To find Matilda hard to watch?

[susiesuelou]

I know it's just a work of fiction for kids and that it all comes good in the end for Matilda, but I've been watching it this morning whilst toddler DD naps and it's struck me just how horrible it is (the start especially). Particularly the part where she begs to be allowed books to read and the Dad holds her head and forces her to watch TV instead. Not being acknowledged by her mum when she comes in from school and wants to tell her about her day. 🥹

And don't get me started on the abusive practices of Miss Trunchbull! Particularly force feeding chocolate cake to that boy! I actually skipped through that part.

I've watched it before but never really watched it, if that makes sense. And it's just left an uncomfortable feeling.

AIBU? Am I too sensitive? I know the answer is probably yes, as it's just a film after all. But has anyone else had similar discomfort watching it?

Misogyny? Despite the primary theme being wronged children? Of course it is 🙄 ffs

We used to find Miss Trunchbull hilarious as kids. I remember a teacher who used to joke about how much she admired her discipline methods, no-one was remotely worried that she would use them.

Because the men in Matilda come out so much better than the women, don't they.

You need to allow children to think the unthinkable. There is so much emphasis on always being Nice, and Kind, but our thoughts often include anger and vengeance. You have to allow these thoughts, you have to understand them and accept that they are there. It is completely different from acting them out. "How could you even think such a thing?!" Well, we do. Suppressing the thought does not help the child's emotional well-being.

Are you saying she's portrayed as plain in the film? She certainly isn't in the book.

If you had read his piece on the death of his young daughter from measles, you would see that he deeply loved at least his own child.

Apparently CD was a horrible man too

By 2022 standards probably. They all would’ve been.

@Rowthe it doesn’t necessarily go over children’s heads. They put Matilda on at school when my son was year 1 or 2, he hadn’t seen it before and it upset him. He came home and said they had made him watch child abuse at school.

Oh god, well thats that then

Burn all the books!!!

In the film with Danny DeVito as the Dad, he physically holds Matilda's head still to force her to stay still and watch the TV when she doesn't want to. That was the only part I picked up on that was physical. The rest was the emotional abuse and the neglect that I found hard to watch.

It makes me so sad that even adults these days don't have the emotional resilience to read or view fiction. And that instead of recognising their lack of resilience or empathy, they accuse the creators of fiction of abuse. But worst of all is when they try to take the joy of reading away from children, because adults themselves haven't got the imagination or resilience to handle the stories.

I'm sure Roald Dahl would have had something to say about that.

Charles Dickens wrote David Copperfield from his own childhood experience, and Oliver Twist from a knowledge of the realities of life for children in the workhouse and on the streets. He was very active in children's welfare and in improving working people's education and prospects. By the standards of Victorian Britain he was phenomenally progressive and liberal.

After Oliver Twist was published, he listened to the objections from Jews and edited the text for future editions to reduce the anti-semitism and objectification of Fagin. Yes, by today's standards Fagin's presentation is still anti-Semitic, but my point is that Dickens both reflected society at that time, and considered the harm he might cause by doing so.

Whether he was a nice person, I cannot know. But just because he wrote about nasty things it does not mean he had a nasty mind.

I think cancel culture can take things too far - it is possible to read the books, accept that they are “of their time” and that the person (like Dickens) writing the book is flawed.

I think the best takeaway from Matilda is one of the emotional resilience of kids - much like Jacqueline Wilson’s books - though I think JW approaches the issues more sensitively

There's a difference between "not having the resilience" to view something, and viewing something anyway but being left with a feeling of discomfort because it portrays neglect and abuse. Which is what I'm referring to.

I found it hard to watch and had to remind myself that Roald Dahl is not Walt Disney!

Okay. Not having the resilience to deal with feeling a bit uncomfortable then.

Same

Humans should feel discomfort/upset at abuse and neglect surely?

WTF are your children reading and watching then? I mean, ffs, could you play into the millennial snowflake characature a little more?

This is such a weird take, though.

Clearly, the OP has read and viewed fiction. She just doesn't like it and is discussing that.

What I am seeing is a thread full of snowflakes who can't cope with a dissenting opinion. Some on here seem to think that disliking Dahl's books is tantamount to 'cancelling' or banning them! I mean ... have you seen his sales?!

I was watching Matilda yesterday as it was on TV, when I was flicking through the channels I couldn’t find it again.
But i do think you must be at least a little bit sensitive to find the film a hard watch. It’s a film for kids and yes Matilda’a parents neglect her and Miss Trunchbull is a bully but that’s the whole point and it’s done in a humorous way.
Matilda gets her dream life in the end so she wins.

Harry potter took more flack than Maltida as a kid.

I’ve always found Oliver Twist hard to watch for similar reasons.

Fairly standard Roald Dahl (and David Walliams) story. Shit childhood gets rescued or idealic childhood goes to shit