Kidz

Kids

The film Kids (1995) that we watched a couple of weeks ago gave me enough time to dwell on the harsh realities that were brought to life. The film revealed the seemingly 'unspoken' realities of the harsh consequences caused by glorified sex and drugs, which some young teens are faced with. This use of sex and drugs were apparent in both sexes although more so in males. The males in the film were presented more gruesomely especially in terms of sex. The so called 'protagonist' Telly had the life amibition of "penetrating" as many virgins and young girls seemed to be an easy target, unaware of the HIV infection he was speading. The parrell ending of Telly unknowlingly spreading the disease and Casper unware that the girl he raping was 'penetrating the diesase creates shock amoungst viewers. The interesting thing here is the unknowingness and juxtaposition bwtween the two victims, Casper and the young virgin, and Telly's control over so many lives. The two victims can also be seen in a different light: the first victim, Casper as deserving the disease as he was raping the girl in the first place and the second victim as innocent and 'harsh'. Did Casper and the young virgins fate lie in Telly's hands?

I thought the film was eye-catching as it touched upon many taboo or even dismissed issues concerning sex and drugs, especially amoung the upper-classes. The film shows that class is not an issue; it could happen to any any young girl no matter how good or bad their parents might be. I feel this reflects the results obtained for a Daily Mail article (the link is provided below) that 'one in five young adolescents are unaware that HIV can be contracted from unprotected sex'. The film should be aimed at both parents and teenagers because it makes people aware of the sorts of revolting things children are potential victims of, and hopefully it will encourage them to take serious precautions, educate and protect their offspring.

Perhaps the age of which children are taught about sex education should be lowered so that health and safety of sex AND drugs are enforced. Maybe shock statergies will work? I think this is particularly important to underpin because of the growing number of underage sex and pregnancies in this country. Is the glorification of sex and drugs in the media to blame?

Here some very shocked statistic I found from the Daily Mail website:

• 83% of the young adults did not know an HIV positive mother could pass the disease on to her child through breast feeding.
• The National Aids Trust survey questioned 2,000 people aged 15 and over. They found public awareness of HIV has declined across the age range compared to 5 years ago.
• 58,000 HIV infested in the UK but 1 in 3 infections are undiagnosed.
• 1 in 7 participate in sexual activity under the age of 16 and are infected with chlamydia.
• 40,000 youngsters under the age of 18 become pregnant each year in Britian.
  
  
  

"Young adults 'clueless' about HIV": http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/health/healthmain.html?in_article_id=315092&in_page_id=1774

"Girls of 11 'pressured into sex'":
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/femail/article.html?in_article_id=173483&in_page_id=1879