yuck (Rating: 1.00)
Review : I've been forced to watch this film every year for the past five years at school. This movie is probably the stupidest thing to ever grace the Earth. If you are going to teach kids about the civil rights movement than do it right, show them a documentary or a realistic film. This movie is a real joke and the characters suck.
A gem! (Rating: 5.00)
Review : This is an excellent educational video. I agree with other reviewers that it is not appropriate for young viewers. However, as a fifth grade teacher, my students were fully capable of handling the presentation and the discussions that we had before and after.This video truly encourages children to think about the choices they make. Not only does it make Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. someone a child can relate to, but it explores the idea that one person can make a difference. It urges children to stand up for the right thing even when it is difficult.
Informative and Interesting for my 4 yr old (Rating: 5.00)
Review : I watched this on DVD with my 4 yr old son. He was VERY interested and really liked the movie. He understood immediately that the show was NOT saying that all White people are bad, that in fact skin color is a very silly thing to judge people by. It was refreshing to see a show on the Civil Rights movement that did not show The Selfless and Heroic White Man coming in to save and protect the apathetic and helpless minorities, but instead portrayed the courage and determination of the people who had engaged in the struggle for freedom for years... centuries. It gave was a good portrayal of the attitudes and realities that made the Civil Rights struggle so difficult, desperate, and dangerous.
"Pick of the Month" of Good Housekeeping Mag., Feb. 1999 (Rating: 5.00)
Review : Good Housekeeping Magazine has selected this video as their "Pick of the Month". I have not seen it, but would love to take a look at it as something to possibly share with my six-year-old and her first grade class. GH writes: "Coinciding with Black History month is the debut of this appealing, made-for-video movie, a child's-eye look at the life of Martin Luther King, Jr. "OF,M" combines animation and documentary footage of the civil rights leader to tell the story of two boys who magically travel back in time and meet King at various points in his life. The production features the voices of such stars as Angela Bassett, Danny Glover, Whoopi Goldberg, James Earl Jones, Susan Sarandon, Oprah Winfrey, and LeVar Burton as King." This sounds like a potential winner to me!
Great Movie -- for children in 3rd grade or higher (Rating: 4.00)
Review : Our child saw this video in school, the week before Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday -- and we were upset with the feedback we received when we asked him about it. We didn't know beforehand that it was being shown, but he mentioned that he was scared to go to sleep, the night after he saw it. The first thing he talked about was the gunshot, and the children being sprayed with water. He is in kindergarten, and too young to truly understand the nuances of this period in our history. Martin Luther King's message is so valuable, and we believe should be taught to all chidren. However, accompanying this message with the violent visual is too intense for 5-6 year olds. After watching the film again, this time stopping 3-4 times so he could ask questions, and we could discuss what was happening - we feel ok with him seeing it. We would still recommend that kids under the age of 8-9 do not watch it.
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