Product: Kids (1995)
Rating: 3.0
I'd like to thank my Sunday School teacher!
Sometimes I wonder whether I have any fun in my life, and whether work and school compromise my muse. I wonder whether I didn't do enough sowing of my oats, or squandering, or doing something deserving of the "prodigal son" title during my youth.And then I saw "Kids" and I wonder whether I should look up my Sunday School teacher and thank her, or give my mom twice as many roses next year on Mothers Day for getting so angry with me for staying out too late with my girlfriend when I was 17. It's hard not to moralize when seeing this film, and middle-class values gasp while watching it.What I saw was a lack of direction or a complete and total dissonance between reality and hedonistic bliss. I would compare them to dogs, but even dogs have respect for owners and care about where their next meal comes from. These New York City kids have little, but don't work for anything but what they enjoy, and even that work is illicit. They shoplift, steal, and share the substances and people that bring them happiness. There is complete lack of any sort of true authority. Even though you see many public places, relatively nice NY apartments, and people on their way to work, there are no parents, police, school-teachers or administrators, even older children don't shepherd the younger ones. The scenes in this film show nothing but kids abusing and having sex, essentially gratifying themselves for the short term, since they don't even think about the long term. (...)The film was particularly shocking. What we saw were kids that have been brought up to think of themselves, of happiness, of bliss, and not the sacrifice necessary that shows them how to get there. They have no reason to try because bliss is right there for the taking, and there isn't anyone to tell them about the importance of diligence. They can get and take whatever they need to be happy. Telly even tells his friends this prophetic statement: "Aids doesn't exist, and if it does, I'm gonna go out (...), you know what I'm saying!" Nothing is going to get in their way. And as the cabby that took Jenni to the rave said, "if you can't make yourself happy, then why go on? Don't think about what makes you upset." How do you convince these kids about sacrifice? About how hard work will pay off? It makes you wonder whether we will be able to bring these kids back to earth, where people struggle to grow food and work to feed families, and eventually take a look at the fruit of their actions. As Casper says in the final scene (...), in a hung-over stupor, after flashing scenes of Tai Chi in the park and Moslem prayers, "Jesus Christ, what happened?" It's difficult not to moralize, and just a difficult not to ask yourself: "who am I to moralize?"Next time you see your folks, thank them for grounding you. Thank them for telling you not to give up. And reward yourself by either running five miles or reading a Victorian novel. No wonder morals exist.