It’s not just airplane food that’s making some passengers queasy these days. It’s the in-flight movies. According to this New York Times article, passengers with kids are complaining more often that overhead video fare has too much sex and violence for their little ones to watch. For me, the article raises three issues:
1) Normally, I don’t place much stock in parents’ complaints about what their kids see on TV or at the multiplex, but they’re entitled to complain about in-flight fare, which they can’t choose, shut off, or have their kids look away from. Even without sound, there’s no reason little kids should be captive audiences for such explicitly violent recent films as Shooter (with Mark Wahlberg, pictured) or Fracture.
2) It’s news to me that the studios don’t provide the airlines with the edited films; rather, the Times says, the airlines hire outside contractors to make the edits, though the studios offer the airlines lists of suggested cuts to their R-rated films. This reminded me of all the hoo-ha a few years ago when some Utah video stores started renting their own cleaned-up versions of movies, prompting a successful copyright infringement lawsuit from the studios. Why are the airlines allowed to recut films and charge you to watch them, but no one else is?
3) The airlines and their editors suggest that the problem lies with the studios, who just aren’t releasing enough family-friendly fare these days. That sounds dubious to me, but even if it’s true, why does that matter if the airlines are permitted to do their own edits? And who says they have to show recent films? They’re already showing reruns of long-gone TV shows like Cheers, so why not show classic movies as well? I bet a lot more passengers would pay to watch a Jimmy Stewart or Katharine Hepburn classic than some hacky, disposable new action flick that’s going to disturb their kids.
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I found that ridiculous and completely agree with you! I have recently watched Casino Royale in flight and it had been edited at quite a few places (good parts of course were missing!)!!! If they don’t want there kids to watch it, then the parents need to act as I think the airline companies already do their parts in it. (and I have taken planes quite often this year, more then 20 times…)
Am I the only one who thought that was a picture of Mike Delfino before reading the caption saying that it was Mark Wahlberg?
OK Catherine, how exactly are parents supposed to “act”, as you put it? When the guy in the seat in front of your kid is watching one of the movies, what recourse does a parent have at that point?
Great suggestion about the old movies, Gary!
I am SOooooo tired of people with kids whining about how movies/music/etc. is ruining their kids. I am not sure, but statistically, don’t their HAVE to be more people without small children (i.e. under 10) than those WITH small children??? Since when does what I watch get dictacted by a minority who MIGHT be offended. GAH. Get your kids a $100 DVD player that they can watch during the flight, or a PSP – I guarantee they will watch their stuff, not MINE.
rant over.
If airlines want to show the latest movies and TV but still keep their flights family-friendly, then they should all offer individual TV monitors at seats (a la Jet Blue) and several channels so that people can actually choose their entertainment. Of course, this costs money so isn’t likely to happen anytime soon. In the meantime, I applaud Gary’s old movie suggestion…if airlines want to offer more recent fare, surely they can keep it to the family-friendly stuff? Catherine, I’m with bbc – how exactly are parents supposed to “act” when the violent program is playing on 8 TV’s overhead? And snarky, I’m going to ignore your comment for the useless, trolling piffle that it is.
To bbc: If I child does not have the sound of a movie, he will most probably lose interest really quickly. And if you know you are taking a long flight (anything more than 30 minutes is long for a child!), you should be prepared as a parent with diffrenent activities such as a color book, book, games, etc. It really is not that complicated to do! I am not syaing it won’t happen ever but there are ways to prevent it!
How about this as a solution: American airlines upgrade their dirty, smelly, clanking old planes (the way that European airlines have) to have personal small-screens in front of you rather than an overhead TV with horrible picture quality? BA, for example, has a kid-friendly movies, shows, games, etc, in addition to entertainment for adults. Parents have control over what their kids watch, and the rest of us don’t have to crane our necks over other passengers, hope that the screen isn’t yellow, or watch edited films.
p.s. I see Martha posted the same comment as I was posting mine. As for expense, how about the fat-cat CEOs of the airlines take a small paycut? How can they be making that much money while the airline business is supposedly in dire straits?
Don’t you parents have more important things to worry about reguarding your kids? Global warming? The war in Iraq and Bush’s planned war with Iran? These hings are gonna affect your kids far greater than seeing a boob or some blood on an airplane movie.
How many children & families are in one air flight? When I travel there are maybe 2-4 families. On larger jets I’m not sure maybe more. But there should be a way for the airlines to give choices.
Any action movie I’ve watched on an airplane will have been edited beyond recognition, so I don’t know what these people are talking about. If anything, I would complain that they should just not show movies they’re going to edit so heavily. What’s the point of an action movie without the action?
And that’s why we end up flying Jet Blue if we have a choice with the 35 tv channels and 4 movies. My 8 year old can watch Discovery, Nick or Cartoon Network and I can watch a movie or BBCAmerica.
what we need is an Adults only airline, where we can watch whatever movies we like….and no screaming kids!
While we are at it, we can limit the age to less then 50. So an airline for 21-50 year olds only.
I would pay an extra $100 per flight for that!
I’m with Todd and Sally on this one. How many kids/families are really on any given flight? I never really noticed this was such a huge problem.
Martha, who peed in your cornflakes? if snarky wants to be an a** that is his/her business.
Mark – I LOVE IT.
Where can I sign up?
Can we get some movie theaters and restaurants as well?
Speaking as a parent, I agree that it wouldn’t kill the airlines to try and show less violent and/or sex-filled movies. I am also an adult who does not enjoy violence in movies, and I’m sure I’m not alone. To those who whine about the ‘minority’ of people who have kids, please realize that there are also adults out there who are sick of the gore.
