thread: 2005-10-05 : Various Media Comments
On 2005-10-05, Ninja Monkey J wrote:
The "danger to children" thing gets deliberately pointed in one other episode. It's powerful because the endangerment is on the side of the good guys.
Most of the time, that's not where things are happening. It's just one arrow in a substantial quiver.
This makes MB go "Kids as gimicks=bad"
I have some stomach for kids-in-danger when it's relevant to the plot: Witness comes to mind, as does Ransom, as does The Professional. My gripe is when kids are used for no other reason than to play that emotional card. If there's no clear reason why it should be a kid in the dangerous situation, why make it a kid? If you have to make it a kid to make me care, I will resent the heck out of you.
This makes NinJ go "OK, you asked for it. Spoilers follow."
In BSG (in the second instance, a little girl the President meets), the reason it's a child is because the child has no say in the matter whatsoever. She's not old enough to be officially enfranchised in the democracy, she has no money, no political clout, and she's the one who's left to die. It's addressing how the powerful are brought along when push comes to shove. It makes President Rosalind question her decision, and it makes us marvel at her ability to make it, whether or not we want her to do it.
