What do you do when your kids' favorite stars take on roles that aren't age appropriate for them to see? That's the question of the hour as Daniel Radcliffe -- known the world over for his portrayal of Harry Potter -- and Dakota Fanning, an idol to many in the elementary-school set, step out of their familiar family-friendly characters to take on more mature, and even sensational, roles.
Radcliffe is about to appear in a London revival of Peter Shaffer's play "Equus," and appear he does -- naked, in one scene. While the chances of your kids seeing the play are slim, evocative publicity photos are quickly spreading across the Internet. (Plus, you know that someone at some point will snap a cellphone photo of Radcliffe in the altogether and upload it onto the Web.)
As for Fanning, her highly controversial portrayal (in the yet-to-be-distributed movie "Hounddog") of a girl who's raped already has many parents up in arms. So how do you talk about these mature roles with your kids?
- Do your homework: Know the thematic content of movies, plays, or TV shows before you watch. A little bit of research often saves a lot of explaining.
- Explain the difference between the actor and the role. When children are very young -- under 7 -- they often confuse reality and fantasy. This is especially easy to do with adored characters. But this isn't like telling your children that there's no Santa Claus. Explain that there are real people behind the roles and that these people are artists who are interested in growing and taking on new challenges.
- Reassure kids that nothing will change the movies they already love. Radcliffe may grow up and take on new challenges, but he'll always be Harry Potter on DVD.
Controversy can provide a good opportunity to make your child more media savvy. When you have a discussion about divorcing the character from the actor, you get to help your children think more critically about the media they enjoy. These days, many of our kids' favorite stars and celebrities show up in the news doing things that make us cringe. By helping your kids understand that stars are people too -- and sometimes flawed ones at that -- you help them learn to think for themselves about what they see in the media.
Above: Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter in the "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" (2001). Photo: Peter Mountain / Warner Bros.
Common Sense Media is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing information to help parents make media and entertainment choices for their families.
