Children and Magic

[Rowan]

I learned recently that the guy I work with would not allow his 4 year old son to watch any shows/cartoons that contained magic of sorts. This came up in conversation after I suggested to him a movie called 'Ponyo' that I watched at my gf's house and thought that it was great. He sugguested to me that magic is evil and that walt disney works under the guise of the illumanati. He also sugguested that kids learning about magic from a young age can warp their perception on reality. I found this quite ironic considering his views on the world and his worship to christianity and god. Keeping aside santa etc, it seemed like his concern for his sons perception on reality in case with magic in cartoons is a common thing. A lot of parents think harry potter and the like would make their kids grow up with distorted views on reality.

Im not inclined to believe this could be as harmful as some other things, but what do you think?


Also, talk about subliminal messages and whether or not they can have an effect on the mind.

[Tileon]

I myself was raised in a Christian home, so I know where the guy you mentioned is coming from. As a Christian (from a Christian perspective), if I were to practice magic I would be involving myself with the occult. I would be opening myself up to the devils influence instead of Gods. So, for a Christian who is interested in keeping their kids close to God, magic would be something to avoid. For me personally I find things like video game magic and cartoon magic (like Ponyo) pretty harmless. However, I'm an adult. If I had kids I would want to expose them to things that helped them grow as a Christians, and not fill their heads with things that may lead them in the other direction.

So, for a Christian who believes in the danger of opening your-self up to satanic influences: Yes it could be harm-full

(The Christian perspective aside; like you said)

The same thing can go for "perception of reality." For a little kid with endless energy and an active imagination their view of the world will be influenced by anything they come in contact with. Magic, castles, SpongeBob, Christianity, whatever. As long as a parent's Okay with that stuff being a part of their kids interest, then no harm done. They will grow up and eventually decide for themselves what is real to them and what they believe.

It really just boils down to what you want your kids to be exposed to. Other harmful things like violence and drug use can be found in movies and video games to.

As for the illuminati and subliminal messages I've never really bought into that kind of stuff. (Also I think Disney being evil (Illuminati) is little extreme, even for a for a Christian) If he wants to protect his kids from magic and Disney, then more power to him. To each their own.

[Freya]

First things first: "Ponyo" was made by the Japanese animation studio called Ghibli. It was not made by Disney. So the guy from your work could've given the movie a chance.

Aside from that, I'm christian as well and was raised to believe by my parents. And yet, they let me watch several animated movies containing magic. Why wouldn't they? To be honest, I don't really get why a child shouldn't watch "magical" movies to not drift off to a dreamworld far away from reality. After all, it's the parents' responsibility to watch the movies with their children to explain what happens on the screen. If you want to ensure that children know that everything happening in a movie isn't real, then you just have to tell them. (But to be honest, normal children aren't that stupid. When I watched "The Last Unicorn" back then age 5 for the first time, I simply knew it wasn't real, that there are no unicorns in a faraway forest... and no princes either )

I also don't get why that kind of movies (especially Ghibli and Disney, as they are the examples in this thread) should have "satanic influences" on children. When I was little I admit that I also wanted to be like Sailor Moon and all the other magical girls, but I would've never started to think about Satan or any occult stuff. Why would I? Magic isn't always bad, anyways. I even know a few (magical girl) mangas in which God is praised when they transform into magical girls. (Kaito Saint Tail is the first one coming to my mind.) That's magic as well - but it's used for good and in the name of God. (Which of course CAN be blasphemic to some Christians as well.)

As for subliminal messages. When growing older, I got the feeling to notice them. When I was young, there was none. It was just "aw, a magical adventure - I want to dream about being part of it <3". No trying to do that in reality, always knowing it wasn't real, never thought the movie had a deeper meaning. Now I see the meaning of movies more clearly, but the only thing I see in Disney and Ghibli movies are rather christian values like being there for other people, being honest, being a good friend, etc. But maybe I didn't see the most obvious messages, who knows?

All in all... if you as a parent want to prevent your children from going the wrong way, you should rather talk to them and explain everything instead of shutting them off from everything YOU (!) consider "evil". (And besides, as a child, you want to see exactly those movies which your parents don't want you to see. Children are rebels )

[Alpha]

That's a really silly attitude. Firstly, anything with magic in it would be found in the fiction section. Fiction. As I had to tell myself until age 18 when I could finally remember, fiction = not true. Secondly, surely such a concerned Christian parent would be more concerned with ideas of justice, self-sacrifice and tolerance? Harry Potter and his pals embody Christian ideals...their story just happens to be told with magic. If Hogwarts was a Catholic school no one would've read it and Cho Chang would be pregnant.

C.S. Lewis? Author of The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe? Aslan is an allegory for Christ. That's the whole point. That magic is a motif is irrelevant and only serves to make the story more engaging, particularly gir children.

[Black_Cloud]

As far as I'm concerned, you can't walk out of your house without being exposed to something that someone considers evil.
Not all Christians believe that watching magical fantasy cartoons is evil, but some do. So, which Christian is right, and which is wrong?

Just as other people in this thread have, I watched plenty of magical fantasy as a child. I never once believed that it was real. I did
pretend to be a ninja turtle, however, I knew that it was all pretend. I too watched the Last Unicorn, I watched Legend, I watched Labyrinth,
I watched Highlander, Star Wars, He-Man and all kinds of fantastic stuff back then. The way I saw it all as a 3 year old child is the way I see it now.
It was entertaining and totally make-believe.

