Parents Angry Over Graphic Slavery Film In Chicago Area School

[Zephie]

"Middle Passage" is a film that doesn't pull any punches.

The HBO-produced feature, directed by French film-maker Guy Deslauriers and starring Djimon Hounsou, describes in graphic detail the voyage of African slaves across the Atlantic to the New World. The brutal conditions aboard slave ships are tackled head-on; suicide and child rape are among the horrors depicted and discussed.

So when a teacher in Chicago's north suburbs showed the film to her fourth-grade students, some parents were not pleased.

“As a parent and father I was destroyed, in the sense that I felt incapacitated in protecting my child,” said Patrick Livney, father of nine-year-old Becca, a student at the Greeley School in Winnetka where the film was shown. “The concept of a rape, suicide, depression at the age of 9 years old is a sad commentary,” he said, according to CBS.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/23/middle-passage-film-graphic_n_827124.html

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There is a poll at the link if you want to vote on if showing Middle Passage to these students was appropriate or not as well.

[plcdude]

1. fourth grade

Is imo a little too young for this movie.

[Cleita]

2. I think showing this film to high school age

children would be appropriate, but I don't think showing it to fourth graders is. I remember my father having a hissy when I was in the fourth grade and he picked up one of my text books on history that spoke of Assyrians skinning their prisoners of war alive. He really told the principal of my school what he thought about having children exposed to this kind of thing at their age.

[Dappleganger]

5. Yes, definitely high school...

possibly 7th and 8th graders as well, but not any lower in a school setting.

As a HUGE history buff growing up, I loved to read up on the violence of the Aztecs and the Incas--that was a huge thrill for me, lol (yeah, I'm weird like that).

[sadbear]

14. I showed this to 8th graders

And they handled it well. 4th graders? Definitely not.

[Mojeoux]

34. I learned about my Polish relitives being tortured by Nazi's at that age

My relatives wanted me to know the truth. So if a kid is black, he needs to know the truth!
For white kids, like the German kids in fourth grade, they are old enough to know the truth.

The protests are racist.

[seabeyond]

36. they are taught the truth, and much younger. there is a difference from

the discussion of the issues, and watching graphic movies reenacting.

[Mojeoux]

39. I know it was made by HBO, but it's not graphic porn.

Fourth graders see how many murders on TV and movies by this age?

[seabeyond]

42. at 8 or 9..... not much

not for my kids anyway. on the one hand, i was particular what was on the tv. on the other, my kids were 5 and 3 trying to process 9/11, living in a fundamental area being totally different from all of their peers. so they had plenty they had to process at way too young. they didnt get the tv and computer shit so many other kids have.

it is a tough balance educating children with the horrors yet not desensitizing.

an example, my oldest read black like me at 8 to better understand the experience of blacks and his reading was wide open because of his advanced comprehension.

[Mojeoux]

67. "Number of murders seen on TV by the time an average child finishes elementary school: 8,000 "

http://www.csun.edu/science/health/docs/tv&health.html

Not all parents are as on top of it as you.

I remember 4th grade and we had political debates. I remember my mind matured that year, more than 3rd or 5th.

[seabeyond]

70. now google how many child rapes they watch. suicide.

we have always talked politics, social issues, psychology and any other topic in our home from the youngest of ages. we discussed at 3, 4 why they didnt watch shows like power puffs and ed ed and eddy. they didnt watch the shows, but they knew about conditioning. about the angry face even when happy and how that conditions kids. about promoting stupid.

there is no way anyone would contend i treat my kids like breakable glass or shelter them. some things are too much. at 9, child rape is too much.

[Mojeoux]

71. ?

[TheWraith]

22. I think you're exactly right. nt

[Dappleganger]

3. I have seen this movie (it's an HBO special) and don't believe it's appropriate for 4th graders.

This teacher did show poor judgment not on the topic, but with the choice of sources to show how things were at that time. Granted, most of those kids have probably seen a lot of violence already but IMO this was definitely not age-appropriate and it shows poor judgment on the teacher's part.

Apparently, no prior parental permission was needed (or none sought) and that is a big problem for that age group. Parents should at least have the opportunity to be able to turn down that kind of movie to be shown their child. The topic is fine--it's just the way it was done which failed. This subject is vital to be taught to all children but it must be at age-appropriate levels and with age-appropriate materials.

[seabeyond]

18. my kids didnt and would have been extremely harsh, beyond, for that reason.

i was particular what the kids watched. cannot imagine them at that age seeing this.

