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Tuesday, November 28, 2006

The Nativity: Parental Advisory from American Papist

Thomas at American Papist had an opportunity to attend an advanced screening of the film: The Nativity. He provides us with his review.

One thing I do want to point out for parents with small children, is this extract from his review:

"...the movie’s portrayals of Elizabeth and Mary giving birth – of course a central part of the plot – were a bit too intense to make it an easy family movie choice. Added to this fact the decision to begin the movie with a rather frightening episode from the slaying of the infants, a few scenes of crucifixion, and a young girl being dragged off by the Romans for a future of forced prostitution, and I’m left in a quandary. Did New Line want this to be the perfect family holiday movie? If so, then why all the labor screams, primitive birthing techniques and babies being put under the sword? In the movie’s quest for realism and dramatic impact I think they might have unwittingly passed over the boundaries of what most Christian parents will probably want their younger children seeing, at least if they want to postpone giving their children the full explanation for where babies come from, what crucifixion looks like and what Romans do to the daughters of Jewish peasants who don’t pay their taxes"


I don't have children, but I do thank Thomas for pointing this out for those who do, so they can decide if their smaller children should be exposed to this. Perhaps there are ways to shield them while in the show from some of the more difficult scenes. I myself was concerned how they might portray the slaughter of the innocence and hoped they could avoid the dramatics and make it so that adults knew what was going on, yet over the heads of the smaller children.

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