School showed 13 yr olds a 15 horror film. im i making to much of it ?

[melandtony]

I had a letter home to ask me to sign to say i had to sign to say my dd could watch a 15c horror film in school for media studys. my dd isnt the kind of child to enjoy or even want to watch a horror film so from the start i wasnt happy. my dd left giving me the letter to the night before the lesseon. i said i will think about it. in the evening she said she didnt want to go to school tomorrow. i said right thats it im not signing it coz its clear you dont want to watch it. world war three broke out and she got upset. i then said i would sign it but im adding a letter and if they say you dont have to sit in there then i want you to leave. she got uoset coz she said if i said no and she was the only one she would look like a baby and she said that the teacher had said he wanted them all signed or he would have to miss out on the film. so the poor kid had pressure from all sides.

this was my letter -

I have returned the form but not entirely happy with Evangeline watching a horror film. Not informing the parents of the films title also makes it hard to judge. Evangeline does not like to watch this type of film and it tends to play on her mind if she does. Evangeline feels under pressure from the teachers to have the form signed and join the class but also has the peer pressure if she is the only child not being granted permission or wanting to take part. If she is not the only one with reservations or I am not the only parent then I would like you to give her the option of not having to watch. If there is something I can do at home with Evangeline in order for her to have an understanding of the film or I can show her something and discuss at home then I am happy to do so. Evangeline has discussed this with me and has said that she is not the only one looking forward to this. In future I feel it would be better to inform the parents of the film title so at least I could have looked into it before hand with her or made a better judgement on this.

when my dd got home she said she said she didnt want to watch it to a couple of friends and they felt the same. luckly my dd said she could not watch it and the other 3 girls screwed up there slips and said there mums said no to watching it.

the film turned out to be "drag me to hell". i have watched the trailer and even i would not watch it. am i being over the top with this. i really cant understand why they would need to watch the whole film to understand how a film in narraded / cut / edited.

am i being ott ?

Don't believe you

Ive seen Drag Me To Hell and no way is it suitable for a 13 year old! Also aren't the school breaking some sort of law allowing 13 year olds to watch a 15 film? Cinemas aren't allowed to let in underage children, how totally bizarre.

Think I'd be speaking to the Head about this.

Most odd.

I just don't understand this.

I have no onjection to my children watching 15's - especially older films where it would more likely receive a lower certification nowadays anyway and certainly be no worse that we see on the BBC before 9 o'clock. However, surely schools have to stick by the certifications?

As for saying she should have tried to watch it and then walked if she didn't like it... That in itself can be a very difficult thing for a person to do. Add to the fact that she is 13 - makes it potentially even harder. Much easier to say "not allowed to" and save face and risk public humiliation in front of your peers.

I think your response was incredibly measured in the circumstances. I still remember seeing 'Don't Look Now' aged 16 (classification 18) and being horrified by it for days after. The key point is that the school is sending a very bad message to its pupils if it's showing them films that they're not meant to be seeing.

You need to know the title of the film, but other than that, a simple no is fine. You don't have to justify your views.

Our school had planned to let the Yr7s watch a 12 film, but my DD was the only one in the class still aged 11. The school phoned me to confirm that it was OK, otherwise the whole class would have missed it. My DD was glad I said yes, because the rest of the class wanted to watch it.

Teachers should plan ahead and should know how old the pupils are. They should not be in a position where they are the one that stops the whole class watching the film.

I would not want her watching a 15 when she is 13.

'Can I show underage material that is part of the criteria for Film Studies?

The classification decision indicates that the film contains material which the Board considers unsuitable for children younger than the age specified. However, there are some cases where it might be considered appropriate to show a film in an educational context where it is properly discussed and presented. For example, some AS and A2 Media or Film Studies exam syllabuses include ?18? rated films.

The BBFC's cinema ratings legally apply only to licensed cinemas, so it is not illegal for schools to show BBFC-rated videos to its pupils. Merely showing an age restricted tape to underaged persons - or allowing them to see one - is not in itself an offence. We would however strongly discourage such a practice unless (a), the children in question are only a year or so below the age stated on the certificate, and (b), there is some kind of serious educational purpose to showing the recording

Clearly, schools should seek parental consent prior to the screening. We would also recommend obtaining the approval of the Head Teacher and Governors. It is also important to make sure that any children watching are not likely to suffer any ill effects as a result of seeing the film.'

