Grease

[curiousgeorgie247]

Dd (almost 11) wants to watch Grease this afternoon. Any thoughts? Is it suitable?

I sat my almost 9 year old down to watch it during the holidays. I was lost disappointed when she declared it was boring. Boring?! This came from someone who will happily watch YouTube videos of people who do ‘challenges’ like spending 24 hours in an inflatable ball pit. I disowned her at once.

I didn’t let my DC watch it until. One of them was invited to a sleepover where it was going to be shown. I was very close to the mum and let her know I didn’t want my DD to see it as I thought the message that you have to change who you are to be lovable was dodgy. Particularly the changes Sandy made. My friend obviously thought I was a neurotic prude but agreed to show a different movie.

Many years later DD confessed they had sneakily watched the movie anyway and she had been horrified that Sandy pretended to smoke in order to impress a boy!

I let my seven year old watch it in the summer holidays. She loved it and all the naughty bits went right over her head. I looked at the rating advice beforehand and couldn't relate to it from what I remembered as a kid. Made the decision that she would be none the wiser and would like the songs. She loved it! I did, however, jump up at a few points and fastforwarded it - more to save my own blushes.

It came out the summer I was 11. I went and saw it 9 times at the cinema.

It’s so rude! I show bits of it to my year 9s as part of their musicals project at school and they are always shocked at how rude it is, despite most of them having seen it as younger children. It always seems to go completely over their heads! My 6 year old has seen edited bits. The thing I’m annoyed at is that the Blues Brothers has so much swearing in. I love that film and the music and can’t show it to the kids because of the language.

Think I was about 9 when I saw it. All the bad stuff went well over my head.

I was a similar age when I saw Dirty Dancing. It wasn't until I was an adult I actually realised what the whole Peggy pregnancy and back alley abortion story was about.

It's a stylized image of American teenage life 60 years ago. Not an instructional video. Changing your ways to keep a guy pullleeeze, that is called blossoming into womanhood....and it is the male character who under goes a number of changes trying out for basketball etc etc.

And Rizzo is the hottest thing committed to celluloid.

Put it on and sing along

www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/arts-entertainment/grease-disgusting-201002222493

Personally I think it sends out a bad message to girls that they have to change to attract a boy. Sweet virginal Sandy has endless problems on the boyfriend front, but when,she tarts herself up, he can't get enough her.

@Sunnymeg I'm not saying you're wrong but in that respect so do so many other films. Take Little Mermaid for example. Change yourself entirely, leave your family behind to be with a man. Even make a deal with a villain to help you get there. I've never heard of anyone banning the little mermaid.

Personally I think it sends out a bad message to girls that they have to change to attract a boy. Sweet virginal Sandy has endless problems on the boyfriend front, but when,she tarts herself up, he can't get enough her.

I wouldn’t argue with that, but presumably it can lead to a real life conversation that it’s only a story, and that girls don’t have to change to attract boys - or any permutation of boys and girls.

I would say it's okay. It wasn't until I was older I realised about the rude bits and what they mean.
(It's my favourite film, I love it).

There are a billion and one films where the female changes her looks, and then suddenly the man notices/wants her, from Cinderella to She's All That. It's just a story.

@Emma760 I've never seen The Little Mermaid so can't comment. I loved Grease as a teenager and remember queuing around the block for tickets, when the film came out. However age makes you view things differ tly, although I always thought Danny was a bit of a pratt and not worth the bother.

I agree, he never seemed worth it.

I queued round the block three times to see this film in 1978 when it was released, I was 11 and understood all the rude bits perfectly well.

Danny also attempts to change himself to win Sandy over - doing sports, wearing a cardigan etc. It’s not just Sandy changing.

Watched it with DD when she was 10.

Then had a discussion about what " sloppy seconds" were, amongst other things.

Still sing the songs together, years later.

Depends on how worldly the 11 yo is!
I saw it as a child and it all went over my head, so much that only when I watched it as an adult did I understand why my parents didn't want to see it.

I was about 6, when I first watched it and the dodgy content went straight over my head. Same with dirty dancing.

I was 11 when i saw it. A friend explained the rude bits to me. I remained undamaged.

I used to be obsessed with this film as a kid, younger than 11.
Some bits definitely went over my head. In my head as a kid when they were kissing on the backseat of the car then he rummaged around in his pockets for something then said it had broke, and they both looked disappointed, then started kissing again... I thought he had gotten a game out of his pocket for them two to play together, and it broke so they carried on kissing hahaha

Maybe say it's a silly film based in the 60's and things have changed now e.g. smoking isn't cool, don't feel you have to change unless you want to and aren't happy with yourself (Sandy= leather pants, danny=jock).

i watched it as a kid and it went completely over my head, most of the themes anyway.

i was really shocked at some of the topics/issues when i re-watched it as an adult - in my head, i'd warped it into a kids movie, very tame, completely not how it is at all

I watched the film aged 11 when it first came out in the cinemas. Most of it went straight over my head.
Apparently the stage play that was the inspiration for the film was a lot more gritty and the filmmakers "disneyfied" it to make it more acceptable to a wider audience.

Are the pp who are concerned about the anti-feminist msgs also concerned with other films? As someone pointed out, The Little Mermaid is problematic, so is Beauty and the Beast, just two Disney films off the top of my head. Not disagreeing that the msg is problematic btw, just curious as I often see Grease held up for bad msgs but it seems to be loads of films have bad msgs for girls and I'm not sure how you deal with that TBH except by discussing it maybe.

Also, I remember watching Grease in primary school at the age of 9 or 10 and the rude bits didn't register.

LOL...DH has just said 'What do you mean rude bits?'

It has gone over his head for the last 40 years..
He now wants to watch it!