[luvspeas]

4. EVERYONE shoud see this movie....

Yes it's devastating. I grew up in the north suburbs of Chicago. they aren't called the white flight suburbs for nothing. I do not remember being taught about slavery at all.

Demographics from wikipedia: The racial makeup of the village was 96.29% White, 0.25% Hispanic or Latino of any race.

note: NO African Americans.

the most segregated city in the country NEEDS to see this movie. Even the white 9 year olds.

[Dappleganger]

6. Did you see this movie yourself?

YES to the topic, but it's not appropriate for any 9 yr. old child. I do believe it's for older ages.

[luvspeas]

7. Yes I've seen it, it's an amazig depiction...

Have you seen modern day segregation, apathy, and racial ignorance at work in the midwest?

I have. I also work with 9 year olds. Believe me, it's not too much for them to handle.

[Dappleganger]

10. I've seen it on the east coast and in the south.

I'm not saying don't teach the topic at all, THIS movie is not appropriate for a 9 yr. old, period. Any child, black or white.

It's like the topic of sex education, regular discussions about age-appropriate themes while pulling no punches about the harsh reality.

[Pisces]

24. THis is your opinion and obviously not shared by these parents or myself.

[seabeyond]

21. age appropriate. i am very much into getting the good bad and ugly to my kids. harsh reality.

but i am also wise enough to have done it age appropriate, so foundation is built and they are able to process as they go along.

[MellowDem]

69. You sure are obsessed with that....

not to mention their "ivory" skin. Creepy.

Why don't you explain why a heavily white area NEEDS to show 9 year olds such inapprorprate conduct. I mean, slavery sucked, but so did a whole lot of history. History class in 4th grade isn't a time to graphically show all of the horrors of the past. Discussion is enough at that age, but 9 year olds aren't quite mature enough to comprehend things like child rape in a way that is useful.

No 9 year old, "ivory" (really, that's creepy dude) or otherwise, NEEDS to see this movie. Really, it won't do much good at that age. Better to show them when they are more mature and can understand all of the implications.

[Enrique]

8. for me the issue is this Livney guy's Titleist cap

which he wears in the interview. I conclude that he's just a schmuck from Winnetka that is just trying to push some teachers around.

[ScreamingMeemie]

9. I think it's inappropriate to show to a fourth grader without notifying parents

of the event. Some parents would be okay with it, some would not.

When I was in 4th grade, our teacher read us the chapter from "Roots" dealing with Kunta's capture and passage to America on a slave ship. She had us lay on the floor in rows, in the dark. The windows were covered. For a fourth grader, at least this one, it made enough of an impact.

[Dappleganger]

11. This is how to handle it for that age--shows good judgment.

[luvspeas]

13. Believe me, these people would have complained about that too...

under some guise of not getting enough exercise, or not reading enough. not that they want to shield thier precious ivory children from the evils of the reality outside their gated communities.

[Ken_Fish]

74. ebony or ivory no one needs to see kids raped at 8. Sorry

not a matter of race, just a matter of how shitty a parent someone is.

Should be a job ending event.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

12. I've seen "Middle Passage" -

and it is not appropriate viewing for that age group. The topic is, of course, appropriate for them, but not this depiction.

[SheilaT]

15. I have not seen that movie myself, but from the description

it would not be appropriate to show to a 4th grade class room. I suppose this movie does not carry a rating, but if it did it sounds like it would be at least a PG-13, if not an R. And movies with those ratings should not be shown in a classroom. What parents decide to let their kids seed on their own is something else entirely.

[MineralMan]

16. While I'm not sure this is appropriate for 4th-graders, I sure don't

want them seeing "Song of The South" instead. Slavery needs to be presented as it truly was, but in forms appropriate for the age group.

[seabeyond]

17. showing 9 yr old child rape? i think not. we gotta allow kids a little stress free world

in this make our children adults, living in adult world, way too young

[Pisces]

19. 4th grade is totally inappropriate. That school should have notified parents before showing such

mature subject matter. Most of these kids haven't even talked about sex with their parents yet much less child rape. Yikes.

[nadinbrzezinski]

20. Oh get over yourself... slavery was that brutal

I was explodes to the holocaust, a lovely subject as well, as wearily as second grade. To the true horrors by fourth.

[seabeyond]

23. kids are exposed to holocaust and slavery at a young age. a graphic movie

is not the same as a conversation, .... age appropriate.

[nadinbrzezinski]

26. What about actual movies like what the Russians filed at Aushwitz

and American films of Bergen Belsen? Not a good recreation methinks, but the actual horror.