Usually I would agree with editing, but as someone who has sat next to one screaming child with parent who refuses to do anything too many, they deserve it. Plus, the movies on planes usually are duds in the box office, so the companies show them there to try and get a more buyers.
I think you need headphones to hear the movies so if the kids don’t have the headphones then they usually don’t watch. My wife and I take our laptop or DVD player for our kids to keep them entertain. The airlines still to need to find neutral fare to watch. With the technology available they really don’t need to provide movies how about on-time flights instead?
the only bearable part about being on a plane is the in-flight movie, so if they’re so concerned about what they’re kids are watching then they should create a kids section cause i don’t want to watch nemo.
“I think you need headphones to hear the movies so if the kids don’t have the headphones then they usually don’t watch.”
What kind of kid are you referring to? Blind ones? My kids – who normally have limited tv time – can’t keep their eyes off a tv, even if there is no sound. Case in point, restaurant sports tv. My kids hate watching sports, and yet when it’s on in a restaurant, they can’t stop looking. Same for an airline’s in flight movie. The best solution is when the plane has individual screens for each passanger. But when it’s only overheard screens for all to share it should be more PG fare.
Amen, JONI. They watch screens, period, with or without sound.
And giving kids some appropriate things to watch would help calm them, so even you baby haters who posted should get behind that.
This is ridiculous. Once again the entire world must bend over backwards for the child set. I fly frequently and when I’m on an older plane that doesn’t have in-seat entertainment the options are always either outright childrens films or films where any semblance of inappropriate language (including the work “damn”) and entire scenes in which there is so much as a hint of violence or arguably suggestive sexual activity are removed. And this is completely fine, because people of all ages fly. If you really need to watch rated PG-13 or R films on a plane, buy a laptop. But can we please please please stop trying to make this a socket-covered, baby-gated world for children that the rest of us just have to learn to deal with? Here’s an idea, if you’re worried about your kids seeing something that might not conform to your uber G-rated wishes, give them a coloring book, read a story or maybe, just maybe, do some parenting and teach them that there’s such a thing as right and wrong.
Lord how I hate these whiney “parents” groups! They don’t represent most parents, and mostly represent a class of folks who believe it’s the responsibility of the rest of the world to raise their bratty children.
Parents who talk to their kids and who keep them grounded raise children who grow up to be intelligent adults.
Parents who try to hide every single bit of violence, boob shots and d-ck jokes from their kids’ eyes only create a taboo culture that makes these kids grow up WANTING to do those things their parents never let them do.
You can tell which people have no consideration about parents and the trauma of traveling. They are the first to complain about crying kids on planes, and then want to watch violent movies upsetting the kids more. A neutral comedy is all most people are asking for – not Knocked Up, but not Nemo either. I don’t want to watch Kill Bill, and I certainly don’t want my children watching it. These people who are complaining are the ones who then become the parents bringing their kids to Saw. Get neutered for everybody’s sake!
case in point supporting the parents side: our flight a couple of years ago showed “The Ring”. There’s nothing you can do to that film to make it not terrifying to a 5-year old, sound or no sound. *I* didn’t want to watch it, but we were stuck in front-row seats so it’s really hard not to catch glimpses of the creepy stuff.
As a father, I have tried my best when traveling with my one-year-old (she has flown four times in her short life). I hate screaming babies on planes as much as the next guy, but when you have to travel a long distance, flying is really the only choice. I can’t stand parents that let their kids run wild then get angry at you for daring to complain. As far as the movies are concerned, they should just do away with them altogether. The movies that are shown are usually lame, with or without the editing, and in this day and age there is simply no reason for them: as others have said, there are laptops, dvd players, PSPs and other media devices that can solve this non-problem. And yes, I agree that most parents’ groups are ridiculous, and I don’t think everyone else should have to change to suit us. However, it would be nice if you childless people cut us parents that are trying to get our children to behave some slack. Sometimes there’s nothing you can do for a crying baby. Sorry!
I am with the people who are tired of having things sanitized for some kid’s protection. You pretty much have to pay to see really good tv and quality R rated movies are few and far between, especially in the summer. All this because some kid might learn a swear word that his dad probably already uses on a regular basis anyways. The last few flights I have been on with movies have been awful PG movies, usually involving some kid and their horse. Considering I am much more likely to fly then some kid on vacation shouldn’t the movies be more to my liking? I am not asking for Saw but something for the adults that is not going to traumatize kids would be so much better.
We are not whiny parents. We are parents who are taking responsibility for our own children’s behavior, morals, and general upbringing. We do not let our kids run wild in the aisles. We do not let our kids watch, read, or listen to garbage. Public places such as airplanes, malls, outdoor advertisements, TV ads on during sporting events, etc., should respect that. Every one is trying to be so provocative and take it to next level that we as a society have let them go too far!
I love the idea of showing old movies or TV shows — I’m talking about fluffy stuff like Gilligan’s Island that appeals to kids and adults. I don’t think it’s too much to ask for “child-less” adults to make this “sacrifice” — like other posters have said, if you want to watch something for adults, bring your laptop and some headphones.
It’s called common courtesy and respect, people! Have we all forgotten how to be polite?
One more thing about traveling with kids — I am sick of people complaining about kids on planes. They are human beings just like you, except they tend to say things out loud that we’re ALL thinking, like “when will we be there?”
I fly with my kids all the time and spend the entire trip discipling, monitoring, and occupying my kids so they don’t kick your seat or spill juice on you or cry because their ears hurt during take off and landing.
Look, we’re all stuck on that plane together. I think a little patience and grace from the child-less passengers would be most welcome.
I promise to control my kids if you promise to show some patience.