(Thanks to Linda for the news tip)
Show Dogs is a PG-rated “family comedy” which has a lot of people calling it a kind of promo for pedophilia. It’s one of those movies starring nobody I ever heard of, or particularly want to hear of, with the voice of rap star “Ludicris” plugged into a Rottweiler. The Rottweiler is an undercover K-9 cop, and he and his human handler have to infiltrate a dog show so they can bust an animal smuggling ring. All the dogs and other critters are given human voice-overs. If you care for that sort of thing.
The trouble is with a scene in which the Rottweiler must submit to the dog show judges fondling his genitals: we are told this is standard practice in dog shows. Max the Rottweiler doesn’t enjoy this. His human handler tells him to relax and enjoy it. Some viewers see in this a kind of commercial for pedophilia, pitched at children in the audience.
I posted the trailer because it shows another attempt by movie-makers to get a laugh: a scene of Max farting in his bath. Bubble, bubble. To me this suggests that the film relies on the sort of bathroom humor that we all hope our children will grow out of. Let me be charitable, and put the fondling scene down to heartfelt stupidity rather than to any sinister intent. It seems to be what makes this movie tick, if you call this ticking.
If they’re not trying “to groom children” for pedophiles, they are certainly trying (and succeeding) to celebrate real brainlessness.
Walk a mile out of your way to avoid this one.
It seems that they always pander to the lowest common denominator these days. There probably wasn’t any overt attempt to prepare children to be passive if molested; I agree that part was most likely stupidity, but they didn’t have to cover that particular aspect of a dog show.
Flatulence humor probably goes back to the first time someone overindulged in high fiber foods, but a very little goes a very long way. Maybe I’m, just an old buddy-duddy, but I prefer to aim a bit higher when it comes to entertainment.
I’ve been watching some Hillsdale College lectures about Churchill, of late and loving it. He was an amazing person, truly a great man. Hillsdale is a very conservative college and has some refreshing ideas which hey are imparting to their students.
Here’s a bit of humor worth a few chuckles:
https://fellowshipoftheminds.com/2018/05/23/wednesday-funnies-15/
Good stuff.
I agree this doesn’t belong in a kids movie. The things that pass for entertainment today would be considered obscene a couple of decades ago. And there’s much to be said that entertainment has contributed a lot to the coarsening of society. But I think inferring pedophilia into it is a bit much. I read The Daily Wire article about the blogger mom who made much ado about it. I don’t think she inferred pedophilia either, but made the case that this sort of desensitizes children that private parts and not that private, and maybe there is something to be said about that.
edit, “but made the case that this sort of desensitizes children that private parts are not that private”.
Good call. Besides the threat of pedophile adults, children can be exposed to sexual pressure from other children. I recall kids coming home from summer camp with some pretty hair-raising tales. The only way to defend children from this sort of thing is to prepare them and teach them where to set the boundaries. If not, there is a significant risk that they may experience something that will not be good for their emotional development.
When I was a child, movies intended for children avoided the subject of sex and stuck to telling the story. There was nothing lacking in this approach, movies don’t have to cover every aspect of life.
When I was a girl, even moms and dads in television shows were never seen in intimate scenes. Even the bedrooms had twin beds.
It is hard to find comedy in America anymore that doesn’t revolve around sex.