Reply to Maleficent the Movie

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Reply to "Maleficent the Movie"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]A 4yo who is not scared of evil things is worrisome. It's not developmentally appropriate. There's nothing about parenting style or child's personality. It's a serious issue and this child needs help. [/quote]

But what is evil about a movie exactly? Not trying to be an idiot, genuinely curious. I could see considering something "evil" if
- it was a person, capable of moral reasoning, that intended to do actual harm to other living beings,
- it was a person, capable of moral reasoning, that actually perpetrated some sort of violent or grossly malicious act against other living beings,
- it was a person, capable of moral reasoning, that knowingly provided any type of support to the above categories of individual or their agents,
- it was a person, capable of moral reasoning, that knowingly and willfully concealed or lied about information concerning the above individuals or their plans, or
- it was offensive to your religious/spiritual/moral beliefs.

None of these things apply to that movie. The closest I can come is that characters in the movie act maliciously or violently towards other characters. Is that what you mean by evil? If so, I understand where you are coming from but disagree with you on one fundamental point. That movie is a work of fiction, portraying a story which did not really happen. Nobody got hurt or worse making the film, nor will anything on the screen hurt anyone watching the film in any way.

I made a conscious effort to always help my girls distinguish between something that is actually bad and scary because it might harm someone and something that is just pretend. While they may have been slightly scared by scary movies at first, I was fine with them seeing films or shows featuring fantasy-type "violence" because I have always drawn a very sharp distinction between actual bad people and storybook bad guys.

Was this the wrong approach? Should I have instead allowed or encouraged my kids to find such things evil and scary because they are still depicting violence or malice even if it is not targeted towards a real living being? In other words I guess what I am asking is, are scary films inherently evil or are the characters' actions evil only in relation to the other fictional characters because such actions would be evil in the real world?

If the child has decided that the characters are just pretend and therefore can't hurt anyone, even if she knows the character is the bad guy, should she still be scared? If so, why? what is there to be frightened of?
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