Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan I remember seeing a movie back in the late 1970's where this teenager starting racing a speeding locomotive on foot, ran like anything, and at the last possible moment jumped across the tracks right in front of the train! No one back then, that I know of, asked for that scene to be removed. To make matters worse, they showed that kid as a grown up walking right up to bad guys who were SHOOTING at him, the bullets bouncing right off the big S on his shirt and then he jumped off a building and didn't get hurt.
Originally Posted By smeeeko ^still they were doing this dumb behahior BEFORE Cars came out.. so it's certainly not something that the film created.. it's showing it being a reckless behavior.. I don't know what states allow a 14yr old to drive a car without an adult (let alone have a license) but assuming this is the case, it's up to the adult, the drivers ed instructor and the idiot that passed this kid to ensure they understand the rules of the road. Obviously a parent can't control every little thing their child does when out of ear/eyesight of them.. however, again.. a 14yr old in a vehicle with another 14yr old and NO ADULT in the car? Where is that legal. I sound like a broken record but it sounds like people need to stop expecting the world to babysit your kids and start teaching them to be responsible yourself. That's what being a parent is. sheesh. I really hadn't realized people were making such a big deal out of that one scene in the film.. seems like it would be a good talking point/ discussion to start with your kids of behavior you would like them NOT to emulate. Rather than censoring the movie itself. Besides if they guy doesn't like the movie, he doesn't have to buy the dvd does he?? Down with Censorship! Up with Parental Responisbility! =)
Originally Posted By smeeeko bleh.. re the article NOT Toony.. =) I'm ok with Toony's posts!! =) go SUPERMAN!
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo "Down with Censorship! Up with Parental Responisbility! =)" Here, here - one of the most sensible lines I have read on LP for a while!
Originally Posted By DlandJB I tend to sympathize with the parents' point of view but for a different reason. My late husband worked for Amtrak for many years. He was active in the Operation Lifesaver program. They have done tremendous work reducing the annual number of railroad crossing fatalities from around 12,000 per year to about 3,000. Alot of their work is in the schools --starting with kids. And they worked on Hollywood alot trying to get those kinds of scenes out of films, where they make significant impressions on the kids who view them. The train scene in an otherwise flawless film (imo) is unfortunate. Besides the fatalities of the drivers and passengers in the cars, crossing accidents endanger the lives of the railroad passengers and nearly always result in serious trama for the engineers, who are simply not able to stop the trains and must watch helplessly as people die brutally. I do wish Pixar had found another way to showcase LM's recklessness.
Originally Posted By Jim in Merced CA <I do wish Pixar had found another way to showcase LM's recklessness.> Maybe having Lightning McQueen get wasted on WD-40 or something. Sign me up for the 'this is ridiculous' side of the story.
Originally Posted By FaMulan I say parents should use the scene to open up a dialog about unsafe driving behavior with their kids. I agree with Dug (I believe) as to how the scene was portrayed in the film. It just highlighted Lightning's selfish recklessness.
Originally Posted By wahooskipper I suppose if you knew someone who had been killed in a railroad accident it might have a different meaning than if you didn't.
Originally Posted By mele <<I suppose if you knew someone who had been killed in a railroad accident it might have a different meaning than if you didn't.>> I suppose that could be said for any and all deaths that are portrayed in movies and on tv.
