What are Movie Trailers?
Movie trailers are advertisements for movies that are shown before movie screenings or featured on home entertainment copies of other movies. Thousands of these trailers can also be found on online. Watching them is a popular online pastime and people get especially excited when trailers for popular franchises are released online, such as a trailer for a new superhero movie.
What are the benefits?
- Movie trailers can be very entertaining and they can also help people make a decision about whether they want to see a movie or not. There are hosted by a wide variety of websites, including Comingsoon.net 1 and Apple Trailers.2 Watching movie trailers for upcoming movies is a very common pastime for older children and teens.
What are the Risks?
- Online movie trailers come in two varieties, “red band” trailers and “green band” trailers. Red band trailers contain explicit content, but are relatively easy to access online. Most websites simply ask viewers to type in their date of birth before watching.
- Green band trailers may also contain content that parents will find questionable. These trailers are often suggested in the title card to be suitable for “appropriate audiences” meaning an audience similar to the movies the trailer will be released with in theaters.
How Can I keep my child Safe?
- Explain to your children the difference between red band and green band trailers
- Read the info on the movie before you watch the trailer. Watch trailers and browse through trailer websites with your kids. If you do not like the content you find there, you may want to consider blocking technology.
