MovieChat Forums > The Secret Garden (1993) Discussion > Is this movie like the book? Parental ad...

Is this movie like the book? Parental advice please.


I just finished reading the Secret Garden to my kids. I found that I had to skip quite a bit due to racism & religious themes. (Many classics, I find, needs a little parental editing now & again.) If the movie also has these themes, prayers & bigotry, I would rather have them miss it, but I have heard that it is a sweet movie. I bet they would ax the racism, but they may still keep all the faith... both bother me equally.
Any advice?


Movies: Now more than ever.

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I don't think there is much, if any, religious discussion in this movie. As far as racist themes go, there is one incident between Martha and Mary where Martha says that, coming from India, she thought Mary "would be a Native". Mary then becomes furious. However, it's brief and handled tastefully.

Overall, there is nothing that bad in this movie at all. I think it is a very good family film. But if you are hesitant, you may want to watch it first just to be on the safe side.

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My advice--show this movie to your kids, particularly if they loved the book. The issues that they will probably actually take are the few changed plot points from book to movie, which I think make sense with the movie.

I loved the book as a child, and this film version of the book was one of my favorite movies as an adolescent, and still one of my favorites today as an adult. It is magnificently shot, well-acted, and the music is gorgeous. It's really quite a magical movie.

As to racist/religious themes, I don't think there will be much that you find offensive, aside from the one "native" comment, which fits with the scene and is handled well in the script. Unless you are offended by minor mainstream religious references or by child-created magical religions, there probably won't be anything to scar your children.

And on that note, and I don't know what your belief system is or how old your children are, but you might want to prepare yourself to start having discussions with them about some of those topics, particularly as they begin having required reading in school or read books on their own that may have sensitive themes. I don't myself quite remember what the "prayers" are in The Secret Garden, so clearly they didn't have a large affect on my psyche the first time I heard it out loud (I was about eight). The racism did affect me in the way that I remember thinking that it must have just been the old-fashioned ideas of the time, since I knew it was an old book. But it wasn't the main focus of the book for me, as I was more interested in the giant mansion and magical robins and hidden gardens. I think your kids would be similar.

I also am curious that you seem to be equating religion and racism in offensiveness. Reasoning?

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That's just the way things were back then. Don't you think being accurate is more important than being PC?

--
"House. My room. Can't walk. My medal. My father. Father, don't!"

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In my adult drama I do prefer accurate, but not when it comes to my 4 & 6 year olds.


Movies: Now more than ever.

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Warning: There is a scene depicting pagan rites in this film and the children are shown bad mouthing and physically assaulting adults, treating servants like dirt, stealing keys/gardens, conspiring to keep "secrets", and being wantonly disobedient generally. Add to this class distinctions are apparent and some might have the impression that the wicked witch housekeeper was being abusive to children. Colin's mentally disturbed "gothic" pater might also give some tiny tots nightmares.

Possibly you would feel more comfortable avoiding classic children's literature (or real life for that matter) altogether. Obviously there are dreaded issues (praying for instance) that are beyond your powers of equanimity and discernment.

Advise: Stick to indoctrination that has been commissar neutralized PC sanitized. There has been alot of that going about lately.

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[deleted]

Here I am sending a message from 12 years in The Future. Newsflash - it has gotten much, much worse!

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The movie is lovely and I really enjoyed it but I think the book is so much better than the movie.

(To A.N.)I really, truly, madly, deeply, passionately, remarkably, deliciously love you.

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[deleted]

why would you skip the racist and religious themes? you can't censor history!! it is better reading the racist parts and then explaining why it is wrong. They definitely shouldn't remove it from the book or the film. Is it pretending it never happened. Would you make a WW2 film that is not racist or religious?

http://www.youtube.com/user/sweetiecandykim

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^ If I could like your post, I would. I think censorship in and of itself is not a terrible idea, but I do think that people begin to use it as an excuse to not teach children and instead coddle them. As a result, they get a huge culture shock when they enter the real world. If the OP's aim is to find entertainment devoid of anything that might illicit discussion, he/she's going to have very slim pickings. The sooner children are given at least mild insights into the world that they'll have to grow up in, the more realistic and sensible they will be.

What disturbed me most about the OP was that faith bothered him/her as much as racism? I suppose the OP mean religious faith, not faith as a whole. Even so, is the belief in one god or gods really just as offensive as the persecution against people based on skin color or cultural origin? If so, that might be root of the problem here, not the fact that The Secret Garden isn't G-rated enough for the OP.

I appreciate your common sense, sweetie_candykim. Sadly, sense is very rarely common.

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[deleted]

There isn't much religion or racism in the movie. But why are you editing it out for your kids? Kids need to learn about horrible things that occurred in the past so they learn to accept others despite race or religion. If you explain that it was wrong, but that's how people were at the time they would understand.

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I think it is one of the most sweetest books, I've ever read. You must have been REALLY sheltered in a not-so-good way and you want the same for your kids? They'll have quite the surprise later, at school.

http://www.cgonzales.net & http://www.drxcreatures.com

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