Your kids “hate” black-and-white movies. I hear it all the time. The thing is, I don’t buy it. Your kids don’t hate black-and-white movies. They hate how the movies are being presented to them.
The audio is bad. The visuals are worse. You say things like, “Sorry, I didn’t know this was black and white.” They feel like the movie you’re about to show them is something they’d see poorly projected in a school assembly. Instead, you want them to think of it more like something from your secret collection that you’re only now uncovering because they’re finally mature enough to handle it.
My girls used to question black-and-white films. Now they don’t care. It took a couple of viewings, but I cracked the code on how to get your kids to watch black-and-white movies.
1) Fix the Audio
The lack of color is not the biggest issue. Audio is. Many older films are streamed from low-quality transfers or played on setups that don’t do their audio any favors. My family watched a Marx Brothers film last year (A Night at the Opera) that crushed family movie night. This year we tried another (Duck Soup) and the girls sat there with blank faces. Even my face was blank. Why? We couldn’t understand what Groucho was snarking about. The stream had garbled audio and our television’s speakers failed to make it better. Here are some tips to ensure you have quality audio:
- Find a disc, streamer, or theater using a clean audio restoration.
- Play the movie on a decent sound system that allows you to hear low register and high register sounds simultaneously. Sometimes turning your audio output to stereo instead of surround makes all the difference.
- Silent movies don’t have spoken words, which can be a huge advantage.
2) Don’t Go Long
Don’t go beyond 90 minutes to start. In fact, the lower the total runtime the better. The great news is, there are a ton of fantastic black-and-white family films that fit that length. These films work for kids because they set simple stakes and have clear story arcs. The best part? Starting small will set you up ten years from now when you finally get to share your favorite movie, the 207-minute Seven Samurai.
3) Get Their Eyes Moving
Physical comedy is king here. Actors like Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Abbott & Costello, and Laurel & Hardy understood the mission. They pratfall, sight gag, and break the fourth wall with expert precision. Why? Because they’re stage performers. They needed to go big to grab audience attention from the 20th row of a vaudeville hall.
For those kids willing to dabble in the dark, black-and-white makes for incredible horror. Their eyes will be darting around the screen to spot Nosferatu’s face hovering in the background or a shadow moving down the hall. The limitations of color forced filmmakers to think about shots that utilized space and lighting that made contrast pop. In some cases, black and white is a more powerful cinematic decision than color.
4) Do Not Apologize!
You aren’t sorry for putting Buster Keaton’s The General on screen. Tell them it’s the greatest stunt performance in film history. Don’t apologize for streaming Shirley Temple’s Curly Top. She won a special Academy Award at age six for that. Age six! Tell them they’re seeing someone their age or younger become the most famous child star in the world thanks to this performance. It’s up to you to frame these films. Google film facts. Build hype. Set the metaphorical stage for your viewing.
5) Make Your Viewing an Event
Set the actual stage as well. Lower the lights. Pop some popcorn. Put your phone down. Enjoy the movie. If you get into a film, your kids will get into it too. You may not realize how much they are clued into your actions, even subconsciously, while watching a movie. They’re focused on the screen but also connected to you.
Your kids will reject black-and-white movies if they’re forced into a viewing, kicking and screaming. Be an enthusiastic guide. Be thoughtful about what you pick. Consider the viewing and audio quality. Make them laugh. Make them scared. Give them an experience they haven’t had before.
Once you unlock black-and-white family films, you’ll start to unlock other barriers to classic cinema, such as live-action, foreign films, and someday, subtitles.
And I’m making this easy for you. I created a list of The 25 Best Black-and-White Movies for Kids that you can find over at the homebase.
Oh, and one more idea that might tip the scales. Show them David Bowie & Queen’s Under Pressure music video. That’s how I became obsessed with Nosferatu as a kid. Seeing old films cut this way might spark a similar obsession.
Brendanet
