MovieChat Forums > Running Scared (2006) Discussion > Ignorance of Paedo Scene (Cinematic Brai...

Ignorance of Paedo Scene (Cinematic Brainwashing)


This analysis is refering to the paedophile scene of this film running scared. My complaint with this scene is that it perpetuates the demonisation that paedophiles receive in media and culture. Not to say that i agree with what they do at all, or have any paeodphilic tendencies myself. But the degree to which people who even have the remotest accusations of paedophilia are painted as in-human, maniac, killer, psychos is unfair. when in fact the actions are usually the result of mental sicknesses which they may not be able to help.

The way this film condones the wholesale murder of the paedophiles, while portraying the killer as a "hero" is extremely warped justice to me. If you reduce the scene away, looking at NOT the specific situation or circumstances of it, but the main themes, it insinuates that paedophiles are such sub-human creatures, that they deserve no right to due-process and should be murdered in cold blood. This creates a feeling in the viewers mind that this sort of behaviour is not only acceptable, but would be praised by society. It breeds the sort of ignorance illustrated in Wales in 2000 when some uneducated people drove a paediatrician out of her home, because they thought her profession meant "paedophile". Here is the link to the news story: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/901723.stm ...and from reading some of the posts on this board about what some people say they would do to those paedos in the movies is on the same level or worse than what they seem to have done.

People in this society who are paroled murderers are looked at more favourably than people who are paroled paedophiles. Illustrated in the fact that they have the whole sex offender registry in the US and UK, restricting your ability to live in certain parts of a town that might be near children. While murderers or theives or drug dealers have no resrictions on where they can live. It appears to me from this that most people would rather than their child murdered than sexually molested. My point of view has always been that society condems the crimes which they most fear in themselves. Again, i want to reiterate, I dont condone paedophilia at all, anymore than i condone murder or any violent crime. But, what i dont understand is, why is it when someone has sex with a minor, even if its consentual, it brings out a bloodlust, torture and desire for vigalante justice hidden deep within society, that they dont seem to see expressed as often for worse crimes like murder or other violent crimes.

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So you're saying that they should be treated fairly because they have a mental sickness? What about murderers and rapists, I guess we can say they have mental illnesses as well, and let them off easy too.

I agree with you on the point that they portray Mrs. Gazelle as a hero even though she killed them. But its just a movie. How many times have you heard of a vigalant murdering serial killers, never right? How many times do you here about paedophiles, all the time. That should tell you that not many people get influenced by these scenes, and don't take the law into their own hand. So your point about society praising it is incorrect. I honestly have never heard of a vigilante doing that type of thing in real life. Its just in the movies.

The reason the paedophiles are looked at less than even murders is because they are taking advantage of a person who is most likely half their size, and is manipulating their state of mind. In no way am I condoning murderes, but at least they stand up to people of similar stature.

And honestly, how does it matter how society views them? Murders still do more time than paedophiles. So there is no justicec inconsistency.

Your point about murderers, drug dealers, and thieves living where they want is also off point. Murders don't get to live where they want because they are iether in jail for the rest of their lives or on death row. Thieves I don't think are as bad as paedophiles, but I do agree with you their should be a stigma placed on both theives and drug dealers in much the same their is a stigma on paedophiles.

Overall though, the reason paedophiles are looked down upon more is because they are taking advantage of someone much younger than them, and much smaller size than them. They are taking advantage of someone that can not even defend themselves, and in all likelihood is not even in a good state of mind to make a proper decsision.

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it disgusts me that you even posted something like this. Its *beep* up that you even thought to your self, "hey, thats not fair!" I agree with some of the other posters that you must be some kind of registered sex offender or something. Only that type of person would be worried about perpetuating the "demonisation" of pedophiles. That was the furthest thought from my mind and the last thing i expected to read here on IMDB.com. They got what they deserved and pedophiles should be kept out of society regardless of how extreme they may be.

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if you spell "PEDOPHILE" or "PEDIATRICIAN" wrong one more time, you will learn a thing or two about vigilante justice

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You'll probably just shout me down and proclaim American superiority about everything, but in the UK it is spelt paedophile. In the US it is pedophile.

Depends on where you live....

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I am aware of how old these posts are. But it pisses me off at how truly dumb and obscenely ignorant twits like yourself are. Do you realise there are TWO major dictionaries in the world? Webster (the one your stupid moronic ignorant self is accustomed to), which defines and spells AMERICAN English, and Oxford, which deals in British, Australian, and New Zealand English. And guess what you dopey idiot, PAEDOPHILE and PAEDIATRICIAN are both found in one of those dictionaries, guess which one? Obviously the OP, and many other posters are from the UK or Australia etc. MORON!

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Good for you recebedou. I still think they deserved to die, that's just my opinion though.

