Concerns Raised about "Mars Needs Moms"!
And those concerns are:
If you care about your kids, don't take them to see Mars Needs Moms! A snippet of the review:
The reason Mars actually needs moms is that all the female martians are busy being leaders, soldiers and politicians. Because of this, they are apparently terrible mothers, because no woman can be in a position of power and possess maternal instincts. (There's a nanny-bot and some memory-erasing/murder of humans involved, but it's weird and boring and overall basically unimportant.) The men are no help, because they all live in a huddle together painting themselves in bright flamboyant colors and dancing and hugging all the time. (Seriously.) The men all live together because the women are led by an old angry lady who believes that women are stronger, and we should do away with all men. Then the movie goes out of its way to show that before Butchy McLes-alien took over, all children were raised by a man and a woman. Just like the Martian bible says it should be! The whole thing plays out like a particularly preachy episode of Futurama, minus any of the self-awareness. I kept thinking that I was reading too much into the film (impossible), but when Ke tells the Martians that they were meant to be raised by two parents, because that's the only way to feel love, I was convinced. And angered.
And some concerns on movies in general:
Too often we tell ourselves that if a movie is made for kids, we shouldn't analyze it too hard, and that is insane. We should take an ever closer look at films designed to entertain our children. Children are impressionable, and what they see in their programming leaves a mark on their development, whether we want to admit it or not. If you want to show your children that love -- like bravery and every other emotion -- takes all forms, take them to see Rango again. At least that won't make them look at their friends' families (or their own) and think they're inherently flawed. However, if you can tell me that you want to send the message to your children that there's only one way a kid can be loved, then by all means take them to see Mars Needs Moms, and remind me not to let my future offspring play with yours.
If you care about your kids, don't take them to see Mars Needs Moms! A snippet of the review:
The reason Mars actually needs moms is that all the female martians are busy being leaders, soldiers and politicians. Because of this, they are apparently terrible mothers, because no woman can be in a position of power and possess maternal instincts. (There's a nanny-bot and some memory-erasing/murder of humans involved, but it's weird and boring and overall basically unimportant.) The men are no help, because they all live in a huddle together painting themselves in bright flamboyant colors and dancing and hugging all the time. (Seriously.) The men all live together because the women are led by an old angry lady who believes that women are stronger, and we should do away with all men. Then the movie goes out of its way to show that before Butchy McLes-alien took over, all children were raised by a man and a woman. Just like the Martian bible says it should be! The whole thing plays out like a particularly preachy episode of Futurama, minus any of the self-awareness. I kept thinking that I was reading too much into the film (impossible), but when Ke tells the Martians that they were meant to be raised by two parents, because that's the only way to feel love, I was convinced. And angered.
And some concerns on movies in general:
Too often we tell ourselves that if a movie is made for kids, we shouldn't analyze it too hard, and that is insane. We should take an ever closer look at films designed to entertain our children. Children are impressionable, and what they see in their programming leaves a mark on their development, whether we want to admit it or not. If you want to show your children that love -- like bravery and every other emotion -- takes all forms, take them to see Rango again. At least that won't make them look at their friends' families (or their own) and think they're inherently flawed. However, if you can tell me that you want to send the message to your children that there's only one way a kid can be loved, then by all means take them to see Mars Needs Moms, and remind me not to let my future offspring play with yours.