The South Park Predicament

by Katy Abel

Single dad John Quimby of Brockton, Massachusetts hasn't seen South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut, but he can already script the scene and fill in the dialogue that will occur in his house as 12 year-old son Chris makes his bid to see the new R-rated flick.

"I'll probably say something like, "Hey Chris, Tarzan is playing in the next theatre over. Wanna see that instead?" Quimby predicts. "He'll look at me and say, 'What are you, Dad, nuts?' And if push comes to shove, I'll let him go see South Park."

For parents, the release of the new movie based on Comedy Central's crude but clever cartoon series is the latest cultural challenge to raising nice kids in a nasty world. It's little wonder that many moms and dads feel they are "up against it" in trying to protect children from violent images, or, in this case, outrageously disrespectful language. South Park's R rating, intended to keep anyone under age 17 from being admitted without a parent, offers little comfort or protection. Quimby predicts his son, who stands five feet, six inches tall, will have no problem getting in to see South Park, whether dad gives his blessing or not.

"He'll walk right down to the Cineplex, plunk down his eight bucks and walk right in, no questions asked," predicts Quimby. "And I'm in a bind here, having watched the show with him on TV. It's about as crude as you can get, but it's also very funny and it's not mean-spirited."

What the Critics Say

NBC News Channel movie critic Sara Edwards, who saw an advanced screening of the film, says she would "never take anybody under 13. It's full of foul language, gross in places. It crosses the line." The animated movie satirizes the movie ratings system, following little boys who sneak in to see a Canadian movie rated NC-17. When they repeat the dirty words they've heard in film, parents revolt, and the United States eventually declares war on Canada. But experts in child development have a warning for parents: even the savviest pre-teenager may fail to understand the scope of the satire.

"Parents assume that the way the child is seeing television (or movies) is the same way they're seeing it," says Renee Hobbs, Director of the Media Literacy Project at Babson College. "Many parents aren't sensitive to the fact that kids interpret media messages differently than adults do, because how you interpret media depends on your background and your experience in life."

"When something like foul language is paired with something funny, then the child believes the two belong together," says Linda Braun, executive director of Families First parenting programs in Cambridge, Massachusetts. "That's classical conditioning. It's exactly what happens when violence is paired with heroic figures."

Advice for Parents

Some tips from Hobbs and Braun for concerned parents:

• Remember that at different ages and stages of life, children will interpret media messages differently. Do not assume they see what you see.

• Be clear with kids about your media choices. If you say "no" to "South Park," say it firmly: "That language is unacceptable. Swearing and foul language is not OK."

• Talk in terms of family values, not a child's age. "You're not old enough to see that movie" will only make them want to see it more, and like the movie rating system itself, give kids the impression that exposure to media violence is somehow a rite of passage to adulthood.

• Talk with other parents about their decisions, and know that you're not alone in your struggle to "do the right thing." As one mom puts it, "It used to be a parent's job to introduce kids to the world. Now it seems our job is to protect them from the world!"

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