Originally Posted By cstephens wahooskipper wrote: > What I find funny is that everybody is saying that kids wouldn't be stupid enough to try to beat a train...but every year people are killed by trying to beat trains (adults and kids I might add). And really, anyone stupid enough to think that racing a train is fun and not dangerous is going to be stupid enough to do that without seeing it in a movie. And I do expect that someone who has personally had this affect their lives would have a difficult time seeing that scene, even though it's animated. But there's a huge difference between a personal difficulty and expecting that you can dictate what other people are allowed to see. And again, I really don't see how that scene can be viewed as simply glorifying train racing. You'd have to be seriously not paying attention to the film to think that. /cs
Originally Posted By TheRedhead "What I find funny is that everybody is saying that kids wouldn't be stupid enough to try to beat a train..." Did everybody say that in this topic? No. Of course not. In fact, nobody said that. (I teach high school. The list of "stupid things a kid will do" grows exponentially every year.) If the scene where Lightning and Mater are tipping tractors had actually been a scene where the two outrun trains for fun - thereby helping Lightning realize how enjoyable the simple things in life can be - I would question Pixar's judgement as well. But it's not. Outrunning the train is one more foolish choice in a series of foolish choices. If a child does not understand that, than the parent should step in and use this Teachable Moment to save their kid's life. And for the record, if my son dies in a train-racing stunt, I would feel toern apart watching that scene. But I would also feel torn apart hearing a train whistle, crossing a train crossing, or riding Casey Jr. Hollywood should not be held accountable for my sorrow. If it were, "United 93" would not exist.
Originally Posted By mele <<(I teach high school. The list of "stupid things a kid will do" grows exponentially every year.)>> <-snicker
Originally Posted By BrnardM << Maybe having Lightning McQueen get wasted on WD-40 or something >> Jim that's priceless!
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Originally Posted By FerretAfros "...a 14yr old in a vehicle with another 14yr old and NO ADULT in the car? Where is that legal." I believe that it is legal in rural parts of Iowa. I used to live there, and vaguely remember something like that being legal. It was possible for kids as young as 14 who lived on farms (and had been driving tractors all their lives) could drive real cars on real roads to and from school, but that was it. I'm pretty sure they could take one or two other kids, like family members or close neighbors, to school with them. I don't know what the age was, but I believe at either 15 or 16 they can drive a school bus, filled with other kids. As I said, I'm not sure what the specifics of the law were, but I'm almost positive that a 14-year old could drive to and from school, but no where else.
Originally Posted By studiovx The scene: Lightning racing to catch Mack. Middle of the night. Middle of the desert. No headlights. Mack pulling away. Time critical. Just so happens a train possibly will separate Lightining from the "secruity blanket" that is his team. He's not thinking clearly (remember, woke up to 3 trucks worth of headlights bearing down on him), but in his mind cannot afford to lose his transport/friend/lights/Piston Cup/"security blanket" due to not making to LA. He races to beat a train in an intersection. He's not thinking straight. He is scared. I think it was adequately spelled out for us. Insert a little parenting and Voi'la, no issue. What a bunch of PC hogwash. I'll stick to parenting my own kids.
Originally Posted By basil fan Around here a few years ago, the problem wasn't people racing trains, it was people stopping on the tracks when cars were backed up at a traffic light. I think at least 2 people were killed that way. Don't quite know why I mentioned that...
Originally Posted By vbdad55 The local newspaper here had a gut wrenching article by parents ( not from my suburb (of Chicago) but one closeby who lost 2 kids in a 'racing the train issue'. I can understand how they might be personally affected also....and I feel badly for them..no one should bury their kids...BUT...if they sat and watched what is depicted in every cartoon they watched when they were kids ( like I did) - from Bugs Bunny to Tom & Jerry to our very own Mouse....we'd have to ban them all...and let's face it-- most of us never wanted to tie an anvil to our foot and fall off a mountain like Wil E Coyote. Explaining the situation and how it showed how irresponsible Lightning McQueen was at that point in time..and how he changed later, could be that 'quality time' we all need to spend with our kids. But changing the movie...what next ?
Originally Posted By HRM You know... there are kids/ teens that do sneak onto private property and try to spook bulls into chasing them (ala tractor tipping in 'Cars') Unfortunately there are lots of irresponsible behaviors that young people try as they experience life; some have tragic consequences. No one should belittle these behaviors and/or consequences. There is a responsibility, both societal and parental, that must be taken to avoid such behaviors. However, censoring is not the answer; dialog is. ºoº
