One day last week, at 9:30 a.m., I was sitting in a theater filled with little kids and mamas. It was my 4-year old son's big day out with papa. My wife and I had been talking it up for a week and he was eager to see a delightful animation, "Ponyo." He was a little nervous sitting in the strange theater, but the sight of all the other kids around helped relax him.
Then the lights went down followed by gunshots, screaming, blood and bodies in the street. It was a full blast surround-sound preview of an adult gangster movie. My son was shocked. He screamed and shook all over as he climbed into my arms saying "no papa, no papa." I covered his ears, turned his head to my chest and held him. I yelled "baka," but only once since I didn't want to add to the mayhem. No one else reacted.
I kept comforting him, saying, "The nice story will come soon." But no, the theater continued blasting out the violent sounds and images. With my son traumatized and shaking like a leaf, I quickly rushed him out of that violent, auditory hell.
I wonder, weren't any of the other parents outraged? Or do audiences simply expect theater operators to have no common sense? Why would a theater expose kids to mindless mayhem before a fairy tale?
I certainly hope this is not something that is written off as a cultural difference. After all, "for children" should also mean protecting children from exposure to excessive violence.
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