Classifying a Clip

The clip we were given to classify was Home Alone.

Drugs

Near the end of the clip we noticed that during the black and white film the boy was watching, that there was quite a lot of references to drugs. The two characters looked like old-style gangsters. Although kids won't really catch the references because there was not really obvious assumptions of it. However, an older audience may catch the hints of drugs.

Horror

There was one obvious reference to horror, when the boy went into the basement and started hearing non-digetic noises which he believed came from the furnace. This is a stereotypical reaction to seeing something that looks scary and kids will obviously notice this.

Nudity/Sex?

There is a hint of nudity in the clip when the boy is in his brother's room and finds a Playboy magazine... Though you never see what he is looking at he makes an obvious reference to nudity by saying something about how the picture was disgusting because the person in it was naked. But younger audiences are unlikely to know what a Playboy magazine is so this shouldn't concern them.

Imitable behaviour

The boy running around the house in an adventurous way could influence younger children that it is fun to do the same as him and that it is acceptable when it really isn't. Also when he is watching the film he's eating a massive bowl of ice cream stuffed with marshmallows is also a bad. Other references of imitable behaviour are him using his brother's BB gun and him invading his brother's privacy as well as destroying his possessions.

Violence

The film that the boy was watching was the only real reference to violence. The massive tommy gun used by the man could encourage children to see guns as a fun thing to use as they don't understand the danger that a gun can cause. The BB gun is another reference to violence but it is only a small reference compared to the film the boy watched.

Language

The language used in the film wasn't so bad as it was not really swearing. The way the guys were speaking could encourage children to act in the same way.

Because of these aspects, we would classify Home Alone as a PG rather than a U mainly due to some factors being unsuitable for very young children. Certain factors that influenced this were the violence, the imitable behaviour and the horror.