"What¡¯s the Right Age for My Kid to Watch Star Wars" Topic

"Let me introduce you to Amanda, a 33-year-old mixed martial arts fighter who does jujitsu-based battle at throw-downs with names like ¡°DEEP: Cage Impact¡± or ¡°Princesses of Pain,¡± in Tokyo, New Zealand, or Oklahoma. She¡¯s 5¡ä4¡å and 156 pounds and is known by the nickname Powerhouse. She¡¯s also a massive Star Wars fan. ¡°I was always attached to the strong female character,¡± she told me¡ªa total Leia-head.

I posited to Amanda that there are two factors to consider when determining when a child¡¯s maiden viewing of the films should be: Will the child get scared, and will the child understand all (or at least enough) of the films¡¯ allegorical richness and abstruse political plotlines? Amanda agreed. She explained that she was easily terrified as a small child¡ª¡°a wimpy fat kid,¡± as she put it. (She couldn¡¯t watch the Indiana Jones movies, and ¡°Howard the Duck scared the heck out of me.¡±) And yet Star Wars never frightened her. Empire, the darkest of the original trilogy, was actually her favorite: She remembers rewinding the VHS as soon as it was over and watching it all over again¡ªthen rewinding again. And as for appreciating the films¡¯ complexity, she never had a problem on that front either, she said, since she could always ask her father to talk through any confusing parts. ¡°He was always really good at explaining them,¡± she told me. Amanda¡¯s father is George Lucas…"
Full article here
wired.com/2015/09/kia-3

Amicalement
Armand

Since I am soo old, the first movie, now the 4th…
Star Wars a New Hope….early on the introduction of Darth Vader and the hoisting of the rebel up off the floor/breaking neck thing…….

If you think your child will not have a freak out, or major emotional trauma at this scene, then every movie in the Star Wars series will be just fine. As far as specific age goes….lots of luck getting an agreement on that number

Well, our guys watched Star Wars at ages 9, 7, 8 and 7

Never, the merchandising will kill parents pocketbooks ;)

I watched Star Wars (or A New Hope as it is now called), in 1978 when I was 9.
Amazed and enthralled, captivated.

My son watched the first 20 mins of ANH when he was 2, just before bed. He never moved the whole time, I actually thought he'd gone to sleep. Utterly captivated.
When he was 3 someone asked him "What movie do you like?" (Nemo, Toy Story,….?)

"Star Wars"
"Oh. And who is your favourite in Star Wars?"
" The ships."
Right from an early age.
He's 9 now and plays X-Wing. Has for the past 2 years. has helped him read and add quite well.

My daughter has had the films as part of her environment with no problems.

But Phantom Menace, I'd say no age is suitable. Same for Attack of the Clowns.

42

Well it's the answer to everything….

John T

I was 13-14 y/o,and first saw it(the original) at a local drive-in. Loved Mad's spoof -"Star Roars", too.

I watched Star Wars at age 7. None of it bothered me. I was too enthralled with the pew pew and the swoosh and such.

I think maybe I was ill for all of 2 seconds seeing the burned skeletons of aunt beru and uncle owen and maybe the bloody arm, but that was it.

I saw it at 12, which is a perfect age for Star Wars. But I think, depending on the child, 8 or 9 is a reliable age to both comprehend the essentials and appreciate all the cool, while not being confused or frightened by the scary bits.

Under NO circumstances should a child be shown 1, 2 or 3 *before* 4, 5, 6. Doing so spoils the incredible surprise reveal in TESB, a moment of storytelling gold. Also, in regards to 1-3, young children will likely identify with Anakin as their hero, so his turn to gross evil- literally butchering children, then murdering his wife- will come as a potentially traumatic shock, and frankly is utterly inappropriate for children under 10.

I saw the Episode IV at age seven when it was released. My son started watching the Trilogy at age 3. It was like barney or thomas for him as he wanted to watch it over and over as I played SWG. He liked the Jawas. Nonetheless he never (now 13) became a hard core SW fan like me. He likes it but prefers LOTR for movies and the Halo or Destiny universe for Sci Fi.

I was three when my parents took me to see Empire. The only negative effect was on my father's wallet since I was instantly hooked on the Kenner toys for the next 5 years or so!

deflatermouse why did you say "But Phantom Menace, I'd say no age is suitable. Same for Attack of the Clowns" why would you say this?

Do you something against Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones?

Please clarify.

I dont see a problem at Any age over all.. personally I would be more concerned with the age of the child based on, "will he/she be interested enough to sit still and watch it."
The special FX, ship battles, light sabers etc. etc. its more like 'candy land' for a childs mind I think.

Even compared to films of the late 70's, SW's was a breath of fresh air (Lacking in "4 letter words") and graphpic violence. IMHO the closest thing to 'sexual content', (SOP for todays films) would have to be Jabba's palace, Princess Lea as his prisoner and her revealing costume.