Not recommended under 14; parental guidance to 14 (themes and violence)
This topic contains:
Children under 14 | Not recommended due to themes and violence. |
Children aged 14 | Parental guidance recommended due to themes and violence. |
Children aged 15 and over | Ok for this age group. |
This section contains details about the movie, including its classification by the Australian Government Classification Board and the associated consumer advice lines. Other classification advice (OC) is provided where the Australian film classification is not available.
Name of movie: | Divergent |
Classification: | M |
Consumer advice lines: | Science fiction themes and violence |
Length: | 139 minutes |
This review of the movie contains the following information:
Divergent is a science fiction action film set in the dystopian Chicago of a future time. Society has been divided into five factions based on personality testing run by the government: Abnegation (selfless), Amity (peaceful), Candor (truthful), Erudite (intelligent) and Dauntless (brave). The film follows the story of Beatrice Prior (Shailene Woodley), a girl with a family heritage from Abnegation. After undergoing the personality testing, it is discovered that she does not fall clearly within any of the five categories – she is a ‘Divergent’, and is told that she will be hunted and killed if anyone discovers this. At the Choosing Ceremony, Beatrice elects to go against her family heritage and be a part of the Dauntless faction.
Changing her name to ‘Tris’, she struggles initially, but soon becomes one of the most fearless members of the faction. She quickly gains the respect of her instructor, Tobias (Theo James), and the two later develop a more intimate relationship. During the training, initiates are put through a range of physical tests in addition to psychological ones. When the psychological testing reveals that Tris is unlike the other initiates, Tobias encourages her to practice in an effort to conceal her powers as a Divergent.
However, when the Erudites drug the Dauntless soldiers and it is only Tobias and Tris who remain unaffected, the two are forced to abandon the secrecy which had protected them, standing up against a powerful faction and its leader Jeanine (Kate Winslet).
Children and adolescents may react adversely at different ages to themes of crime, suicide, drug and alcohol dependence, death, serious illness, family breakdown, death or separation from a parent, animal distress or cruelty to animals, children as victims, natural disasters and racism. Occasionally reviews may also signal themes that some parents may simply wish to know about.
Family loyalty versus patriotic duty; betrayal and trust; identity; totalitarian states
Research shows that children are at risk of learning that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution when violence is glamourised, performed by an attractive hero, successful, has few real life consequences, is set in a comic context and / or is mostly perpetrated by male characters with female victims, or by one race against another.
Repeated exposure to violent content can reinforce the message that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution. Repeated exposure also increases the risks that children will become desensitised to the use of violence in real life or develop an exaggerated view about the prevalence and likelihood of violence in their own world.
There is considerable violence in the film, including hand to hand fighting with knives and gun fights. Examples include:
Children under five are most likely to be frightened by scary visual images, such as monsters, physical transformations.
Most of the film would be scary for this age group.
Children aged five to eight will also be frightened by scary visual images and will also be disturbed by depictions of the death of a parent, a child abandoned or separated from parents, children or animals being hurt or threatened and / or natural disasters.
In addition to the above-mentioned violent scenes , there are some scenes in this movie that could scare or disturb children aged under five to eight, including the following:
Children aged eight to thirteen are most likely to be frightened by realistic threats and dangers, violence or threat of violence and / or stories in which children are hurt or threatened.
Children in this age group may also be disturbed by the scenes involving the death of Tris’ parents and also:
Children over the age of thirteen are most likely to be frightened by realistic physical harm or threats, molestation or sexual assault and / or threats from aliens or the occult.
Younger children in this age group may also be disturbed by the above-mentioned scenes.
None of concern
None of concern
There is some partial nudity and sexual activity in the film, including:
There is some use of substances in the film, including:
There is some use of coarse language in the film, including the terms:
Divergent is a science fiction action fantasy that centres on the concept of identity, and how individuals build their own unique identities against the pre-existing influences of family, relationships and their responsibilities to society. It is the first screen adaptation of author Veronica Roth's best-selling dystopian trilogy which many teens and some tweens may have read. The film begins with Tris having very little idea as to who she is as a person, and what she is capable of. The trials she goes through during the training within Dauntless enable her to discover that she is far braver and stronger than she could have ever imagined. The main message is that it is possible to achieve anything with enough determination and strength of character.
The film features frequent violence, is tense and scary and has themes that younger children may find difficult to understand. It is therefore not recommended for under 15s.
Values in this movie that parents may wish to reinforce with older children include:
This movie could also give parents the opportunity to discuss:
Tip: Leave out the first A, An or The
Selecting an age will provide a list of movies with content suitable for this age group. Children may also enjoy movies selected via a lower age.
Content is age appropriate for children this age
Some content may not be appropriate for children this age. Parental guidance recommended
Content is not age appropriate for children this age
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