Source: www.sbbfc.co.uk/FAQ_teachers#underagematerial

The school sent a letter asking permission, if you don't want daughter to see it you return the reply slip saying no. Why the heck would the op need to follow this up as some of you are suggesting when the op signed yes? I did media gcse at school ( it was my one non academic subject) and we compared and contrasted 'the thing' and 'alien'. The school will have a standard approved letter but you might want to suggest in future the school name the film and if you disapprove send the reply back 'no'

My 13 year old recently came home and informed me she had watched a film rated 15 that day at school. The film was 10 rillington place, which I have watched previously and found it very creepy. But, the issue that my DD took with it was that it was rated 15 and she shouldn't be watching it! She has ASD and is a stickler for rules- she won't even watch a pirate DVD. I have been really interested reading this thread to see that posters we saying to contact the head - I think I may give that some thought.

I have had to join this forum JUST so I can reply and, in some way, defend the teacher.

I am a teacher (of English and Media Studies) for 14-18 year olds. I also run the film club for years 7-9 (ages 11-14). I have also sent a letter to my students' parents regarding the watching of 15 films.

For the Media GCSE we watched Blair Witch project as part of a film unit I was doing, partly because I felt it was good example of cinematography, viral marketing campaigns, tension building etc. This was shown to year 10 pupils who would have been 15, or almost 15, and so ok for the content.

I have also shown some 15s to my film club. One example being 'Gremlins', which if classified now would probably be rated a 12 as it is so mild in the violence/gore/swearing that 15 is far too high (but obv 80s sensibilities were more strict). Compare this to the current film we are watching ('About a Boy' which is a 12) and it seems like a Disney film comparatively.

As for the showing of films underage, schools are not held to the classification but advised to use them as guidelines. This is so clips and films relevant to the syllabus can be used (e.g. we are currently studying 'action adventure' and I have used clips from Kill Bill among others as an illustartion of female heros which could subvert the traditional notion of male hero). It is the teacher's professional judgment whether it is suitable or relevant to the topic. Also teachers often use genres which they enjoy/feel comfortable with to be able to explore more confidently. The film choice may be questionable, but if it has an academic reason I woulnd't see the problem - it's not like they are watching 'Debbie Does Dallas' or ' Saw 3'.

And finally - Media Studies is NOT a 'soft' or 'easy' subject. It DOES NOT involve watching films all year long. On my course, the GCSE students will have watched 3 films in full - 2 as thier exam this year is on Action Adventure (and one of these films was on a study day), and one film for their coursework on film. Media studies GCSE (and A level) requires a lot of creativity and A LOT of coursework. They also need to have a good, in depth knowldge of the topic for the exam, understand some theories and be able to communicate clearly and effectively.

It is, admittedly, an exam that is hard to fail completely. BUt it is also a subject that is hard to excel in as it is such a wide subject area and the specification requires a lot to be done and a lot of knowledge to be shown in a very short amount of time.

I personally feel that Media is a very important subject in today's life as it has such a huge impact on everything we do (in fact Mumsnet itself is a fascinating use of New Media, convergence and developments in technology and society).

Thank you for reading my mini rant - and sorry for any typos - it's 11pm on SATURDAY night and I am 3/4 way through a bottle of Rose!

I went to see that film in the cinema with DP and he got too scared and we had to leave... he doesnt like scary films though haha.

but yeah I dont think that is appropriate for 13 year olds..

It's SOP for schools to ask parents to agree to secondary students watching films of a higher classification (eg. we do Macbeth in year 8, the Polanski film is a 15).

However, it's also usual to be aware that not all students/parents will be OK with this, & to plan round it.

Schools show Polanski films? If adults want to take the choice to watch the "art" of a rapist because they consider the art excuses his private choices, fine, but don't show it to children before they have had the chance to know if they want to support such art or not, please.

