A non-spoiler parent’s guide to the PG-13 movie.
There are a few things you may want to consider in advance.
Its a good question.
Credit: Francois Mori/AP
And everybody may have a different answer.
You know the one.
In the vast world of science fiction, action violence could encompass anything from blasters going pew-pew-pew toAlienchestbursters.
Berk Ozkan/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
The age designation of 13 doesnt really help.
Heres a guide that may help you decide.
you might read this and still not know where the story is going.
This should help you decide for yourself: Should I take the kids?
The movie also features several elaborate aerial battles between X-Wings and TIE Fighters.
Many of these vehicles blow up real good, but its basically a fireworks show.
Sean Gallup/Getty Images
Even though there is unseen loss of life, these chases and dogfights arent psychologically disturbing.
But there are a few other isolated moments that are more disturbing…
It was easy to laugh and cheer their demise.
Even an enemy soldier.
As we see in the trailer, Finns helmet ends up with a crimson handprint on it.
Early inThe Force Awakens, we witness how that mark happens.
The moment comes and goes quickly, but it leaves both a literal and psychological mark on Finn.
It might do the same for kids.
EWs Analysis:We arent usually asked to feel for the bad guys.
Thats not a terrible thing.
NEXT PAGE: Heres where things get a little more questionable …
[pagebreak]
3.)
Most children should be able to tolerate a planet melting without melting down themselves.
But theres another moment inThe Force Awakensthat is smaller in scale, but truly haunting.
No little kid should feel the full gravity of something like large-scale genocide.
For me, the up-close threat against huddled innocent civilians was more painful.
So will your kid be able to handle this?
Ages 10 and above, probably.
Younger than 6 probably not.
Thats a judgment call.
If he or she is enrolled in a school, they are very likely being taught intruder drills.
Sometimes, teachers make a game of it to hide the sickening reason for their existence.
They absorb details from the news and overhear hushed conversations between adults.
A mature-minded grade-schooler can probably handle these parts of the film.
Theyve certainly been asked to handle worse.
No names or clues.
Frankly, this one is going to be hard for kids to deal with.
Its not the same as Obi-Wan getting struck by Darth Vader and turned into a pile of laundry.
Thats why parents of little kids should keep their guard up.
Its not a masked soldier being ordered to take the lives of random strangers.
Its to keep it general an act of deliberate anger and cruelty.
It might make little kids cry even the tough ones.
But it is followed by a profound act oftendernessthat will definitely makeyoucry.
This is a tough one for those planning to bring anyone under 13.
Why does it happen?
Can you get so angry that it blots out any other emotion?
Let the kid know that even when good guys dont win, theres victory in simply being good.
That might make them feel better.
(It makesmefeel better.)
FINAL CALL:
My 3-year-old will have to wait for the Blu-ray, when we can skip certain scenes.
But Ill be taking my 6-year-old to the theater to watch this alongside me.
Stories are how we deal with our fears as well as our dreams.
Theyre like a rehearsal for how we hope well respond when called upon to be brave.
Sadness is how we know something mattered.
In general, I thinkThe Force Awakenswill be a funny and exciting ride.
In its darker moments, I believe it will evoke empathy instead of despair.
And at least this time, the terrible things that happen arent real.
