Lord of the Flies

Parents need to know that Lord of the Flies is the classic 1963 film adaptation of the classic novel in which a group of tween boys descend into primitive brutality while stranded on an island. It's an unsettling comment on the animal nature lurking within and without humanity that is (mostly) held in check by civilized society; the choice of tween boys as the archetypes for this allegory is as perfect and obvious as it gets. Much of the violence is strongly implied if not shown -- the boys' getting shot down in the plane is told via a series of photographs and sound effects of a boys' choir and machine gun fire, for instance. However, there's still plenty of violence, much of it unsettling. One of the boys is bullied mercilessly: he's first verbally bullied when he confides in the one boy who is his friend that he had the nickname "Piggy" at his old school. This friend betrays him to the others, who immediately call him "Piggy" at every opportunity. The verbal bullying of "Piggy" inevitably turns physical as the boys remain on the island: his glasses are swiped from him to start the bonfire, and as they descend deeper and deeper into tribal groupthink, "Piggy" suffers a terrible fate. Another boy is brutally murdered by boys armed with wooded spears -- no blood or gore, but scary enough for younger and more sensitive viewers. Another boy is shown getting flogged on his bare behind while other boys maliciously laugh at him. This movie should provoke discussion among families about human nature and how "groupthink" and "mob rule" can exist in places and situations far removed from what's shown in this movie. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails.