I’m sure by now many of you have heard of the kids movie called Show Dogs. If you’ve heard of the movie, then perhaps you’ve also become familiar with the controversy that has accompanied this film. For those of you that haven’t, it’s a about a talking police dog who’s paired up with a human partner as they infiltrate a dog show and rescue a kidnapped baby panda. Sounds great for a kids film, right? Even adults could find entertainment with this premise. So what’s all the controversy about? The conflict in the story emerges when Max, the talking police dog, realises that to truly be undercover and be accepted as a show dog candidate, he has to submit himself to having his private parts touched and inspected by the judges. Even though he objects to this and refuses, Max finds himself pressured by his partner and a former show dog champion that he has to accept this process or else they’ll never solve the case. To get him use to it, his partner tries touching Max in his private parts and of course Max objects for his partner to stop. The former show dog champion then advises Max that in order to get through this process, he has to find his “zen place” as it’s happening so he can get through it. Even though Max refuses to allow his partner to touch his private parts, it comes down to the day of the competition and Max is now in a position where he has to decide whether or not he will allow his private parts to be touched by the judges. So what does Max decide? He could continue in his determined state to not allow anyone to touch his private parts and this decision alone, regardless of the pressure that is being placed on him, will be a very defining moment for him, for the film and for the children watching this movie. Instead, when the judges hands slowly reach towards Max’s private parts, Max chooses to submit to the touching and copes by going to his “Zen place” This is the part of the film that has many parents and child rights activists upset and alarmed because it is teaching children to deny their instincts when it comes to body safety and to succumb to pressure. Also, here’s the really scary part…it teaches children to "disassociate" what is happening to them and find a happy place to think of instead. This is a GROOMING tactic…and a very dangerous one at that.
Please make sure to let your family and friends know about Show Dogs. The official Facebook page of Show Dogs made this post on the 24th of May:
"Responding to concerns raised by moviegoers and some specific organizations,
Global Road Entertainment has decided to remove two scenes from the film SHOW
DOGS that some have deemed not appropriate for children. The company takes
these matters very seriously and remains committed to providing quality
entertainment for the intended audiences based on the film’s rating. We apologize to
anybody who feels the original version of SHOW DOGS sent an inappropriate
message. The revised version of the film will be available for viewing nationwide
starting this weekend."
In my opinion, irrespective of whether or not the "grooming" scenes have been removed...how such a film geared towards children could ever be approved for viewing is beyond me. This movie does not deserve your financial support.