The desensitization of our youngest children — already numb from the Teen and Mature video games many parents blindly allow them to play (which set them on a sort of addict’s quest for more, give me more, and make it really cool this time, come on, make it better than before!) continues jarringly along in The Dark Knight, a continually violent film which doesn’t need a drop of blood for its horror to seep in. Yes, Heath is amazing, licking those stinging, puss-filled lips. Yes, his is a performance adults can really relish in. Yes, the film is an astonishing display of cinematic style and brilliance— but WHERE oh WHERE is the sense in taking children to see a movie as dark as this? When did PG-13 become so maniacally dangerous? Every 10-year-old in my neighborhood wants to see this film and only tight-lipped moms will say no. So sitting in the Green Hill’s movie theater with my 10-, 12- and 14-year-olds I worried about my youngest one the most — he’s most likely to be influenced for better or worse. His face riveted forward, more than once I put my hand on his chest to feel his heart pounding hard in his chest. He was loving the Joker. I don’t want the world to be so romantic about villains. I don’t want to take my kids to movies like this. I didn’t know it would be so glaringly dark. I mean look, it ended up destroying Heath Ledger. And as far as I’m concerned, we need to keep the innocence in our children’s world longer and stop feeding them content they can’t say no to. Come on!
