Would A Beautiful Mind be ok for an 11 year old to see? (1 Viewer)

[StephenA]

I recently got A Beautiful Mind on DVD. My sister, who is 11, likes Russell Crowe and imediately said she wants to see it when she saw I got it. My mom says she wouldn't undewrstand it. I talked to my sister about what the movie is about, and she said she'd understand it. So I wanna ask you guy/gals if you think she'd have a hard time understanding it, because I've never seen the movie myself.

 

[Alex S]

I wouldn't let my 11 year old watch it.

Why don't you watch it first then decide.

 

[Rich Romero]

I think the content is suitable but I doubt an 11 year old would enjoy it.

 

[Patrick Sun]

Isn't this a question for your parents to decide on?

 

[Andrew_Sch]

There's really no content in the movie, IMHO, that isn't appropriate for an 11-year-old, but, as others have said, I doubt if the average 11-year-old would enjoy the damn movie that stole best pic from LOTR this excellent movie.

 

[DeepakJR]

Im 14 years old and have been watching/enjoying all kinds of movies since i was a little kid. I think a 11 year old is old enough to watch a PG-13 rated film. I mean, come on, i saw Terminator 2 on my own when it came out in 1991 when i was only 4. Let your kid watch it and see what he/she thinks. Me and most of the people i know watch all kinds of movies. Dont let the rating spoil the fun for other people. Let kids see what they want, that way theyll build up a interest for movies and decide what they like and what they dont. To this day, i doubt i have been affected negatively by a movie. Not even Y Tu Mama Tambien, but everyone has their own ways and preferrences.

l8rz,
Deepak Jr.

 

[StephenA]

Since I help raise my sister, I figured I'd ask Patrick. My mom depends on me to help make decisions regarding my sister. Since her father ain't around anymore, she mainly looks up to me as the man in the house. I just wanted to know if this is a movie that an average 11 year old would understand.

 

[Patrick Sun]

Then I would suggest that you read up on some books on rearing teenagers if you want to help your mother out.

If your mother can't be bothered to watch films that might be too mature for an 11 year old, and make an informed decision on what your sister should watch, then your sister should stick to PG fare until she's 13 years old. Your sister has plenty of time to "catch up" later on watching PG-13 films when she's more mature to handle certain adult themes without having to juggle that with internalizing her maturation process as she grows up with issues that could cause confusion for her at an early stage of development as she enters the puberty stage.

Is there a rush to "grow up" your sister? Let her childhood be of less burden. These are the carefree times of her youth that you can't get back for her if you insist on "showing" her films that might cause her more confusion than enlightenment at her current age.

 

[Nathan V]

Ten years ago, this film would be PG. It also never would have won best picture. But anyway, you really ought to see the film and judge for yourself (you know your children better than anyone else). The film is fairly tame, but several scenes are rather intense (drowning babies, people yelling, etc). Also, I really doubt she will grasp the film's concepts. The film is just really not 11 year old material in that it will appear too confusing, bland. Of course, I don't know your kid, so it's very possible that everything I've just said is incorrect and irrelevant to your situation. There's plenty of other good movies for kids to watch. (I'm not going to get into my 'disney damages' sppech, I promise!)

Nathan

 

[Jan Strnad]

Nathan,

I often work for Disney and would love to hear your "Disney damages" speech!

Kids don't understand most of what they see, whether it's on TV, in the movies, or in real life. But that doesn't stop them from enjoying it on their own level. I never understood all of the Hollywood celebs parodied by the old Warner Bros. cartoons, but I still loved them.

I can't think of anything in A Beautiful Mind that would warp an 11-year-old's tender psyche. If she gets bored, she can do or watch something else. Hey, it's a DVD, you can hit the "stop" button. It's not like you're dragging her to the movie theater.

She wants to see it, so let her. If she's mistaken, she'll learn something, i.e. "I don't like all the movies my favorite celebs are in."

Jan

 

[teapot2001]

I think it's fine for your sister to watch it. It seems like you've exposed her to more mature and difficult movies.

~T

 

[Scott Weinberg]

Aside from the stock "watch it yourself first" answer ...
I think it's a fine film for an 11-year-old. It does have a few mature themes, but any pre-teen mature enough to WANT to watch a drama like this could most likely handle it.

 

[Greg_R]

Go here to read the reasons why it's PG-13. Most people don't want to watch the same movie twice in a row (once to see if it's OK & once with the kids). The above website gives you enough information to make a decision w/o ruining the movie...

 

[John Miles]

When in doubt, ya gotta check the CAP...

 

[Steve Schaffer]

There are some very mature themes in the movie that she may not understand, but nothing particularly damaging to an 11 year old's psyche.

I don't think kids today get enough credit for being able to handle and derive benefit from more mature subject matter. I'm not talking about sex and violence, but meaningful or important subject matter about problems and issues.



I was 11 years old when my dad took me to see Judgement at Nuremberg, a classic Spencer Tracy movie about the Nuremberg war crimes trials of Nazi bigwigs following WWII. This film includes some very graphic footage of what was found when Concentration Camps were liberated.


Although I was probably too young to appreciate the artistic virtues of the film, I was not too young to get a basic understanding of the horror and immorality of the Nazi regime, and the importance of putting the perpetrators on trial. It was many years later that I understood the moral dilemma of the judges trying to mete out justice to the war criminals while risking alienating the German public at a time when their support was needed to help fight the new cold war.

So an 11 year old may not understand all of the themes of A Beautiful Mind, but should get some idea of what mental illness can do to victims.

 

[FilipM]

Absolutely not! Your sister will be horribly scarred for life and should not watch this movie until her 13th birthday. That very second she will magically change and will no longer be scarred for life by watching that movie.

In other words there really is no big deal about letting an 11 year old kid watch this move, at the worst she might say "huh?" a few times.
Just sit down with her, watch it together and answer any question she might ask to the best of your ability.