Leading Hollywood studios have been testing violent films on children as young as 10 despite industry claims to act reponsibly. As senior executives prepared to give evidence to a Senate committee hearing on cinema violence, revelations emerged that the studios have routinely shown violent horror movies to young children.
Research documents show that such violent and restricted films as I Still Know What Your Did Last Summer, Disturbing Behaviour and Judge Dredd were tested on children. Children, some as young as nine were asked about concepts at the script-planning stage for Columbia Tristar. Other studios that have tested violent films on children include Disney and MGM/United Artists.
Confidential documents submitted to the government commission that is investigating the marketing of violent films and video games to children indicate that research companies routinely used young children or "tweens" to test their products. A memo from the national research group explained the reasons for testing concepts for the sequel to the serial slasher movie I Know What You Did Last Summer: "There is evidence to indicate that attendance in the original movie dipped down to the age of 10. Therefore it seems to make sense to interview 10 to 11-year-olds."
Scenes from Disturbing Behaviour shown to children as young as 12 indicated that the "stand-out scene" was one of a blonde smashing her face into a mirror. Even Disney, which has carefully nurtured its family image, tested Judge Dredd, which was rated R - requiring anyone under 17 to be accompanied by an adult - on children of 13.
Violent video games such as Turok and Duke Nukem Zero Hour, which are barred from being sold to children under 17, were really aimed at children much younger, according to one memo. "The true target is males nine to 34," an advertising document said. The confidential memos, obtained by the New York Times, indicate that marketing strategies for violent and horror films and games were frequently aimed at children, despite public pronouncements that the target audience was much older.
The revelations will put Hollywood on the defensive as eight executives give evidence to the Senate commerce committee's hearing on entertainment violence.
The industry has already offered a 12-point plan which would stop the showing of trailers for R-rated films before general release films. The studios would also not "knowingly include" children under 17 in marketing tests of violent movies unless accompanied by an adult. Disney has said that in future none of its R-rated films will be shown to children under the restricted age in tests, and that it will put pressure on cinemas to be stricter about enforcing the age limits. Fox said this week that it would no longer market R-rated films on a television network show where more than 35% of the audience were under 17.
Jack Valenti, head of the Motion Picture Association of America, has conceded that a recent report by the federal trade commission has prompted the industry to re-evaluate how it markets films. But Mr Valenti has said that it is not possible to have rigid rules on such marketing. "That's a kind of rigidity that cannot work in creative artistic expression," he said. "We are not dealing with Euclid's geometry, where the equations are pristine and explicit."
This attitude has not impressed some of the senators investigating the issue. Senator John McCain, who has requested the attendance of the senior executives, said: "I don't understand why they couldn't just say 'We'll stop it'. I will be eager to hear the justification for what seems like a complicated approach to a pretty simple issue: when are they going to stop marketing to children?"
The issue has an additional political frisson in that the Democrat vice-presidential candidate, Joe Lieberman, has long been a campaigner against violent movies. He has been accused of hypocrisy for berating Hollywood by day for its violence and benefiting from its fundraising activities by night.