No demons ever possessed me or tormented me in any way. Darth Vader never came in my sleep to melt my brain.

And as far as Disney having anything to do with the Illuminati? Anyone can be accused of that. No proof needed.

[noxious.sunshine]

Ponyo (and other Ghibli films), were in fact, taken on by Disney for the USA release. John Lasseter (one of the major players in the Pixar 1/2 of Disney) had a heavy hand in helping bring the Ghibli films to the US. Just a clarification on that part.

Now, as far as children being exposed to harmless stuff like Harry Potter, Chronicles of Narnia, etc - there's nothing wrong with that. It's -reading-. If those stories get a child to read and become interested in books, then the fact that magic is involved shouldn't matter (this is coming from a former Educational Assistant who worked in ESL with mostly children who had a hard time learning to read in English and couldn't even read in Spanish or whatever their native language was). I'm a huge literacy advocate, so I say, let them read whatever they want.

I'm not huge on movies (if they don't get my attn within like 30 minutes, I'm done and off doing other things or asleep), so I have no opinion on that. My daughter doesn't watch much tv, and while she was reading on almost a 1st grade level by this time -last- year (she's in Pre-K now), she's not on the level of Harry Potter. Though she does love her some Barbie. And the Disney Princesses.

On Magic & keeping it "Christian", I'm sorry. I think that it would be hard for a child to turn to "the dark side" just based on those movies/books. I'm also quite put off by Christianity in general (that's neither here nor there, though), so I fully plan to encourage my child to explore every option and figure out her own truth- not just go down one path.

Yeah.. I totally make jokes about the Illuminati all the time. My dad's a Mason and they say Masonic Masons are in league with the Illuminati. Someone says something about the US Gubment & I'm like "Ahhhh can't blame 'em. The Illuminati controls it all." Someone got mad at me over that once. I came up with this whole ludicrous theory that if the world committed mass suicide, then there'd be no one left for the Illuminati to control and they'd implode rather quickly. My dad however, while he's not so sure on the Illuminati story, he totally believes there is an elite group of people/families that meet once a year to discuss things like that. In an undisclosed location, with no media around.

Don't get me started on war games, though. The fact that people find it entertaining to shoot other people during war - even if it -is- just a game - makes my skin crawl. It aggravated me nonstop that my ex would allow his 8 year old son (he's now 12 I think) to play Call of Duty. Simply because my Dad was in Vietnam and my Grandfather was in WWII. My dad nearly got shot in the head at 19. Had that happened, he would've never met my mom, and would've never had kids. Sorry for the O/T. heh.

[Clint]

When people speak of subliminal messages, they are speaking simply of their own suspicions of the world. Subliminal messages are only subjectable if you're looking for a subliminal message. Kids watch cartoons and whatnot based on entertainment value. It does not brainwash, it simply keeps your kids busy for a little while.

Anybody who believes that programs containing magical elements were created by devil worshipers, or some made up group like the Illumitati, simply have too much time on their hands to think about stupid shit like this. Kids aren't stupid. They know what's real, and what isn't, but believing in something bigger than yourself, whether it be magic, Santa Clause, or any other various fairy tale, simply serves the purpose of building creativity and imagination, which help to build artistic skill and intellect.

Children need to be imaginative, and depriving a child of this is downright disgraceful on the part of parents. If you desperately want your child to believe what you believe, and deprive them of various aspects which make up childhood, while forcing your religious beliefs on them, the only thing that is is selfish. It isn't about you, it's about the child.

Apparently people need to learn to be better parents. If you have children, stop acting like a child.

[noxious.sunshine]

I agree wholeheartedly on that, whateverthe**** Eastwood you decide to be from day-to-day.. XD lol

Also, Chronicles of Narnia is actually an incredibly biblical/christian story in whole. It's just that you won't realize it until the end.
Aslan = God. Narnia = Heaven... In the end. It didn't strike me until later on that it was such a story. C.S. Lewis manipulated it into being magical without the reader knowing it's a very ... Christian-based series.. If that makes sense.

Regardless, my sentiments stay the same. If a child is reading, is eager to read, and loves what he/she reads, give it to them. I want my child to be able to explore her options and figure out her own truth - if she chooses to be Southern Baptist Christian, fine, but at least she chose that path on her own - not because someone else influenced her or forced her to be that way.

[Pete]

I think that kids should be allowed to read and watch things that are appropriate for their age group, as deemed by their parents. It's not my call to tell you what your kids are to believe or what they should or shouldn't watch. That being said, parents really need to step it up with their actual parenting and prevent kids from becoming even worse with their swag and yolo bullshit.

As for magic, I think a lot of it comes with the wonder and innocence that childhood is supposed to be. Kids are supposed to go outside and play and watch movies like Aladdin and Toy Story. And in my opinion, kids are supposed to grow up with a distorted sense of reality; they're kids! They shouldn't have to be exposed to the evil in the world. They should be allowed to grow and flourish in a safe environment, where they can begin to develop a sense of who they are. However, they should also know the difference between what's real and whats make-believe so they don't think they're Professor X, hop in front of a speeding bus and try to stop it with their mind. I can guarantee that it won't end well.