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)

Also that photo of the plane interior is hilarious as an example to prove your point! People on planes sit down while they travel, not stand up. So your photo proves nothing!

Thank you for your comments. My curiosity is satisfied: this does not seem to be an issue for the majority of commenters.

It's all very well blocking anything but children's films from the in flight entertainment but how are you going to stop people watching whatever they like on their own devices? My husband quite often puts a few tv shows on his iPad for long haul flights and I can't imagine he restricts himself to non-stop Peppa Pig.

I was on a long-haul flight a couple of weeks ago. I'd have thought some creepy journo taking photos standing at the back taking photos of the plane's interior needed to be told by the staff to leave off and sit the fuck down.

Curiosity, my arse. It's a silly idea for an article but hey, you got what you wanted.

I am not a journalist. I started the discussion out of curiosity: I was amazed by what I saw in Asia.

Anyway, thank you for your comments.

How do you police which direction your children look in? Ridiculous.

It's like suggesting we should have soft porn magazines at child eye level and suggest that they avert their eyes.

What if adults don't want to see it? TV screens are deliberately attractive to the human eye. That's why they're so successful.

I agree with you OP. We have enough violence in this world. I hate gratuitous violence and never understand anyone who enjoys horror etc. I used to watch them but I imagined what it could be like to feel the pain etc and thought "why is this enjoyable to watch"?

Let's wait for the article to appear.

This is such a crazy thing to worry about.

'How do you police which direction your children look in? Ridiculous. '

I've travelled with three or two children long haul on my own for 13 years now. Here's how you do it. You book seats in a row of 3 or 4, depending on how many there are. Then you are all sat in the same row. It's then nigh on impossible to see other screens. DS has ASD so I keep an extra eye on him to make sure he's not doing anything inappropriate, like staring at other people. This is how you police it. Ridiculously easy.

Adults? Look away. Imagine that!

What if adults don't want to see it?

Then they shouldn't look, maybe....? It really isn't hard.

It's like suggesting we should have soft porn magazines at child eye level and suggest that they avert their eyes

It really isn't. Not even slightly.

What about people who bring their own iPads etc would you ban those from using them?

Thank you for your comments. My curiosity is satisfied: this does not seem to be an issue for the majority of commenters.

In other words - there is no point writing an article about this as I'll be torn to shreds in the comments.

I do think passengers have to think about how other passengers may react to what they are listening to/viewing. For some people using headphones would be a start...

I don't think it's acceptable for a man to look at topless women in a newspaper (or that they are there in the first place) on the train or to watch a porn film on his laptop. Reading a book with sexual content is different as other people are only like to read the odd word or phrase over your shoulder . I'm not saying I entirely agree with the OP or arguing for all manner of bans, but I do think these issues need to be discussed as it is a relatively new thing that people can be watching 18+ material on a device which might be unsuitable for or offensive to the person sitting next to them.

Cathay Pacific have a great range of kids films (and the kids films don't have adverts on the front like their other movies). People on their flights with kids can just put on wall-to-wall Disney and their kids won't be interested in what's going on on anyone else's screen. They also censored bits of movies with nudity and violence when I flew with them in December.

You couldn't see what other people are watching on any of the flights I've ever been on.

I cannot imagine being such a precious, entitled parent as to think it would be acceptable to restrict everyone on a flight to U films because there might be toddlers on board. Indeed, what about those toddlers that find some U films too scary? Will we have a panel of over-protective parents to vet the U films for suitability too?

It is a sensitive and cross-cultural topic. I wonder if the films I saw were particularly violent: they were mostly Asian. Perhaps there are already regulations in Europe.

For those of you who think I am a journalist: I am not, nor do I have any plans to write an article. My trip in Asia was with someone with PTSS for whom violent films were a source of huge stress. I know that one cannot expect to change regulations protect people with PTSS (even if they have fought for our freedom). I brought this issue to Mumsnet because I thought that parents may wish to protect their children in the same way.

The photograph was from Google images.

'It is a sensitive and cross-cultural topic.'

No, it's really not. It's a non-issue for most people, as evinced here.

I can't understand why you found it such an issue that you actually joined MN to post about it

I travelled recently in Singapore airlines premium economy cabin. All seats had large screens, clearly visible around the cabin, especially those at the front (bulkhead). Our young, impressionable kids were gazing at other screens now and again. I was very pleased they did not look up (as I did) to suddenly see the sex scene in black swan shown on one screen. I agree with you OP but perhaps this is a long haul or specific airlines issue?

You can't possibly make airlines show only U films! What a joke. So people are meant to sit on a long haul flight watching Frozen? I don't think so.

It's your job as a parent to police what your child sees.

I'd be astonished by an airline showing anything more than a PG on a flight. I've not flown much long haul, but when flights haven been long enough for them to show a movie I've never seen anything that would be shown on TV after 9pm. But then these would have been UK based airlines. I'd be very upset if a film with adult content was shown - more at violence than sex scenes. It's not optional viewing if it's a shared screen in front of you, even though listening or not is an option.

I live in China and frequently fly with cathay pacific and Dragon air. I have only been able to see my screen and the ones to the side of me and perhaps the row in front (aisle passenger) on the opposite side. Your photo is taken from a standing angle.
Films have ime been edited for excessive violence/gore.
If you are sitting with your own children - it's your responsibility to watch something appropriate if they are watching your screen and to monitor what they are watching. It's called parenting.
Ime - my kids are too engrossed with what they are doing/watching to notice what I am doing.
Adults can look away.

I don't see why people think that anything goes because you are on an aeroplane. There are all manner of rules about what you can't do in the air or on trains or other public transport. You wouldn't expect someone to be watching explicit content on a train next to you, so why would this be acceptable when you are trapped next to them for the next ten hours? I'd complain on behalf of myself, never mind the kids.