A similar thing happened with my DD and a 'trendy' teacher. They watched half of a 15 film when she was 14, without any sort of parental permission. She came home a bit distressed and embarrassed by some of the content.
So I wrote a stern email.
As I had the film on DVD, I watched it when she'd gone to bed, listed all the bits that were inappropriate that she'd seen, then all the bits that were in the second half. I pointed out the inappropriate context of watching certain things in a mixed sex class and the negative impact it had on future attitudes.
It was a polite letter with my most serious 'teacher voice' and I copied it to the HOY and the head.
They didn't watch the second half, he was given some guidance as to what was and wasn't appropriate and DD went on to get an A* GCSE in his subject with no bad feelings on anyone's behalf.
Yes, there were other girls that felt the same way and were grateful someone had taken a stance.
Why did I have the DVD? I like horror films.

I like horror films, but I do think it's a bit odd that the teacher's choice was Drag Me To Hell, which is by all accounts a cheesy crock of shit. There are much better horror films that he could have used to illustrate whatever aspect of horror film-making he wanted the class to understand.

my only problem with this is

media studies

at 13

what the hell?

it is in itself a crock of shit - no wonder some kids leave school unable to read and write - what with media studies and citizenship and jamie bollocks insisting on parenting by proxy through schools

what bollocks

Media as a separate subject at 13 would certainly be a crock of shit!

I'm guessing this is year 9 starting GCSE (which is good) & doing a practice for their controlled assessments in year 10 (also good practice); no need to pick a crappy recent horror movie, though.

My year 9s are currently doing original writing - practice CA - they'll watch some of 'Stand By Me'.

Re: Polanski's Macbeth - no, sorry, no plans to remove it because of the director's morals. It's a bloody good interpretation of the play.

"Erm, I don't like to point this out, but it is a new poster, and I wonder is it entirely accurate.
It seems a bit odd ."

Err, why does me being a new poster make my opinion and experience any less valid? I run a very successful Media deaprtment and am part of an equally successful English department.

I agree with teh choice of film being a bad choice (as it is just a bog standard horror/gore fest, rather than the rating) and this may be my only issue. My main point is that schools are specifically given exception to the age guidelines with justification. Last year I watched Stand By Me with my year 9 media group (3 year GCSE course), looking at narrative and genre. We also watched the opening of 'Scream' as we were doing a Horror unit and the opening is a fab example of how tension is ramped up, the conventions of the genre and mise-en-scene.

And it is outdated ideas about media that gives it its bad name. It is a very relevant subject. I do believe people felt similarly about English Literature 30 odd years ago, and IT 10years ago. Both of which are now highly regarded as subjects.

And ref Polanski's Macbeth - Yes, It is FAB! It is in no way indicative of his personal choices, other versions of Macbeth do not seem to do it justice AND engage the students in the same way (I personally like the Judy Dench version but even I can see it would be a bit 'boring' for some students who are being forced to study Shakespeare)

media - I don't think the new poster bit was directed at you but at the OP.

I must ask what films DS has watched as I have never been asked to sign a parental consent form (he is yr9). He has however chosen Media as one of his options.

Ah, I see! Thanks for clearing up!

yOUR son's media teahcer (if going to watch higher rated films) may well send a letter out at the start of the year.

It is unlikely that you will get a letter regarding clips from higher rated films though as, if they anything like me, they will use sooooooooooooooo many clips (from all genres, ages etc) that it would be impossible to list the lot.

He should enjoy media as it can be a fascinating and rewarding subject (the coursework is more rewarding and visually pleaseing than English for example).

Please ignore any typos - laziness to blame today rather than booze!

As someone who didn't turn the light off at night for 3 weeks having seen the previews for a 15 rated film at the cinema (and I was in my 20s at the time), I would be horrified if my DCs were being forced to watch horror films at school at all. DS2 in particular is very sensitive to scary stuff. It is not an appropriate genre to force on to anyone and either shouldn't be used or an alternative should be offered.

Maybe those of you who enjoy horror films and think this is OK could actually think about the effects on those who are literally terrified by them. Waking up in the night with your heart racing, too scared to reach your hand out to turn the light on is not pleasant and is not an exaggeration.