Nothing like a really quiet play ground after seeing bodies pushed into a mass grave, doncha think?

It didn't kill me.

[seabeyond]

27. middle school and beyond i am all for it. elementary school, no. it is wrong.

it isn't a tough one. and it doesn't take away from teaching children the horrors our world has and still is committing. it is giving it to them, so they can intellectually digest it properly.

teach our 8 yr olds about abortion. my 8 yr old read a bumpersticker.... dont kill our babies. he was horrified. i had to explain abortion the best i could for his age. no fuckin way he got the nuisances of it and i had to come back a couple years later to give him different scenarios of why choice has to be allowed.

[nadinbrzezinski]

29. I fully disagree

you'd be amazed what kids can comprehend...

I am so glad I did not grow up in a country that treats it's kids like breakable glass.

[seabeyond]

31. totally condescending and clueless. but hey.... draw conclusions without any facts

and make assumptions.

child fuckin rape. ya right. 8/9 yr old appropriate. and lets let them watch rape porn ect... so they can fully grasp the horrors of that life, child sex slavery. and give the mutilation and masacre in rwanda.

you do not know anything about my kids, the realities they have had to face and experiences that they have had. what there education has been or is.

your post is just damn ignorant.

do you have kids? my kids, and probably all kids, see and hear about 100x's more today than you ever did.

[nadinbrzezinski]

38. Well then, we should protect kids forever

and yes they are exposed to far more, but we still believe in the US that we should not expose them to nothing that could damage them.

Why it is EASIER for kids in the US to end up in white slavery rings... but whatever.

I just had to deal with some of the consequences of that.

Have a good day... I disagree with you fully. IT CAN be done, and kids do understand far more than you give them credit.

[seabeyond]

40. what contradiction you have to twist around to keep your argument going

still didnt answer.

have you raised kids.

do you even have a clue about child development, or is this pulled out of the ass, knowledge

[Pisces]

59. THis person and others on this thread are just trying to goad people into an argument.

Their willful ignorance or outright stupidity is showing.

[seabeyond]

61. so much... nt

[cali]

49. right, because not exposing young elementary age children

to visual depictions of child rape is treating them like glass.

You can always tell the people who don't have kids of their own.

[WatsonT]

33. So teach them about it

and show them the snuff film later.

These are just kids.

[cali]

48. you don't have children. get over YOURSELF.

And no, children of 9 watching children being raped is not appropriate.

[Dappleganger]

64. Well, you're wrong on this issue.

I guess you didn't take any classes in childhood development, eh?

[demmiblue]

25. Totally inappropriate for a nine year old. n/t

[MilesColtrane]

28. The film isn't rated, but it sounds like it could merit an R depending on how graphically...

the violence was depicted.

It may be OK for middle school kids, but not 4th graders.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

30. Have you seen the movie Amistad?

It's about a slave ship. It was pretty horrifying, but it was cleaned up & sanitized in my opinion.

A woman had a baby while chained down, but when they picked it up so you could see it, it was clean. In my experience of having a child, babies have blood all over them when they come out.

[Fire1]

53. Bite your tongue!! LOL!!! n/t

[Rex]

32. Permission slips are a great tool...even so it was wrong to do.

4th grade? Jebus Howard Craft. :dunce:

[YellowRubberDuckie]

35. Wow. 4th graders are a little young for that.

I would say 7th or 8th grade at the youngest.
I think I was 14 or 15 when Schindler's List came out. And they showed it Commercial free on NBC. My mother insisted I sit down and watch it. She had always been fascinated with the tremendous stories of people overcoming the Nazis during the holocaust and wanted to make sure I understood what happened. So we did. I don't know if I was prepared for that even at that age, but kids need to see the horrors so they do not repeat it.
Middle Passage, though, sounds like something that should be included in American History for 8th graders.
Those poor kids were probably traumatized.
Duckie

[SoCalDem]

37. Many (most?) 9 yr olds have already been exposed to "fun" violence

via video games & violent movies.,..they are not too young to see what "real" violence is, and that at the end, it does not say "game over-play again?"

By the time they are teens, many of them will be even more used to graphic violence and the impact would not be the same.

[Pisces]

41. You can show this movie to your kids, not mine.

[SoCalDem]

45. your kids have probably seen lots of stuff you would not approve of

:)

write a note to the teacher with an approved list or ask to be notified of every film & given the opportunity to opt out..or homeschool:)

[demmiblue]

46. Are you missing the point that these are nine year olds?

And, no, many have not been exposed to the adult themes cited.

