Titanic

I was not concerned about the brief appearance of breasts or the violence in a historical context - but what bothered my kids the most, and was the hardest to explain for me since I was not prepared for it, was the recurrent theme of suicide. Early on, the main character, who feels trapped by her social circumstances, climbs the ship's railing and dangles over the water before she is talked down and assisted down. Later, when fighting breaks out over lifeboats, a crew member shoots a passenger, then overwhelmed, he points the gun to his temple and pulls the trigger. This shocked my young kids. We are also told, but not shown, that another main character who survived the wreck later "put a pistol in his mouth" when the stock markets crashed in 1929. Lots of questions from these scenes, and we had to talk about coping skills! Less noticeably, there were also people both jumping and falling from the sinking boat as it sank, and an older couple who opted to stay below deck and die together, but as that entire sequence at the end of the movie was intense, my kids did not ask many questions about these.

It’s been years since I first watched this movie and we decided to watch it with our 8 and 11 year old daughters. My husband and 11 yr old we’re going to see Titanic the musical and thought it would provide good background. The language for the most part didn’t bother me. Long ago, we had the discussion that sometimes you will hear inappropriate words in movies, songs, and during football season. You will be allowed to experience such things at my discretion as long as you don’t repeat the words, and we haven’t had any issues. I did cringe a little at the whore line, although I don’t think either of them understood the meaning. My husband fast forwarded thru the sex in the car scenes although I honestly think it drew more attention to it than just letting it play out. I will say though that while you don’t see much, it is clear what is happening. The nude painting scenes didn’t bother me. My kids have seen nude art before and while this did have a romantic twist on it, I wasn’t concerned, esp for my 11 yo and esp when taking into consideration the overall experience of the movie. I think the most concerning part is the death at the end, including people falling to their death and specifically the closeups of the frozen dead bodies in the water. It definitely belongs in the movie - it accurately depicts the horror and tragedy of the event. But it was a little much for my 8yo (I had forgotten how graphic it was, esp with the bodies in the water) and could be too intense for an older child that isn’t very mature. In hindsight, I probably wouldn’t let my 8 yo watch it yet. She had a lot of questions the next day, although they were more about her trying to understand that the events of the Titanic were true but Jack and Rose weren’t based on true people. But just seeing how intense it was for her while watching it, I would prob wait. That said, she is completely fine. Both loved it and I would have no issues with my 11yo watching it again. This movie provides an excellent opportunity for discussions on the events of the Titanic, the distinction between social classes at that time, and what it means to have good character. We talked about some of these before and after watching the movie and for the next several days. Ultimately, I would say you have to weigh the maturity of your child along with the benefits you get from exposing them to such a powerful portrayal of an historic event.