Not recommended under 13, PG to 15 (Violence, themes)
This topic contains:
Children under 13 | Not recommended due to violence, and themes of suicide and child abuse. |
Children 13-15 | Parental guidance recommended due to violence, and themes of suicide and child abuse. |
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: | Secret Life of Bees |
Classification: | M |
Consumer advice lines: | Mature themes and violence |
Length: | 110 minutes |
This review of the movie contains the following information:
Set in South Carolina in the racially charged era of the 1960s, the Secret Life of Bees is the story of a young girl, Lily Owens (Dakota Fanning) who runs away from her abusive and very violent father T-Ray Owens (Paul Bettany) with her nanny, Rosaleen (Kate Hudson). Lily is also running from the tragic events in her past which caused her mother’s death. She seeks out the home of the wonderful Boatwright sisters who run a thriving bee farm where Lily hopes answers to some of the questions surrounding her mother’s life..
August Boatwright (Queen Latifah) welcomes Lily and Rosaleen to the farm. June Boatwright (Alicia Keys) is a little cooler towards Lily while the younger sister May (Sophie Okonedo), a simple soul, has never recovered from losing her twin sister April at a young age.
Along with learning how to keep bees, Lily learns much about life and finds solace in the wonderful companionship of sisterhood.
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.
Racism; death of parent; suicide
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 some violence in this movie including:
Children under five are most likely to be frightened by scary visual images, such as monsters, physical transformations.
In addition to the above mentioned violent scenes, there are some scenes in this movie that could scare or disturb children aged under five, including the following:
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.
Children in this age group may also be disturbed by the above-mentioned scenes.
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.
In addition to the above mentioned violent scenes, there are some scenes in this movie that could scare or disturb children aged eight to thirteen, including the following:
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.
Children in this age group may also be disturbed by some of the above mentioned scenes
The following products are displayed or used in this movie:
None of concern
There is some nudity and sexual activity in this movie, including:
There is some use of substances in this movie, including:
There is some coarse language in this movie, including:
The Secret Life of Bees is an emotional drama set around racial tension and violence. The characters are well-developed and the cinematography displays the beauty of South Carolina.
The main messages from this movie are the negative consequences of racial prejudice and the need to find your roots and understand where you come from.
Values in this movie that parents may wish to reinforce with their children include:
This movie could also give parents the opportunity to discuss with their children attitudes and behaviours, and their real-life consequences, such as the fact that perpetrators of violent behaviour often suffer their own punishments
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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ABN: 16 005 214 531