"It's not for kids"

[bartholen_v1legacy]

In relation to the recent release of the Charlie Kaufman film Anomalisa, and the review above, I started thinking about this. In the review Kermode says that "it's not a family film, it's not for children". I haven't seen the film, but I've seen reviews of it, and I understand what he means. I remember when that phrase was said to me as a kid, and back then it basically meant "it's got lots of violence or it's really scary" to me. But growing up I actually started to understand what it really means: it's not meant for children necessarily because of inappropriate content, but because kids simply won't understand the things the [insert form of media here] is dealing with. Kids won't find enjoyment in it, and may just leave confused and/or bored if the film's not violent or otherwise graphic.

What pieces of media do you know that would fit this mold? Media that kids (let's say the under 13 demographic) would find neither traumatizing nor enjoyable? Things that feature no epic showdowns, gunfights or those kind of setpieces that would entertain that demographic. Films like Schwarzenegger's 80's output or Robocop, or games like Duke Nukem 3D you might have played because "it's so violent!!!" don't qualify.

Two HBO shows are my prime examples: Deadwood and True Detective season 1. Both slow paced, extremely dialogue heavy series that feature very little content kids would be able to grasp. You've got a western story without cowboys or pistol duels, and a cop show almost without criminals or gunfights. When the violence happens, it's not something I'd imagine kids would go "COOOL!" at, but very ugly and sudden. Granted, I was never one of those kids that watched Schwarzenegger movies, so what do I know. Many David Fincher films like Se7en, Fight Club and The Social Network also fit this mold, the last one being perhaps the best example of what I'm talking about.

 

[Barbas]

It contains adult themes. You know, like going to work or paying taxes. I imagine his meaning was that the dialogue and humour would go over most kids' heads even if the animation style retained their interest, so they'd struggle to follow the plot on first viewing.

The Wire. I bet kids would have some difficulty with that one. Or Twilight, but then that's just bad for humanity.

 

[Musou Tensei]

We shouldn't generalize age groups, I'm sure there are 13 year old kids who would enjoy this shit while I as a 33 year old couldn't even pretend to give a flying toss about it.
Also, american kids are treated differently than european kids, something that is M rated (or whatever they use for movies there) can very well be a 16+ or even 12+ product in real EU countries.

 

[sageoftruth]

I saw the short film, "Garden of Words" last weekend. It's basically about a high school student and a woman in her early 30s meeting every rainy day, bonding, and talking about their lives, and eventually helping each other find their paths in life. Since most little kids still have their parents running their lives, I doubt that many of them could relate to the idea of trying to figure out where your life is headed and where you want it to go. This film would probably go over their heads as a movie about a boy and a woman sitting and talking about stuff. It doesn't help that the film tends to imply things a lot instead of just saying them outright. So much of it would go over the head of a child. The only appeal it would really have for them is the amazing hand-drawn art style. Seriously, rain has never looked so beautiful before.

 

[Scarim Coral]

To me it would be Forrest Gump.

When I was a kid, I hated the film nor do I understand why it was getting such acclaim. My excuse was that there was little "action" scenes in it other than Vietinam.

Granted as I got older, I did appricated more and started to understand if only a little bit (I started to get the reference that Forrest was part of some great history moments in the world).

 

[sageoftruth]

I can't recall the names of any of these, but back when I was little, my father used to take me to tons of "Not for kids" films at a theater for independent films. I'd say, "Ok, so what's this movie supposed to be about?", and he'd respond. "Well, it's about... life..." and I'd roll my eyes knowing that my 8 year old mind would be bored to tears. The movie's sense of progression always went over my head, and I could only tell that the movie was over because the credits were rolling. I hated going to those back then.

 

[Casual Shinji]

Probably every courtroom movie.

I remember seeing trailers for A Time to Kill as well as other courtroom movies during showings of either Speed or The Mask, and I couldn't imagine myself ever enjoying that.

Also, black and white films, because in the mind of a child black and white fucking sucks.

 

[Extra-Ordinary]

House Of Cards

Oh yeah, kid, it's a thrill a minute.
It's pace is excellent and once you really get the subtleties (I say that as somebody who has an embarrassingly low level of knowledge on American politics, same reason why I don't vote, I should probably educate myself), yeah, it can get kind of intense in a way but it's slow and really not flashy.
Not to mention it can be kind of hard to follow, at least for me. Nothing anybody says is wasted, everything is important and I have trouble paying attention sometimes so I find myself rewinding a lot just to make sure I'm not lost.

 

[lacktheknack]

.flow would work. It's pretty disturbing, but the real problem is that it's very slow and has no plot. You have to like exploration to enjoy it.

 

[Extra-Ordinary]

I think in the same spirit, West Wing and Veep.

Heh, I was just watching The West Wing, don't watch Veep though.
And heck, I have trouble keeping up with HOC sometimes, West Wing leaves me in the freaking dust when I'm not looking.
I've seen The Newsroom, I kinda knew what to expect from an Aaron Sorkin show but sheesh, The Newsroom I could relatively keep up on, The West Wing fly's right by idiots like me.

 

[IamLEAM1983]

Dexter wouldn't work either, even if you produced a sanitized version of each episode that's bereft of dying folks and blood in general. For one, you're cutting out foundational aspects of the series, and the skewed, slightly alien way in which Dexter Morgan views the world wouldn't make much sense for kids. All without mentioning the LAPD's political wrangling, of course.

 

[Something Amyss]

Weirdly enough, I know a ton of people who grew up watching reruns of Dragnet when we were kids. And police procedural like Law and order were popular when I was in high school, even if I didn't really get it.

I tend to look at the tits and blood as the juvenile material in the first place. Doesn't mean I have no interest, but then, I never really claimed to be an adult. The M Rating on Duke Nukem is a siren call to kids.

I was going somewhere with this, but my inner child got bored and started doodling.

 

[loa]

Not sure if "kids only like loud, obnoxious things and all subtext is lost on them" is the way to go.
Just look at the great movies and series aimed at kids that get made when you don't underestimate them.
Digimon tamers, avatar, steven universe, how to train your dragon, up, the list goes on.

So I don't think restricting media as "not for kids" is particularly useful if not done for the usual line of "protect the chilrunz" and even then, now having seen all media I was barred from when younger, I can hardly see the point in that either.

It's just a matter of it being a complicated or a simple story and there's nothing wrong with either.

 

[JoJo]

Not sure if "kids only like loud, obnoxious things and all subtext is lost on them" is the way to go.
Just look at the great movies and series aimed at kids that get made when you don't underestimate them.
Digimon tamers, avatar, steven universe, how to train your dragon, up, the list goes on.

So I don't think restricting media as "not for kids" is particularly useful if not done for the usual line of "protect the chilrunz" and even then, now having seen all media I was barred from when younger, I can hardly see the point in that either.

It's just a matter of it being a complicated or a simple story and there's nothing wrong with either.

While I agree you shouldn't underestimate kids when writing for them, all those things you mention are still aimed primarily at a younger audience. There's plenty of slow arty type films out there which I can't imagine the vast majority of children enjoying, even many adults (including myself) will get bored out of their mind by that sort of thing.