And, yes, a handful are due to the negligence of parents.

I don't get your point.

[seabeyond]

50. why is there an assumption, that because there are parents that dont do their job, ALL parents

dont do their job. the majority of the parents i was around while my kids were young did an excellent job being particular and monitoring the media kids exposed to.

maybe it is the ignorant assumption that allowed the teacher to feel watching this movie was no different from the violence/porn kids assumingly watch at 8/9 yrs old.

[demmiblue]

68. Many parents do their jobs, many don't.

That being said, we all have different ways of parenting. However, I think exposing young children to graphic and disturbing content is wrong. I think it exposes them to things that alter their schema.

I have no idea what that teacher was thinking, as she/he should have known how terribly wrong it was to show that movie.

Shite, I guess I am some sort of hippie wimp because I disallowed play guns in the household!

[Fire1]

52. Seen, heard AND said. n/t

[seabeyond]

54. whenever a person wants to push something on the kids that is not appropriate, this is the stance

used to denigrate the role of the parent to not having influence on child.

not all children chose to go against what parent teaches. we are talking 8 and 9 yr olds. they are the EASIEST in following instructions and rules. you want to argue teenager, then you have a little better argument but not at this age. parents have a pretty good handle on the child at this age and know hteir kid way better than you do.

[Fire1]

55. That's what you think. These are not the sheltered kids of the

fifties and they spend more time at school than they spend with you. You can never be sure what a kid will do once they're out of sight and this is not a reflection of bad parenting but of a new era.

[seabeyond]

57. do you know 8 and 9. as a connected parent with a real relationship of interaction.

talking and listening to the child. a parent has a pretty good idea of where the child is if they chose to have that relationship with the child. i did not say they were sheltered. further, i argue that our kids are given 100x's the info than the adults of today. hence, why the parent has to be so on top of things to help the kids process the stuff that they do get. that they are too young to get. that they are incapable of processing in an healthy and balanced manner.

ya

i pretty much know how it works

[Fire1]

62. I concur with your "argument" and stated as much. Further,

I am quite familiar with that age group b/c I taught third and fourth grade for many years. Again, it's not so much 'bad parenting' as a new age.

[XemaSab]

56. Sounds like you're saying that since kids with shitty parents

have already seen R-rated movies at that age, then ALL kids should be prepared to see something graphic at that age.

I went to a SUPER liberal private school. At that age we were raising money for starving Ethiopians and coloring "End Apartheid" posters, and we got the message that kids in Africa are dying and racism is bullshit without being exposed to graphic violence.

[Fire1]

58. Yeah and what about those good ole national geographics. n/t

[seabeyond]

60. i have yet to see one with pictures of a child being raped. and we have the NG on our dining room

table for the kids to read every month. along with smithsonian. and times.

still.... not seeing child rape. and my kids are middle school and high school, when they can process the info given.

[Fire1]

63. Sure you do. n/t

[seabeyond]

66. sure i do what? sure i have those three magazines on my dining room table? i am lying?

really? 3 yrs.

wow

[Dappleganger]

65. That still doesn't make this particular movie age-appropriate.

The topic is important--yes. This movie is for late middle schoolers on up.

[TheKentuckian]

43. Imagine how tough it was for 8 and 9 year olds to actually BE slaves and BE victims of rape.

I was exposed to Holocaust films much younger.

[Fire1]

44. Thanks. I voted 'yes.' n/t

[uppityperson]

47. Middle schoolers maybe, highschoolers yes. Should have sent a notification home first for 4th

graders with the chance of opting in if they wanted their child to see it.

[Ilsa]

51. My kids have not been exposed to graphic violence like that.

I would have been upset as well.

It's one thing to discuss it and read about it, but graphic depictions can be overwhelming for a lot of kids that are only nine years old.

[southernyankeebelle]

72. 8th or 9th grades and high school. Hell those kids could tell you more about sex then we all know.

[blondeatlast]

73. They're fourth graders--age 8-9.

And from what I remember of my now 14 yo son at 8-9, you are quite mistaken. I'm in favor of letting kids be kids.

[emmadoggy]

75. I have two 9-year-olds.

I would be extremely upset if they saw this. I am very careful about what my kids watch and are exposed to. I agree with others here that discussion of the slaves and their voyage is ok (minus the child rape aspect), but showing graphic depictions is definitely NOT. I would say 8th grade or higher.