What age to watch Dirty Dancing at?

thegirlintheattic

I watched it when I was about 7 as it was mum's favorite film, the adult themes don't come across till your older.

Torry_Quine

I've never seen it so don't know how adult the themes are and certainly had no idea that abortion was one of the plot-lines. However I'm shocked at how young some have seen it or even worse allowed their children to see it. Age restrictions are there for a reason.

JWM

Torry_Quine wrote: »

I've never seen it so don't know how adult the themes are

But still you criticise the parents??

Torry_Quine

JWM wrote: »

But still you criticise the parents??

As I said age restrictions are there for a reason.

michelle2008

I watched it when I was 12. I remember some of my friends weren't allowed!!

I think most 12 year olds will know enough to get the gist of the story line - we all understood it just wasn't that interesting compared to baby and johnny!!

thegirlintheattic

Torry_Quine wrote: »

As I said age restrictions are there for a reason.

Don't think age restrictions really help. What is appropriate depends on the movie and the individual child. For example I know some 12 year olds for whom PG or U films would not be appropriate. I also know some for whom selected 15 films would be appropriate.

Examples of 'useless' age restrictions:
The Simpsons - usually rated 12, watched by plenty of under 12s without any harm. Children generally do not pick up on the subtext.
Doctor Who - ditto, not that scary and merchandised for kids.


I was lucky to grow up in a household without complete censorship - it hasn't done me any harm. We didn't have any very violent, sexual or hard horror films in the house - so anything else was fair game. If my parents were watching a movie I was allowed to watch too. If I wanted to read a adult crime novel - sure thing, if I wanted to read a book about war crimes - go right ahead. Watched Rocky Horror when I was about 8 or 9 - it was just a strange movie with good songs. Wasn't till I was much older I picked up on the adult themes.

milliebear00001

Torry_Quine wrote: »

I've never seen it so don't know how adult the themes are and certainly had no idea that abortion was one of the plot-lines. However I'm shocked at how young some have seen it or even worse allowed their children to see it. Age restrictions are there for a reason.

Surely age guidelines are only there as a guideline. Parents are the best people to judge what is suitable viewing for their own children.

I would suggest it is highly irresponsible of any parent to abdicate responsibility for their own children's viewing to an outside agency!

claire16c

tea_lover wrote: »

Me too. I think I was quite old (relatively!) before I realised what was happening with Penny. I thought she was just poorly.

I do remember a friend of mine pausing the video so she could trace around Patrick Swayze's bum though - think we were about 10 at the time. But even that was probably quite innocent, strange as it sounds.

Yeah we were all laughing on the coach when we saw his 'shock' bum! :rotfl: Unfortunately for me My dad had volunteered to help on that school trip,thank god i wasnt sat next to him I would have been so embarassed :rotfl:

Lunar_Eclipse wrote: »

I'd say about 15. I wouldn't want either my 10 or 12 year old to see it.

Personally, I think 10, 11 or 12 is too young, especially if they're emotionally mature and hence fully understand all the content whilst not being exposed to it in reality, thus the shock factor. On the basis that there's nothing brilliant about the film, I'd rather not expose younger children to it, most of whom are still satisfied with the Disney Channel.

A 12 year old is in year 7, I remember having an abortion debate in an RE lesson in yr 8! And there is no way I would have been watching the Disney channel then! Or at 10!

Torry_Quine

thegirlintheattic wrote: »

Don't think age restrictions really help. What is appropriate depends on the movie and the individual child. For example I know some 12 year olds for whom PG or U films would not be appropriate. I also know some for whom selected 15 films would be appropriate.

Examples of 'useless' age restrictions:
The Simpsons - usually rated 12, watched by plenty of under 12s without any harm. Children generally do not pick up on the subtext.
Doctor Who - ditto, not that scary and merchandised for kids.


I was lucky to grow up in a household without complete censorship - it hasn't done me any harm. We didn't have any very violent, sexual or hard horror films in the house - so anything else was fair game. If my parents were watching a movie I was allowed to watch too. If I wanted to read a adult crime novel - sure thing, if I wanted to read a book about war crimes - go right ahead. Watched Rocky Horror when I was about 8 or 9 - it was just a strange movie with good songs. Wasn't till I was much older I picked up on the adult themes.

milliebear00001 wrote: »

Surely age guidelines are only there as a guideline. Parents are the best people to judge what is suitable viewing for their own children.

I would suggest it is highly irresponsible of any parent to abdicate responsibility for their own children's viewing to an outside agency!

I agree that ultimately it's up to the parents what their child can see. To me though if near the age is one thing but some here talk of being way under the age.

I saw a film recently which was a 15 and with the amount of violence and swearing it should have been higher in my opinion.