This is topic Age appropriate? in forum Books, Films, Food and Culture at Hatrack River Forum.


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Posted by Juxtapose (Member # 8837) on :
 
So I was sitting in the bus today on my way home from school, studiously trying to do a crossword.

I say "studiously" because a couple seats behind me was a yound woman and her young son(maybe six or seven). She was reading out loud to him, in a voice that carried well. "Oh," I thought, "it's nice to hear a parent reading to their kid."

I smiled a little internal smile and went back to my crossword. I try to finish them before the bus gets me back to the apartment, though I don't think I've ever succeeded (I have better luck with sudoku). After a few stops, I was stuck for answers, my attention wandered, and I found myself half-listening to the story.

"Huh," I thought "that passage sounds a bit like Fight Club. How odd for a children's book."

Then I heard the name "Marla Singer." It was Fight Club.

Now, personally, I think we shelter kids a bit too much in this country. I'm not sure if, in general, we give kids the credit they deserve. That said, this scene bothered even me.

Reading Palahniuk to a six-year-old. Wow.
 

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Posted by Morbo (Member # 5309) on :
 
That's just disturbing. I wonder what questions the little tyke will have when mommie spouts off Marla's line "I haven't been ____ed like that since grade school!"

Will he want to change schools?
 

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Posted by Nighthawk (Member # 4176) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by Morbo:
That's just disturbing. I wonder what questions the little tyke will have when mommie spouts off Marla's line "I haven't been ____ed like that since grade school!"

Will he want to change schools?

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quote:

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I wonder what questions the little tyke will have when mommie spouts off Marla's line "I haven't been ____ed like that since grade school!"

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If I remember correctly, the line in the book was "I want to have your abortion." I believe that this was deemed too offensive for the movie (I don't know by who), so they replaced it with the line above.

Edit: beaten to the punch .
 

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Posted by Morbo (Member # 5309) on :
 
I knew that but had forgotten that quote was changed. I wouldn't want to explain abortions to a 6- year-old either.
 

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Posted by Demonstrocity (Member # 9579) on :
 
At least it wasn't, uh, any of Pahlaniuk's other novels.
 

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Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
 
Wow. When I was in kindergarten, my daddy was reading The Secret Garden and The Little Prince to me.

I think I prefer my dad's style.
 

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Posted by Demonstrocity (Member # 9579) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by ketchupqueen:
Wow. When I was in kindergarten, my daddy was reading The Secret Garden and The Little Prince to me.

I think I prefer my dad's style.

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The Little Prince may be the most frustratingly complex children's book known to man. I'm glad my mother didn't read it to me when I was young, I would've spent WAY too much time thinking about it.
 

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Posted by BlackBlade (Member # 8376) on :
 
I REALLY did not enjoy The Little Prince, I was just too young to appreciate its brand of symbolism I suppose.
 

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Posted by TL (Member # 8124) on :
 
I don't have a problem with this young woman. In fact, I think this is a good thing. Just wanted to say so.
 

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Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
 
Well, since my dad discussed the symbolism with me as we went while we read The Little Prince, it didn't bother me, and made re-reading later easier.

When we were 7 and 4, my dad read my brother and me The Odyssey and The Iliad(a translation/retelling for children.) They were awesome stories for kids, too.
 

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Posted by breyerchic04 (Member # 6423) on :
 
My mom read outloud to me whatever she was reading herself most of my childhood. That usually wasn't too bad seeing as she was getting a degree in Secondary Education: english, and took lots of kids lit courses. But I do remember being read The Life and times of Beetoven at about three.
 

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Posted by Teshi (Member # 5024) on :
 
Wow.

I mean, I've met children who've seen movies that I hadn't seen at thirteen, but I always chalked that up to a certain amount of laziness- you don't have to do anything to watch a movie. To deliberately read a book that is innaproppriate takes special skill.

I bet this was more of the situation that mother was reading Fight Club and little Billy wanted her to pay attention to him. The compromise (O.o) was her reading her totally inappropriate book to him.

I'm sure she would have censored anything really bad. It was probably just passing the time.

quote:

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My mom read outloud to me whatever she was reading herself most of my childhood.

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There are thousands of great adult books (and movies) that are perfectly suitable for children (if not totally understandable ).
 

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Posted by Juxtapose (Member # 8837) on :
 
Yeah, that's what I generally think about children being exposed to adult material. Most of it they won't understand and therefore won't really remember.

To an extent, children really are shielded by innocence. I think a lot of what adults worry about children seeing/hearing/reading is really the adult projecting his/her own biases/insecurities onto the child. In retrospect, I probably did a little of that on the bus yesterday.
 

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Posted by SoaPiNuReYe (Member # 9144) on :
 
The only problem is when the child's innocence leads them to ask questions.
 

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Posted by jh (Member # 7727) on :
 
Questions lead to knowledge. Children should ask questions; it is the parent who might be uncomfortable answering.
 

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Posted by vonk (Member # 9027) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by Demonstrocity:
At least it wasn't, uh, any of Pahlaniuk's other novels.

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quote:

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To an extent, children really are shielded by innocence.

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