Violent/explicit in-flight entertainment, unsuitable for children

[ejebrown]

Hello Mumsnet!

I recently made a trip that involved seven flights. On each flight, I had to endure violent films on other passengers' in-flight entertainment systems.

These films were clearly inappropriate for children. Yet they could been seen by children.

I wonder if we could campaign for airlines either to provide only Universal (U) rated films, or to design their screens so that only passenger sitting directly behind the screen has a clear picture.

Any ideas?

(PS I am not (yet!) a mother: when I am I know I would not want my children being exposed to violent or explicit films)

The screens are so small you can barely see your own screen never mind someone else's.

Honestly, have my first ever

I guess it depends on the airline. On Cathay Pacific, Dragon Air, KLM and Malaysian Air I could see all the screens in my range of vision.

But maybe it's a non issue. It just seemed weird that anyone on board could see decapitations, gun violence etc. whether they wanted to watch or not.

Then make sure they aren't nosing at other people's screens on a flight

True: but the screens are clearly visible and draw attention simply by flickering in people's peripheral vision.

There is also an argument for letting children see that violence exists.

It would bother me. I hate gore and violence and make a point of not watching films containing either. I don't think anything could be done about it though tbh.

There seem to have been some complaints before.

This article is about nudity on in-flight entertainment:

www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2012/11/07/nudity-on-in-flight-entertainment-unregulated-easily-viewed-by-children.html

And in this one the author is worried about the suitability of "The Office" for children!

pjmedia.com/blog/in-flight-entertainment-not-suitable-for-children/

I flew Cathay Pacific this year to NZ. Other people's screens are clearly visible. my DH was watching something that looked very violent, with our 2 DDs sitting either side of him. I made him turn it off. He was going to be sitting on his own the next leg of the flight so he so he watched it then. I was watching a horror type movie and the poor older woman next to me put her eye mask on after I saw her pointing to it and saying something to her husband on the other side of her.

I think something could be done.

Cinemas are not allowed to admit people under the advised age of the film. Since the screens on in-flight entertainment are clearly visible, then effectively the airline is allowing underage children to see age-censored films.

I think the hitch would be to do with UK law and international law. I'm not sure how film censorship works in Asia, for example. Another hitch could potentially be the lack of sound.

I am an adult. I would not fly a particular airline if it only showed U features. I think you are being over precious & should concentrate on your own screen/book rather than looking to see what other people are up to.

If I was travelling with young children I would supervise them & not allow them to watch age inappropriate programming, nor would I watch something inappropriate while sitting next to them.

I was surprised last time I few to see films with adult content in the entertainment. However I did notice that if there was any sex all the private parts were blurred out.

Surely though you will govern what your children look at on their screens.
Why should everyone else be stuck with U entertainment because a child might accidentally look at it for a moment?

Now, Young, your DH shouldn't have been watching something inappropriate when your DC were sat there. They are young children that he is responsible for.
However in the case of the woman sat next to you she was an adult woman who surely can just not look at the damn screen.

I've noticed that some airlines do edit out particularly gory or explicit scenes out of films.

I think the solution would be angled screens, for example like old style laptops, and parental controls. As I said, I do not have children but I do think it's a serious issue, take the Bandura experiments from 1961 and 1963 and the wealth of research that followed. There is a reason we have censorship of films.

However, I agree that adults should be free, within reason, to access a range of entertainment.

And it's not a case of avoiding looking at other people's screens. Simply by keeping your eyes open you catch what is going on around you. On the flights across Asia, that was mostly fantastically violent films.

I think the solution would be angled screens

But if I angle it away from one child then I might be angling it towards another.

As said up thread most films are edited before they are put on in flight entertainment.

What the actual solution is is a privacy filter that you can fit over the screen. There is no reason all screens couldn't have them.

You will have seen them on ATM screens. They are sheets of sticky plastic that have lenticular prisms in. This means that you can only see the screen if you are looking straight on to it.

Or the other option is to get a grip.

For those readers who are unfamiliar with 747 and 777 interiors, here is a photograph.

I hope you now can see that without an eyepatch, seeing other passengers' screens is unavoidable!

NB I know the photograph is taken from a standing position. It is merely to show the visibility of the screens.

DesolateWaist - that is a brilliant solution.

You'd be amazed how little children notice when they're plugged in to their own screens!

Lets fact it, the only safe option is to have back to back Teletubbies.

This means that you can only see the screen if you are looking straight on to it.

How would that work when you are probably not always looking at the screen straight on? They don't adjust that much, people are different heights, seats recline....

I've flown longhaul with my children many many times and they have never been interested, or noticed, other people's screens. Adults are fully capable of just not looking.

I'm an adult with children. If other adults cannot police their own kids on a flight, and make sure they don't watch violent stuff, that's their lookout. I don't see what other adults should only be able to watch U stuff because kids might be on the flight. As for others nosing at my screen, get a life and mind your own business. There's glare in airplanes and angled screens can inhibit viewing.

You need to tell your editor this idea for an article is unworkable because is the First World Problem of first world problems and the stupidest idea for a campaign I have read in 11 years on this site.

You need to tell your editor this idea for an article is unworkable because is the First World Problem of first world problems

Just what I was thinking

This read like a journalist...

*reads

people are different heights, seats recline....

You need to be straight on left and right. Where you are vertically doesn't matter.
So the person in the seat next to you couldn't see but if the person in the seat behind you were to look over your head then they would.