Teaching Your Kids Choice in the Face of Intergalactic Marketing
I often feel outgunned by the relentless merchandising that attends all major PG and PG-13 movie releases. By the time a movie actually hits the screen, it has become more than an entertainment, it’s become a cultural right. If we as parents decide it’s not right for our kids, then we have kids who face the cinematic equivalent of social exile.

What brought this to mind was last week’s release of the trailer for the final installment of the Star Wars saga, Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. I felt the oncoming rush of intergalactic marketing. Between now and May 19th when the movie actually opens, it’s going to be very hard to go to a movie, watch TV, or click on an entertainment site that doesn’t tease to the movie or offer some toy, video game, book, Lego, or even water gun accessory (yes, right now you can buy a Wookie Water Gun and at least twenty other Revenge of the Sith goodies on Amazon).

Don’t get me wrong. I love Star Wars. I will be right there in line waiting to see it with the rest of the nation. But when something like this becomes an omnipresent cultural event, it raises the stakes for us as parents when it comes to managing whether or not the movie is right for our kids as well as dealing with the commercial consequences of incessant advertising.

So what can you do when your kids have been bombarded with advertising for months and you feel powerless against the forces of marketing? Here are a few hints.

Make sure that the movie is right before you promise to take your kid. In the case of Revenge of the Sith, parents need to know that this episode features Anakin Skywalker\'s transformation to Darth Vader, a descent based on Lucas\' vision of hell, a mythical planet composed entirely of erupting volcanoes. "We\'re going to watch him make a pact with the devil," says Lucas. "The film is more dark ... more emotional. It\'s much more of a tragedy." Lucas admits that because the movie’s content is darker and scarier than the other Star Wars episodes, it’s not for everyone. "I don\'t think I would take a 5- or a 6-year-old to this. It\'s way too strong," Lucas said on CBS\' "60 Minutes. "My feeling is that it will probably be a PG-13, so it will be the first `Star Wars\' that\'s a PG-13." So, before you start down a path you might have to double back on, prepare your youngest kids that they just might have to wait for the DVD.

Discuss with your kids how products are marketed. If they know they are being targeted, they can learn to separate out what they really might enjoy or use from what just sounds good because the advertising folks know how to make them sound good.

Establish a limit so your kids learn that they can satisfy their desire for acquisition and learn they can enjoy a movie without an endless wish list.

Take the opportunity to make your kid media savvy. Sit down and talk about both the movie ads and the promotions and explain that the job of marketing is to create an appetite only their products can satisfy. That way you can teach them not only to be more media savvy, but also smart consumers.