been thinkin'

So I was watching the O'Reilly Factor (it was on in the tavern I was at earlier this evening) and Billyboy was going off on "The Cat in the Hat," that movie that has gotten harsh reviews for "being too adult." Parents are in uproars because of the adult content of the movie, which was, from the ads I saw, clearly not for kids but for the generation that grew up with Dr. Seuss. But..for some reason...kids were getting the jokes that were not aimed at them. This disturbs me.

And I got to thinking.

The movie was rated PG-13.

Why would any parent take their under age-13 kids to see this movie?

But this is a common thing. When I was growing up, we were not allowed to see movies rated PG-13 until we actually got to that age (well I got to that age, my brother and sister were not far behind me though.) and the same with rated R movies. When I went to see "The Two Towers" last winter with my family, there were families with little kids there. We were amazed and not surprised when at least three mothers led their kids out during the Battle for Helms Deep....the Lord of the Rings series is NOT a kids series. Don't take your kids to see these films. When I saw Texas Chainsaw Massacre, there were KIDS in the audience WITH their parents! This movie was gory and really unpleasant even for me.

The point I think I'm making is some parents should be more responsible in what their kids see, even if your kids act up at first. They'll thank you later on, I think. I'm not a parent, and I have no plans on becoming one for a very long time, but it is still shocking to go to see "Bad Santa" and see a row of little kids in the audience. It's RATED R people! RATED R!