Protecting Our Children from "The Dark Knight"

I will be the first to agree that parents these days probably have a tougher job in raising kids than our parents did. That's not to say that raising kids is ever an easy responsibility but these days there are so many more sources of potential 'threat' to children that we adults (and I am tempted to use the term loosely) are sometimes in a dilemma as to how best to accomplish that goal. For example, take the case of Premier Morris Iemma from South Wales, Australia, who is attempting to bar Hungry Jacks restaurants from cross-promoting "The Dark Knight" movie with their childrens meals.

Children's meals, or Happy Meals as I've always known them, have long tied into movies as a means of raising revenue. I think George Lucas can be called the progenitor and king of this money-making operation when he began marketing and more or less franchising out his copyrighted material for reproduction in the form of toys and McDonald's meals. These days you can expect most major movies to be tied into some form of restaurant tie-in advertising. I remember back in 1999 when "Episode I" of "Star Wars" was released. Movie fans who had grown up with the films were bombarded at seemingly every corner by some form of promotion or the other and for those who were looking for escape, it was very hard to come by. But the thing with the newer "Star Wars" movies was, like it or not, they were tailored more with kids in mind than anything else. Had this been several decades ago during the pessimistic period which spawned directors like George Lucas and his co-horts, it would have been a much darker movie and perhaps, though the main storyline would have stuck, it wouldn't have necessarily been as 'kid-friendly'.

Now parents are faced with the dilemma which Mr. Iemma is attempting to stave off and that's getting kids Happy Meals while explaining to them why the can't see a particular movie. Though the general perception is that Batman is simply a comic book character, he is most decidedly darker than someone like Superman. Indeed the two characters have always been at odds with one another about their various techniques in crime-fighting. Where Superman would work within the relative confines of the law, Batman would regularly bend or occasionally break them to yield the results he wanted. Most parents don't realize that and in wanting to make their kids happy they will take their kids to see the movie despite the ratings being the way they are for obvious reasons. "The Dark Knight" is decidedly not a childrens movie. Though the Joker is often portrayed as a laughing madman, in this case he is shown to be truly homicidal and that isn't the best thing for kids to see.

This movie is a polar opposite departure from the "Batman" films of the Joel Schumacher era where Mr. Freeze and Poison Ivy would trade quips while Batman pulls out a credit card with his name on it. These new films crafted by director Christopher Nolan are much much darker and are probably more closely related to the original premise of the character than the campy 1960's show would have you believe. While that's a good thing for getting us adults to enjoy the movie as being something more than just a simple comic book movie, it's a pain for parents who have to explain to their kids that they aren't old enough to see the movie. To the kids, it's just another form of their favorite cartoon and comic book characters on the big screen. Unfortunately for them, kids are very impressionable and this can lead to some decidedly negative influences.

I think Mr. Iemma is definitely doing what he can to stave off problems that I'm sure he's faced given the fact that he's the father of four children though I'm sure he'll also come under fire from people who view him as being an alarmist. I would hesitate in calling him an alarmist because if kids even attempt to emulate even a bit of what they see in the Joker, we're in for a lot of trouble. Kids see things with different eyes; we should know, most of us were that age at one time or another though some of us tend to behave as if we were born adults. Knowing how impressionable kids can be, it's up to us to ensure that they are not exposed to negative things that can influence them wrongly. Whether it is video games or movies, it's up to the parents to be the ultimate gatekeepers on these items. Politicians can help, but the final word should be from the parents. Don't let someone else fight your battles.