Romance and adult content have been a few of the strongest tactics to gain an audience for movies. Filmmakers use intimate scenes and stories that often make a film talk of the town. After film series is one such example. Kids, especially teens, largely tend to like this film series. That’s why the After Parents Guide seems to be necessary for parents who worry about their children’s psychological and emotional upbringing.
Filmmakers may argue and justify using the adult content or romantic scenes in a movie. They may say that these scenes were necessary to support the plot. However, parents must be vigilant about what their kids see and how those scenes may impact them.
In this article, we will discuss the After series and the impact of its content on kids. We will also discuss if parents should allow their children to watch the After series. You will also learn how to watch this series safely.
Overview of ‘After’ story
The After movie series is an adaptation of a romantic novel by Anna Todd. The story of this film revolves around two young students and their encounter with a romantic relationship. The series takes a path from the start of a love story and moves forward to involve betrayal and mutual clashes.
The storyline keeps the audience involved and engaged throughout the movie series. The story also entices the audience to wait for the next installment of this series. The first movie, named After, was released in 2019. After its success, the subsequent movies were also released, including After We Collided (2020), After We Fell (2021), After Ever Happy (2022), and After Everything (2023).
A sequel named Future and the prequel named Before is also under development. They will be released in the coming years. They are also thought to gain massive attraction from youth due to the attention and number of followers this series has gained.
Who is the audience for the movie After?
The suitable audience for this film series is above 13 years of age. The IMDB rating for these movies is PG-13. So, it is not advisable that children below the age of 13 watch these movies.
That is why parental supervision is recommended while letting your children watch such movies or series. Our parents’ guide will break down the mature or sensitive aspects of the After series, which contains content and visuals that are not suitable for kids below 13 years of age.
Parents guide to know After (2019-2023)
Let’s quickly go through the salient aspects of the After series, released from 2018 to 2023. This will give you a brief analysis of the content of these movies and guide parents in deciding if the film’s violent and romantic content is suitable for their teens.
- Age rating: PG-13
Content warnings
The content of the After movie series is a mix of romantic interaction and betrayal, and it also involves physical relationships. The content that involves interacting with an opposite gender may be difficult for smaller kids to understand.
- Sex & Nudity: The sexual content is not very open. It is shown with some degree of censorship. Still, parents must exercise caution and accompany their kids while they watch this series.
- Strong language and mature dialogue: Yes, the After movie series includes strong language and mature dialogue. It is not advisable for kids to view such content or gear such dialogues.
- Violence & Gore: You can consider this series safe in terms of violence and gore. However, there are a few scenes involving violence. That includes stabbing and shooting with some amount of blood.
- Profanity: Yes, the series of full of profanity in terms of obscenity and physical relationship.
- Use of substances: Yes, you will find many occasions in the movies where you can see characters drinking and smoking at social gatherings or parties. However, it doesn’t show actors using drugs.
- Fighting & Intense scenes: As you can guess, these movies contain many intense scenes. These encounters often result from relevant arguments or discussions. The lead actors are involved in emotional conversations that lead to fighting and intense scenes.
Mature themes or topics
Yes, you will find a few mature themes in this series. These topics include emotional attachments and separations. You will also see mistrust in unhealthy relationships.
- Representation of relationships and values: The After movie series focuses on depicting physical relationships. That relationship leads to being possessive and ultimately to jealousy and mistrust.
- Overall tone and intensity: You can say that the overall tone of this series is mainly romantic and full of drama and characterization. You will see the highs and lows of the relationship between the main characters of these movies.
- Sensitive scene descriptions: There are some scenes involving nudity and physical encounters that parents must be aware of. Additionally, there are a few scenes that show violence, fighting, and bloodshed. Such scenes require parental supervision.
Should you block After for kids?
The decision about whether to block After for your kids solely considers two factors. First, if kids are below 13 years of age, parents should block it for them. Secondly, if you plan to supervise your kids while they watch this movie, you can do so in a responsible manner.
You can teach your kids about adopting the positive aspects of these movies. For example, encourage your kids to adopt the self-development initiatives that the characters of this series take.
Regarding the bad or discouraging scenes involving bad relationships, parents should guide their children on how healthy relationships and interactions work. That way, you can teach your kids positivity out of negativity. But that would require careful supervision and counseling.
What age is the movie After appropriate for?
As we discussed earlier in this parents’ guide, the After series is more suitable for teens and adults. Children below their teenage years are not recommended to watch this series.
Let’s have a little deep dive into these age restrictions according to different aspects and professions:
- Psychologists: Professional psychologists don’t suggest children below the age of 16 years to watch this series. That’s because, according to psychological schools of thought, younger kids are still in emotional development. They may not perceive the essence or reality behind estranged relationships.
- Media critics: If you study the popular reviews of the media experts that especially write in the context of parental guidance about such movies, you will find that they often want strict parental guidance for kids to watch such movies. That’s because they think of these movies as a source that may negatively affect children’s concepts about how they should make relationships in the future.
The media involving romantic relationships may have strong effects on children and teens. They may develop unrealistic expectations from the mutual relationships. Intimate scenes may exploit their innocence, and they may get involved in unwanted practices that try to imitate the scenes they watch in such movies.
Following is the rating of the After movies in different countries:
- USA: PG-13
- UK: 15
- Canada: 14A
- Australia: M (Only recommended for mature viewers)
- Germany: 12
Viewing tips for parents
Responsible parents must be cautious about letting their children watch the After movies and guide them to a good development path. Generally speaking, parents must avoid their little children below 13 years of age to watch these movies. That’s because of the maturity and intensity of the intimacy in a few scenes. Why allow your children to watch such movies when they have better choices available?
If your teen is interested in these movies, we’d like to share some ideas for conversations you can have with them.
- Healthy and sound relationships: Contrary to the depiction of difficult and estranged relationships in the After movies, parents can emphasize the importance of mutual respect and trust in healthy relationships. Besides, there is a huge difference between fictional and romantic stories and reality.
- Mutual consent and boundaries: You can tell your children about respecting each other’s boundaries and the right age and consent to enter into an intimate relationship. You must discuss such matters openly with your kids so that they know how to set a relationship in the right manner.
Video streaming platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime also allow parents to set age restrictions and monitor their kids’ watch history with parental controls. You can also make and allow your kids to use the kids’ profile only where they can see the movies that are appropriate for their age only.
FlashGet Kids enhances kids’ online safety
Another key point is that it’s highly advised that parents use parental control tools to keep track of what their kids are watching on their devices. Talking about parental controls, it is imperative to mention the FlashGet Kids app. It has wonderful features that fulfill the demands of concerned parents.
Here is a brief overview of what you can do with the FlashGet Kids app:
- The notification track will live updates about your kids’ online activities and messages.
- The screen mirroring feature allows you to view your kid’s device screen right on your phone and check what they are doing or watching at a particular time.
- You can set a daily or weekly screen time limit for your kids to use their phones.
- With this app, certain apps are blocked altogether on your kid’s phone.
The above-mentioned features are in addition to the safety and security features that the FlashGet Kids offers. These features include monitoring your kids’ live location. You can also define a safe area for your kids, which is called geofencing. Whenever your kids leave that area, you will get a notification. These features help you achieve mental relaxation in terms of your kids’ monitoring.
Final thoughts
Movies like the After series generally gain quick attention from the youth. It is not practical to expect that your kids would not know about these movies. They will eventually learn about them from their friends and peers. However, if your kids insist on watching such movies, you must watch them first or read the reviews before allowing them. If you think that the movie is inappropriate for your child, you must counsel them and offer better and more suitable options for them.
Staying well-informed about the latest movies and media trends is crucial for parents. If your kids still try to bypass your physical monitoring, you can safely rely on using parental control apps like FlashGet Kids. It is the safest and the smartest way of monitoring your kids virtually so that you can act on time to stop your kids from getting involved in any kind of unwanted behavior.
