Not suitable under 13; parental guidance to 14 (violence; disturbing scenes and themes)
This topic contains:
Children under 13 | Not suitable due to violence, and disturbing scenes and themes. |
Children aged 13–14 | Parental guidance recommended due to violence, and disturbing scenes and themes. |
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: | Giver, The |
Classification: | M |
Consumer advice lines: | Mature themes and violence |
Length: | 97 minutes |
This review of the movie contains the following information:
The Giver is a science fiction fantasy film based on young adult fiction and set in the year 2048. After a large-scale war has occurred, the scarred community has decided to remove all emotions, colours and the concept of love in an effort to protect itself from future harm. Every citizen has had their previous memories wiped. Eighteen-year-old Jonas (Brenton Thwaites) is the only person who has access to this expansive collection of memories because the Chief Elder (Meryl Streep) has named him the “Receiver of Memory”. Jonas obtains these memories from the previous Receiver, who has become “The Giver” (Jeff Bridges), and uses them to advise the Elders who make decisions for the community.
After Jonas’ father brings home a young baby named Gabe, Jonas begins to share the memories he receives with the child, who also has the mark of a potential Receiver of Memory on his wrist. In time, Jonas and the Giver decide that the only way to restore the community to what it once was is to give people back their memories. Jonas kidnaps Gabe and goes on the run as guards attempt to capture and contain him.
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.
Mind control; totalitarian authority; relationships
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 violence in the film, including:
Children under five are most likely to be frightened by scary visual images, such as monsters, physical transformations.
Children in this age group are likely to be scared by many scenes in this movie, including the violence described above
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 particularly scare or disturb children aged under 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 described above.
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 some of the above-mentioned scenes.
The film contains mild sexual references, including:
The film contains mild sexual activity, including:
The film includes substance use, including:
The film contains mild coarse language, including:
The Giver is a futuristic story about the degradation of humanity in the search for utopia. It makes a comment on the damage that can be done when communities have the technological capacity to alter emotional states and memories. It also highlights the importance of individual thought and independence, as well as the significance of learning from past experience and historical events. Relationships are presented as necessary and positive additions to a balanced life, whether they are based primarily on friendship or on sexual intimacy and romance.
The film is based on young adult fiction, with themes and disturbing scenes that make it unsuitable for most children under 15, although some younger children may have read the book.
Values in this movie that parents may wish to reinforce with their children include:
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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