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Baghdad High

(Rated TV-14, Reality TV, Starring Khalid Abdalla, Mohammad Raed, Anmar Refat, Where to watch: HBO)

  • Is it age appropriate?

    About our ratings

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    Not age appropriate for kids under 13, age appropriate for kids over 14; suggested age 14.

  • Is it any good?

    4.0

  • Common Sense says

    Iraqi docu is heartwarming -- and heartbreaking.

Why We Rated This on for Ages 14 and Up

The good stuff

  • Messages:

    The series offers a chance to see what it's like to live and go to high school in a war-torn, foreign-occupied country. It avoids Western stereotypes of Iraqis and other Middle Eastern communities. Ali is Kurdish, Anmar is Christian, Hayder is Shi'a, and Mohammad is half Sunni. The boys come from middle-class homes. Mohammad's parents are divorced; he's being raised by a single mother. Young teenage women are not visible.
 

What to watch out for

  • Violence:

    The boys are in constant fear of getting shot, bombed, kidnapped, arrested, and/or killed as a result of the war. Both Anmar and Ali fear for their lives. Gunshots are constantly heard; military aircraft (American) and soldiers (both Iraqi and American) are sometimes visible. One scene shows two of the boys jokingly acting out a hostage decapitation (with a real knife). Discussions include stories about friends/family who have been hurt or killed in the war or during Saddam Hussein's regime. Burning buildings and other bombing casualties are sometimes shown. Iraqi popular music contains lyrics about bombing, shooting, and killing; Western music also has some violent lyrics. Saddam Hussein's conviction and hanging are discussed.

  • Sex:

    Anmar has a girlfriend, but they're never seen together; text messages and phone calls between them lead to innocent declarations of love. Some of the American songs the students listen contain some strong sexual innuendo.

  • Language:

    Hayder occasionally uses words like "hell," "s--t," and "f--k" when speaking English. Some of the Western songs the students listen to include profanity, as well as the "N"-word (though it's not clear whether the students understand the true meaning of that word). Arabic curse words are occasionally spoken, but they're not usually fully translated in the subtitles.

  • Consumerism:

    The young men listen to music by various American artists, including Britney Spears and Tupac Shakur. The boys are sometimes seen wearing clothes with Western logos like Nike, Polo, Adidas, and Batman. But neither the music or the logos are shown in an overtly commercial context.

  • Drinking, drugs, & smoking:

    Not an issue.
 

What Parents Need to Know

About Baghdad High

Parents need to know that this eye-opening documentary chronicles the lives of four Iraqi students who attend high school in Baghdad's war zone. No violence is actually shown, but gunfire is often heard, and discussions about bombings, kidnappings, and killings are frequent. There's also contains some occasional profanity ("s--t," "f--k"), some of which comes from the American music the teens listen to. This glimpse of daily life in Iraq is a worthwhile, age-appropriate choice for teens, but it may be too intense for younger or more sensitive viewers.

Did this review help you decide?

Families Can Talk About

  • Families can talk about what they think it's like to be a young person living in a country that's experiencing civil unrest and/or foreign occupation. Teens: How does the life of the boys in this movie compare to your own? Do you relate to anything they're going through? Families can also discuss how the media typically portrays Iraq and the Iraqi people. How has coverage of the war in Iraq impacted Americans' perception of the Iraqi people? Do you think the overall media coverage of events in the Middle East since 9/11 has helped or hurt Americans' overall perceptions of people from that part of the world?
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