Movie Thoughts

I am currently Coraline with my older kids and husband. This is the first time we've had it here, although my daughter saw it at a friend's house. So far, it's been a little weird but not overly disturbing. The button eyes of the "other parents" are a little creepy, and all of the characters so far are a little scary when you first meet them.

So my thought is, Is this okay? Is it alright to watch dark or creepy movies with my kids? I mean, they are not horror flicks. They're certainly not slasher movies. In fact, they are designed as "kids' movies."

Or are they? Kids dressed up like skeletons, women who stuff dead dogs and read tea leaves, alternate parents with buttons for eyes? Is this really healthy entertainment, or are we just numbing our children, preparing them for scarier stuff in the future?

I have to admit, I'm a sucker for a suspenseful movie, where I can figure out the creepy plots and twists of the tale. I love mystery novels, too. Is that okay?

I mean, they're not morally wrong. They are not portraying sexually inappropriate content or full of foul language, blasphemy, or violence. There are even lessons presented, and you can learn many principles from all kinds of entertainment.

People have told all sorts of tales throughout time. There's haunted houses and ghost stories, plays of comedy and tragedy, and tales of lives who've loved and lost. We express ourselves through stories; we remember and we learn. Life is not a neat and easy cake walk; should our entertainment portray such a reality? Or is that an excuse or copout to not "rise above" and see the best in life?