In the last two years, box-office records have been few and far between. But last weekend, Sony and Marvel’s Spider-Man: No Way Home swung for the fences (or maybe I should say skyscrapers) with the most eagerly anticipated movie this year. Everyone’s friendly neighborhood wall-crawler managed to web a massive (estimated) $260 million in North America. (And that’s without Quebec, which is on COVID-19 lockdown).
How big is that? Well, No Way Home trails only Avengers: Endgame’s astounding $357 mil opening-weekend tally; but it’s just ahead of Avengers: Infinity War and Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens. And given pandemic restrictions and anxiety, that figure is even more impressive.
With movie events like these, it can certainly seem as if everyone’s participating. And the incessant buzz around a new Spider-Man flick can tempt us, as parents, to forget that it’s got the same rating as most other Marvel movies: PG-13. I mean, it’s Spider-Man, right? He’s in high school, right?
He is. But that PG-13 rating reminds us to pause just a minute before hitting the buy button for tickets for the whole family. That rating tells us that the Motion Picture Association thinks there’s enough content here to warrant a warning. And they’re right.
The biggest issue here for families with younger kids is likely the profanity. To be fair, what’s present here is pretty consistent with other MCU releases. But we’ve got one scene with several s-words in quick succession. We’ve also God’s name paired with “d–n.” Throw in a dozen or so other mild profanities, and you’ve got a movie that feels a bit salty for the sub-high school crowd. Add in Aunt May talking about her “fling” with Happy Hogan, as well as her wondering whether Peter and MJ are having sex, and you’ve got some content that deserves consideration if you’ve got young fans in the family. (Be sure to check out Bob Hoose’s review for the full rundown.)
It’s tempting to just ignore it. Or minimize it. Or rationalize it. (“There’s more language that that in most other movies these days. They hear worse on the playground at school every day.”)
The point here is not to be a prude or a legalist. No one wants to be those things. But my point is to ponder this question: At what age do I really want my kids engaging with content like that—even if every other kid they know is?
I think it’s a question worth pondering, even when it comes to someone as (judging by the box-office figures) universally embraced as Spider-Man.
13 Responses
– I’m surprised you didn’t mention violence. I’m be less concerned about my kid hearing a small dose of profanity than watching superheroes who are presented as role models constantly using violence to solve their conflicts.
Ah yes. You mean this movie where the hero tries every possible way to solve the problem without violence?
– The first two paragraphs of this blogpost reminded me how much I miss Movie Mondays on here. Really hope you guys will bring both that and Culture Clips back sometime in the future.
-Went to see it yesterday and a little boy of maybe six at most was sitting behind me. On one hand, I was amazed that his family took him along. On the other hand, it was kinda fun to hear his running commentary (“Oh, that’s Green Goblin!” etc.).
Fortunately, I think most of the darkest bits went right over his head. But still…
-Dark content does not go over small children’s heads…it influences them.
-I’m sorry but I’ve seen both homecoming and far from home and can honestly say Tom Holland’s performance of Spiderman is as bad as the movies themselves, and I seriously doubt no way home is any different. Give me Tobey Maguire and his three Spiderman movies any time, but heck to the no on Holland’s version of him.
-And by the way I know that Tobey makes an appearance in this movie but frankly I’d much rather see him in a long awaited sequel to Spiderman 3 than in a movie with two other spidermen one of whom is the just plain awful Tom Holland.
-There’s one specific violent moment in No Way Home (similar to an analogous moment from the first Raimi Spider-Man movie) that I think would be far too intense for young children. I did welcome the lack of porn references unlike both of the previous two MCU-Spiderman films (since Marvel audiences anecdotally tend to skew toward young children, some of whom shouldn’t be seeing some of the violent and intense moments these films tend to have), but kudos for pointing out the other sexual references.
-As Christians we should be applauded at all theses movies taking our Lord and Savior
-Applauded?
-Pretty sure you meant appalled! And I am! Where do we make our voices heard? Any movie with a fictional character geared towards young people should not have ANY profanity in them. I am sure even high school-age kids would not miss it. The action and storyline should keep them interested enough without the garbage.
-Agreed—but try telling that to Hollywood
-As an adult, you CAN tell that to Hollywood — by not going to the movie and not taking your kids.
Profanity in a Spider-Man is gratuitous, but it’s there because these movies aren’t marketed solely to kids. They’re marketed to all ages, including adults who keep paying money to watch superhero movies. The mature content is in there to keep those adults interested and to make them feel like they’re getting entertainment that’s worthy of an adult’s attention.
If adults were to stop fixating on superhero movies and start patronizing more mature adult movies, the box office numbers would reflect that, and Hollywood would get the message. They wouldn’t feel compelled to cram so much adult content into superhero movies that should naturally appeal to kids, AND they’d be motivated to produce the sorts of serious adult movies (especially mid-budget dramas) that can scarcely get made nowadays unless they’re tied to a genre like horror, an existing franchise, or a prominent director.
We’d have clean superhero movies for kids and adult movies for adults. Problem solved.