The Stranger parents guide: An analysis of content and themes

We all know that movies do not contain only healthy content; but they are a magical amalgamation of different types of content ( fun, horror, adultery, action, philosophy, etc.). So, as a parent, your concern about knowing each aspect of The Stranger is not pointless.

To assist you in this case, this article will present a complete review of The Stranger Parents Guide, covering the movie’s positive and negative aspects, its plot, some practical advice for parents, and many more. So keep reading!

Is The Stranger appropriate for kids?

There is no hesitation in saying that The Stranger is not recommended for kids because it deals with adult issues and themes. Moreover, it tackles ideas such as existentialism (a philosophical belief in human choices) and lack of emotional involvement, which may be incomprehensible to younger children.

Moreover, the film contains violent scenes, including a murder, which is the main part of the plot. These scenes provide a coldly detached mood. Although they do not have too much violence, they still upset the young audience. You know Meursault’s character, who lacks emotion and has sudden sensations of unease, might be difficult for little ones who are still in the age of developing their sense of what is right or wrong.

In addition to portraying violence, this movie offers a worldview that is often gloomy and dark. It challenges purpose in life or human connections, which might be too complex for kids to understand or even explain well. So, this story is serious throughout and deals with some themes that are better suitable for mature audiences only.

Parents Guide to The Stranger

If you are one of the parents, then listen closely, there are several aspects that we must share with you about The Stranger, such as its age rating, content type, or movie theme.

Age rating

First, take into account that The Stranger is rated R, meaning that it should only be seen by people above 17 years because of its adult content. So consider the age of your kids and make a wise decision.

Content warnings

We all know that a movie is usually a mashup of more than one genre. Likewise, The Stranger consists of different types of content, such as;

1. Violence and Scariness: The movie has intense violence scenes and disturbing visuals. Apart from this, there are some graphic images that might disturb kids or horror-phobic persons.

2. Sex, Romance, and Nudity: Although the movie does not concentrate so much on sexuality or the nudity aspect, there are still brief mentions of sexual situations but not in detail.

3. Language and Profanity: The film uses a lot of dirty words and strong language. Sometimes, the talk can have aggressive or offensive terms, which might be unhealthy for kids.

4. Substance use ( alcohol, drug, smoking): Drug use and alcohol consumption are common in the movie. These actions portray typical character behaviors within the storyline, but they can have bad effects on kids.

Mature themes or topics

The Stranger doesn’t consist of purely positive or negative topics; in fact, it covers multiple themes, like;

1. Positive Messages & Role Models: This movie does not contain many positive messages or traditional role models. For example, Meursault represents moral uncertainty; he lives his live without any connection with others, thus disputing real-life meaning or the significance of human bonds and relations. Honestly, there are no characters who are promoting good values.

2. Educational Value: This film is undoubtedly of great literary and philosophical importance. It provides viewers with an introduction to existentialism and absurdist, which is the theme of Albert Camus’s ( The writer of “The Stranger”) works. This film could lead older observers into deep thoughts about life meanings, the moralities behind actions taken by humans, and existence itself.

3. Consumerism: Consumerism ( consumption of goods and services) is not a major theme of the film. Yes! the lives of these characters are simple, and they don’t emphasize material things. Instead, the movie delves into the issues of philosophy rather than being a promotional piece of consumer culture.

4. Diversity Representation: The Stranger takes place in a time and location that does not have diverse characters or perspectives and mainly focuses on Meursault’s life only. This little diversity might be boring, especially for today’s audience.

5. Overall Tone & Intensity: Has someone noticed that this movie has a sad tone? Yes! Because it deals with introspection ( inspection of one’s own mental and emotional state). Generally speaking, its intensity emerges from being philosophically deep, emotionally cold, and lacking action or suspense. Therefore, it feels like a distant reflection making it difficult for viewers to watch.

6. Specific Scene Descriptions: Alright! The murder scene, in particular, is one of the most memorable scenes because through the absence of emotion in the main character and a harsh bright light, there is a shocking contrast.

Another important part happens at the trial where conventional social standards clash with Meursault’s unconventional ideas. Some people find these scenes particularly haunting because they explain the philosophical basis behind this story.

Why is The Stranger rated R?

The Stranger received an R rating for its mature themes, violence, and disturbing content not suitable for young audience. Apart from this, one of the main reasons why it gets an R is because of how it portrays violence, especially in murder scenes. Though not excessively graphic, this scene becomes intense as Mersault remains cold-hearted throughout the scene.

