A Not So Long Time Ago, In A Media Circus Not So Far Away...

A select group invited to attend a screening of Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith have come away praising the film but expressing doubts that it will attract the huge family audiences that its predecessors did. USA Today cited numerous examples of graphic violence, including one scene in which a character "catches fire, screaming in agony while the flesh peels off his body." The newspaper quotes Hayden Christensen (Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader) as saying that he is unable to predict how audiences will react to the violence. "The first two [episodes] did a lot to create a young fan base," he remarked. "I'm not sure how they're going to react to some of these scenes if they see them."

Flash back to 1981. Millions of children flocked to see "Raiders of the Lost Ark," a PG rated movie. In the final scene of the film they were treated to a close-up of a Nazi's melting face while the rest of the Nazi army is electrocuted and burned to dust.

Why then, are we now (24 years later) afraid that children will be "damaged" by a scene of one character "catch[ing] fire, screaming in agony while the flesh peels off his body."? Is it because we've sanitized our children? Filled them with visions of Barney the Dinosaur and Blue's Clues? I grew up watching Sesame Street and The Electric Company on PBS and I wasn't damaged by an army of burning Nazi's, or by witnessing a religious nut tear the heart out of a living being (see Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom).

Don't tell me "Times are different now," either. History shows that as the world matures, more and more taboos become acceptabe. For some reason, we've gone backwards in the last 20+ years and the same things that were perfectly acceptable have become indecent.

In 1985, Steven Spielberg introduced the world to "Back to the Future" in which we hear Marty McFly proclaim, "Holy shit! Hey Doc!" and "God damn it, George, swear!" Official rating from the MPAA? PG.

I'm willing to relent that Revenge of the Sith is probably more intense than previous Star Wars movies. However, I'm also sure that it's not "The Exorcist."