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[–]worried19 4 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 0 fun5 insightful - 1 fun -  (3 children)

I guess to me it's like filming a rape scene or a molestation scene. There are lots of those in movies. I don't know exactly how they film them, but presumably they take precautions not to traumatize the child actors. I imagine there needs to be a lot of discussion beforehand, both with the director and the kid's family.

[–]MarkTwainiac 5 insightful - 1 fun5 insightful - 0 fun6 insightful - 1 fun -  (2 children)

I guess to me it's like filming a rape scene or a molestation scene. There are lots of those in movies. I don't know exactly how they film them, but presumably they take precautions not to traumatize the child actors

Some might take precautions not to traumatize the child actors, but I think it's a mistake to presume that all do. If you look at the history of cinema, you'll find there's been a whole lot of child abuse, sex abuse, and child sex abuse going back to the era of Chaplin and "Our Gang" - it's pretty endemic.

Also, with some rare exceptions - Shirley Temple Black, Jodie Foster, Brook Shields, Christian Bale, Neil Patrick Harris - life over the long term usually doesn't turn out so well for most child actors of any sort, regardless of whether they were made to appear in rape or molestation scenes. For every former child actor I just named, I could list many more whose lives became mired in drug addiction, alcoholism, crime, joblessness, domestic violence, romantic chaos and general unhappiness - and others who died young due to overdose or suicide.

I imagine there needs to be a lot of discussion beforehand, both with the director and the kid's family.

But neither the director nor the kid's family can give consent for the child to be sexualized in this way, or to appear in films and have his or her image made into a commodity to be consumed by the entire world at all. On the contrary, the directors and the families/parents of the child actors in such cases often are focused on what's best for themselves and the their careers and bank accounts, not what's best for the child.

The whole issue of kids in show business raises thorny ethical questions. Clearly, there are kids who are natural performers and seem really cut out for show biz from an early age. But should kids be working in the first place? Is it to a child's benefit to expose them to so much attention, and potential exploitation, when young? Those are general questions. But I think it should be clear that it's not in any child's interest to make her perform in sexualized and sexually provocative ways on screen for all the world to see, regardless of the director's supposedly noble or admirable larger intent.

[–]worried19 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

Well, I sure as hell wouldn't let my child be a child actor. If they really wanted to perform, they could perform in a local theater, but I wouldn't want my kid exposed to the masses through television or movies. I suppose it's somewhat hypocritical since I watch what the media puts out, but I think fame is unhealthy for anyone, especially for kids who have no frame of reference.

[–]MarkTwainiac 4 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 0 fun5 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

I totally agree. I've come to believe it's not right for parents even to post pics and videos of their kids on social media. Too many parents using their kids as show ponies, blecch. I took zillions of photos of my children when they were young but never posted any online. They were for private viewing/sharing amongst a small group of family and friends only. Yet even then, I only rarely made copies of photos of my kids to send to others. When my kids were in their teens, I transferred "ownership" of all the photos, negatives and digital files documenting their childhood to them. The photos and videos I still have are the ones they've agreed to grant me the right to keep. Yet even then, the right to possess their images does not mean I have the right to publish those images for all the world to see.