Second main reason is that sexual content and nudity also occur in the movie, which results in its R classification. As we have already discussed, these scenes are not explicit enough but are harmful to immature minds.

Furthermore, in addition to depictions of smoking and drinking, there is some mild coarse language which is one of the reasons behind rating this movie.

So, we can say that this movie is suitable for a selected audience. Moreover, its philosophical depth, blended with emotional coolness, makes it suitable only for viewers who can understand the complex messages.

Is the Stranger good or bad?

When dealing with ‘The Stranger’ by Albert Camus, it would be fair to mention that it can be either a great or challenging read, depending on how you look at it. Both the novel and its film adaptation are regarded as masterpieces in literature. They have also been commended for exploring existentialism more than any other piece has ever done before. Alternatively, this depends on who you are (values), what has happened to you (experience), and what you expect from books (expectations).

From a literary perspective, The Stranger is definitely a “good” piece. It comprehensively deals with such issues as life’s absurdity, death inevitability, and finding meaning in a meaningless universe. But his writing style is brief although highly effective, while Meursault’s story in the movie makes people think about their own beliefs regarding society’s morality. So, we can say that philosophy and literature have been shaped by this movie to make it one of the most influential cultural antique pieces.

However, some may consider The Stranger to be “bad” because of its pessimistic view of life and the main character’s uninterest in existence. His lack of emotionality, ignoring social standards, and acts with a confusing moral status can be disturbing at times.

Moreover, it does not provide readers with clear answers, which may leave them feeling uneasy or dissatisfied. To some extent, those who might want stories filled with positive messages or uplifting themes may see The Stranger as depressing.

What’s the plot of The Stranger?

Well! Broaden your imagination skills and listen to the story, In The Stranger, by Albert Camus; what happens is that Meursault, whose life is detached from emotions due to a lack of interest in existence, gets news that his mother is dead at the beginning of the movie. He attends the funeral but does not seem to have any emotional reaction, which disturbs some people.

After the burial, Meursault returns to Algiers and starts an affair with a woman named Marie. He also becomes associated with Raymond (Meursault’s neighbor), a man who has a violent dispute with his mistress. In addition, Meursault writes a letter for Raymond to deliver to the lady (Raymond’s girlfriend), which leads to friction between them.

At one point, while they are at the beach along with Marie and Raymond, he meets an Arab man who is the brother of Raymond’s girlfriend. This escalates into violence, and in what seems like an almost mechanical act, Meursault shoots him without any emotion, as if detached from reality. At this point, he fires more bullets into his body simply because there is no reason or regret on his part.

Meursault is taken into custody after the shooting and tried in court subsequently, and the twist is that most of the discussions are about himself rather than taking into account the crime itself, especially when he showed no feelings during his mother’s funeral.

After this, Meursault was sentenced to death since it could prevent further murders done by bad characters of such kind, according to Camus.

In its final section, Meursault ponders over his existence and experiences the absurdity of life. He said, I believe that my destiny is determined by God, so I will wait for my death calmly. The movie closes with Meursault waiting for execution after embracing peace within himself, having realized this fact about existence.

FlashGet Kids’ advice on watching The Stranger

Now we know that The Stranger is a complicated, grown-up movie that addresses existentialism, morality, and emotional disengagement.

For parents with older teens, this film can also be an important tool for initiating conversation. Watching such movies together can allow you to delve into challenging topics. For example, before viewing, parents may want to discuss concepts like absurdity and existentialism, which are central to understanding the protagonist, Meursault. Such information can help a teenager fully understand what he/she should expect from a film.

After viewing this film, parents may choose to discuss issues like emotional detachment and understanding societal norms.

Moreover, you can ask your teen how they perceive Meursault’s actions? Do they think he is bad? In what ways does society set standards for good morals? Apart from this, explore the existential themes in the film. What does Meursault learn about life through his journey- That it could be essentially meaningless? How do we bring meaning into our lives? etc.

If you feel that your kids spend time watching movies even without giving into your account, don’t be anxious. You can monitor your kid’s screen activities through your own device with the help of parental control tools like the FlashGet Kids app.

“FlashGet Kids app is a parental control application that helps parents steer and safeguard their children in a digital environment.”

This application consists of various functions, such as using the “activity history” function; parents can learn how much their kids have spent time watching movies. If kids are watching too much, you can set a usage limit of 2~3 hours daily, and when that limit ends, the mobile screen/app will switch off automatically.

With screen mirroring feature, you can mirror the kids’ phone on your phone’s screen and see which movies/scenes they like. Last but not least, with the keyword detection feature, you can get an instant alert whenever they search for a prohibited word.

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