Kids Watching Violent Movies on Airplanes?
I have only been with my kids a few times on flights where movies were shown. Luckily, the movies, although definitely not children's movies, were not objectionable. Apparently this is not always the case.
Jesse & Helen Kalisher, whose children were subjected to watching the scary movie King Kong on a recent flight, have begun collecting names for a petition demanding that Congress "act immediately to put an end to un-rated and violent films being shown to children on commercial flights operating in United States airspace." The Kalisher's also cite several other examples of recent in-flight movies showing murder, gore, and weapons.
I too would have been upset if my 4-year-old was on an airplane and innocently glanced up at the screen only to see a man being attacked and eaten by gigantic jungle insects. No one is trying to kill the fun for other passengers here; there are plenty of movies for airlines to choose from that are PG and non-violent. Passengers who want to watch other movies can bring their own personal DVD players, which don't sit right in front of an innocent child's face.
Anyone wishing to find out more or sign the petition can do so on the Kalisher's website, kidsafefilms.org.
Passengers with kids can ALSO bring their own DVD players.
Many airlines today now have personal entertainment centers i.e. the ability to choose which films to watch on a personal monitor located on the back of the seat in front of them. As more and more airlines move to this system, this issue will become a non-issue.