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this is one of my favorite movies and also one of the most emotion-stirring scenes i've ever seen.

they DO kill the children, this would make them murderers. even worse, they torture and sexually abuse their victims first. oh, and the victims are children. so this is a societal issue you wish to discuss? and what's YOUR role? hopefully you're not a teacher, preaching your despicable and warped moral values to students. to dispute THIS scene of death which unfolds dissimilar to your own imagination is truly ..strange. especially given that your stance is to somehow humanize the two people who were currently in possession of two children who were not their own, had attempted to asphyxiate a third and had (given evidence by the tapes and built-in playroom) obviously been delving in such activity for a lengthy period of time is f u c king STRANGE. if you do not understand the ethical boundaries, here's some information you might want to process: children are not CAPABLE. they are capable of learning, comprehension, understanding and all through pedagogy. someone is trafficking the information, someone who knows boundaries and can protect the flow of information. to engage in SEX with a child, well, that's not pedagogical that's disgusting! someone who still hasn't grasped grammar full, yet! do you realize the life-long consequence of abuse? it's perpetual, it never fully ends, the taint never dissipates completely. i can see your heart is in the right place, set in justice, for what is justice if its essence fluctuates? what is right if right is relative? well, justice IS relative.

i say to you, this: these two sad, sadistic and sick people deserved their death. one hundred f u c king percent of it. i would have done the same thing should i have stumbled across those, not only pedophiles but abductors and torturers and murderers. one hundred f u c king percent.

bill o'reilly says, "SHUT UP! SHUT YOUR MOUTH!"

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They weren't even portrayed as maniacs they were portrayed as seemingly regular people who liked to rape and murder kids in secret. They weren't dressed in dark clothing or disgusting looking. They seeming nice, a little too nice. She almost didn't even believe they had the kid till she realized the pictures.

I know why that lady was cast as Juliet in LOST now... she's a bitch... lol

But I must say, I have worked as a counselor to children who have been sexually molested and kids who have molested others sexually. The perpetrators of sexual molestation are ALMOST ALWAYS previous victims of it. This is not to excuse the behavior. Obviously the cycle just continues if we do nothing. Unfortunately seclusion is the only option many times, either in jail or a mental hospital. Although reformation is probably not happening in droves, we are at least keeping some kids safe.

it's a sucky situation.

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The mom was protecting her kid. Those 2 would have raped, taped and then killed her kid eventually had she not gotten there.

Likes it's been said before - they were also murderers, not just using the kids for sex, so in that situation, it was justified.

I don't agree with all this vigilantism going on against "pedophiles". This is the same crowd that would want to burn witches at the stake or kill homosexuals for 'going against the bible'. I mean really.

I also think it is ironic that hardcore criminals in prison will find 'pedophiles' offensive; so let me get this right: people that had RAPED and MURDERED adults, find people that had sex with underagers, offensive. As if that somehow puts them on a morally higher ground.

The Supreme Court recently struck down at attempt to punish child rape with the death penalty. Why on earth would this even be an amendment is beyond me. What about adult rape? Should we gas those guys too? Why stop there? Let's execute carjackers, burglars, pickpockets and those who don't agree with government policy.

How people can think CHILD RAPE = MURDER is beyond me. Goes to show you most people are idiots.

To wrap it up- I don't condone sex with people under 14. This is the age where nature hits humans with puberty, and since ancient times people had gotten married at this age. This whole 'age of consent' is a modern fabrication, anyone claiming moral high ground on this issue is only supporting a human fabrication, an opinion forced upon the masses by law (and if you think laws are absolute -
remember that by law, at one time or another -

Blacks could be owned and traded.
Certain religion was illegal.
Alcohol was illegal.
Political speech was illegal.
Homosexuality was illegal.
Women are not allowed to drive (2008 - Saudi Arabia)

Laws change, because public opinion changes.

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If one were to be entirely emotionally detached and logical about this argument, it could be said that there is an element of mental illness in everything we deem a crime because the perpetrator has limited insight into how they are negatively affecting not only others, but themselves in the long term.

‘Normal’, rational people tend not to commit criminal acts because there are so many wondrous things to do with our time on this earth that we simply do not contemplate transgressing against another person.

There are aspects of biological existence which will never be fully understood or controlled, and when people change for the better, it isn’t because of rehabilitation, it’s because, IMO, the underlying disorder has spontaneously resolved itself (the person is ‘better’). Some people will go to prison and never get better; let’s just accept that and move on. Let’s also accept that killing them leaves us in the ‘morally’ weaker position.

It is only the intellectually bankrupt who can say that murder is justified in certain circumstances, or that the death of an adult is easier for society to bear than the molestation of a child. I’m sorry, but physical injury or death is more damaging in real terms than psychological trauma. For murderers and drug dealers to regard what they have done as less of a crime than emotional hurt inflicted on a child by an adult is just an example of how they are mentally ill themselves and should be pitied, just like the bigots who are all around us on the outside.

…and right on cue, here come the knukle-draggers. It’s Paedogeddon!

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What are you then? Some damn boy lover? Pedo's that take advantage of children deserve the *beep* electric chair.

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OMG I agree with you completely. I also didn't like how it was apparently ok for Paul Walker's character to kill those gangsters in that shootout. He should've shot them in the legs and then had his backup arrest them because, even though they're cold blooded cop killing gangsters, they deserve their due process rights. I hate how this movie condones the wholesale murder of mobsters while portraying the killer as a "hero."

*end sarcasm*

Wow, I can't believe you wrote this post. Taking advantage of children is wrong, and killing them is worse. They were MURDERERS, btw, not just pedophiles. You also seem to have less of a problem with the murder of corrupt cops than of children.

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