it. I’m glad I did, but I don’t think I will ever be able to bring myself to watch it again.)
You should always be prepared to care for your kid though? Like the whole parenting thing?
The second paragraph literally discusses creating a self care plan surrounding watching the movie. It links out to several studies by child psychologists and articles discussing watching scary/sad media with kids and how to do so. It shows examples of how kids are interacting with stories like this safely. It recommends showing kids things like this in safe environments so they don’t suddenly come to you broken and scared when horrors are thrust upon them when they are alone or unsupervised.
As a kid, I was “trolled” with fake links that sent me to beheading videos online. Tons of folks I know watched 9/11 happen live in their classrooms. Hell, the post talks about how pictures and videos from Gaza keep showing up on feeds on Instagram and TikTok. The whole point is parents should do that work and teach kids these skills and that it’s okay to ask for help if they run into an emotional brick wall BEFORE they hit the brick wall.
But this is why ya shouldn’t skim! Read deeply! (P.S. I wrote the post, I’m also literally a parent. If that matters to you.)
I probably shouldn’t be posting when I feel too awful to concentrate, either. Apologies.
I don’t cry often, but this movie, damn…
I was an adult when I watched it. I still regret that decision.
Did you know its based on a book written as a semi self biography.
When I found out its not just sad fiction, the story hit a little harder.I’ve seen it referred to as “The greatest film I’ll never watch again.”
Me too, but I rarely see regret for having seen it the one time they did.
It’s the best movie I would never recommend to watch. Unless you really want to feel miserable afterwards.
Close second is Requiem for a Dream.
Irreversible and Loveless are stellar movies that are VERY rough recommends.
Oh god and Nightingale. 10/10 but holy shit the amount of rape…
No you should not.
Depends on how old your kids are… Are they old enough to understand suffering and loss? Then it’s time to make your kids suffer and lose some of their free time in order to learn something important; like any good parent!
No, you shouldn’t traumatize your KID, so anything below 14, its absolutely ok to show the movie to a young adult or teenager. A kid does understand what suffering is, but doesn’t understand the difference between fiction and reality very good.
Thats the same argument as with German fairytales, they aren’t made for kids, they are for teenagers and above.
Even though it’s a fictional, animated depiction of what happened near the end of the WW2 it’s depicting something that actually happened. I don’t think there’s going to be any problems in regards to separating fiction from reality with this movie.
If anything, the movie is tame in comparison to the actual, real-world devastation of nuclear war.
Grave of the Fireflies isn’t about the nukes its about the firebombings and the part with fiction vs reality means that they don’t understand that this was a long time ago. As said its appropriate for 12+ in my opinion. But below its just not.
@YourPrivatHater @riskable Over 100,000 WWII vets are still alive, today. People are being bombed right now, shelled right now, having white phosphorus dropped on them, right now.
None of this is a “long time ago.” It is within living memory.
And? Are we now shifting the argument onto a strawman over the definition of long time?
It was a average lifetime ago. And the other claims are irrelevant in that context. Its not changing the fact that grave of the Fireflies isn’t appropriate for small children.
@YourPrivatHater Most seem to disagree. Child psychologists disagree. Ratings boards in multiple countries disagree. Kids who have, and continue to watch this movie in Elementary schools growing up healthily is big evidence against it being inappropriate too.
Maybe you’re just wrong? Maybe folks shouldn’t hide the truths of the world from their kids?
Ahem… The film is rated…
- USA: Not rated by the MPAA. Considered “suitable for all audiences” on the Central Park Media VHS release. TV-PG on the Sentai Filmworks release.
- Germany: 6+ (Apropriate for ages 6 and up.)
- France: Tous publics (General Audiences)
- India: U (Unrestricted public exhibition, suitable for all ages.)
- Hong Kong: Level 1 (Suitable for All Ages.)
- Canada: G and PG for Quebec and Manitoba respectively.
- Japan: G
- Saudi Arabia: PG
- Singapore: PG
- Italy: T (Recommended for persons of all age groups.)
- Taiwan: 0+ (Suitable for all ages)
- Netherlands: 9 (Ages 9 and up)
- Nigeria: PG
You’d know that if you read the post! Funnily enough, it also links out to an neat article discussing a study showing parents aren’t reading scary stories to their kids… And why that’s bad. Here it is just in case ya need it! Heck, on other bits of social media, I heard about schools showing kids the movie in 5th to 6th grade, in the US even!
Just because a rating agency says something doesn’t mean its appropriate, they have strict guidelines, these guidelines revolve around obscenitys, violence, drugs and similar, they don’t go on “may not be appropriate for children because the story itself is dark and sad” 12+ would be a ok rating in my opinion, again, its not meant for children, German fairytales aren’t either, even though they are classified differently.
Kids below a certain age cant even comprehend the story.
its not meant for children, German fairytales aren’t either
Woah there! German fairy tales were meant for children! That’s explicitly their target audience.
The whole point was to scare the children into behaving a certain way. Like, “don’t go wandering off alone. Bad things can happen!”
If you just tell your kid that they won’t listen. However, if you tell them a story about how kids that wandered off alone into a forest got cooked and eaten by a witch then maybe they’ll stick to the village (and be wary of strangers).
Nope, the Grimm fairytales where explicitly for “adults” so about 16 years old at the time. They have very graphics Sex scenes, brutal murders and more.
Struwwelpeter is aimed towards 8 to 12 year olds as they have a more educational purpose. (wich is probably what you are talking about)
I think they issue is different definitions of kid.
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You really don’t know shit with a passion.
My child at age 8 knew exactly what the reality was when her great-grandmother died and saw us all grieving.
She knew exactly what the reality was when, at age 9 and 14 respectively, she saw our cat had to get injected with fluids every day just to live, and our dog had to get euthanized.
She knew exactly what the reality was when in elementary school two kids died in a house fire and she knew them.
I would probably agree that typically only a teenager and above could properly appreciate a movie such as Grave of the Fireflies. And I completely agree children should not be purposefully traumatized, but not all of them have the luxury of being sheltered from traumatizing experiences. Some could handle such a movie and understand what is going on. But to be fair, I have never shown this particular movie to my kid.
A roflcopter parent
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Waaay less graphic, different implications, not a human character and different story circumstances. You could name Bambi while you are at it.
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No it doesn’t. Thats the part with human characters.
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You’d rather have kids do it when they’re supervised and have love and support then when it is suddenly thrust upon them with no warning, that’s for sure.
Read the whole post, give it a serious shake. It cites child psychological studies, shows how kids today are healthily handling stories like these in Japan, and even acknowledges secondary trauma and avoiding triggers for already traumatized people. There’s a lot of nuance when you get past the title.
I can’t bring myself to rewatch the damn thing, how can I expose my children to it?!
you have to eat soybean, not good healthy rice.
But we (will) have ‘Grave of the Fireflies’ at home…
Well shit, a Studio Ghibli movie I haven’t seen. I guess I know what I’m doing this weekend. My wife and 16 year old have already said they are down for it. Not sure if I want my 9 year old to sit in on this.
I’m not sure how old you are to get this reference, but you might be setting up your kid for a Watership Down/Bambi’s Mom moment with this one. This movie is probably the saddest movie I have ever seen. I’m actually near tears just thinking about it even.
Yeah no thanks i dont want kids to cause a great flood of tears
