When watching this film I am amazed by 2 things:

1. How accurately they depicted that coming of age.

2. The fact that if kids did any of that today they'd probably be arrested.

These kids cursed like sailors, smoked (and would probably drink) at every given opportunity and were extremely careless with a firearm stolen from one of their parents.

And to be honest if any of "our" kids did those things we'd probably lose it.

So does that make them "bad kids"?

Were you anything like them?

My freinds and I easily cursed just as much. In fact profanity was such a novelty to us at the time it was almost a contest. My freinds and I didn't drink or smoke but mostly because we thought both tasted like shit. And I was pretty sure that if I ever took one of my Dads guns he'd kick the shit out of me. In fairness I had several of my own so the need really didn't exist.

Doesn't mean we were perfect, we did some bad stuff (mostly to deserving folks) and some stuff I regret having done but nothing major comes to mind.

So if you had a kid like the ones on "Stand by me" would you consider that normal or extreme?

Quoted: 1. How accurately they depicted that coming of age. 2. The fact that if kids did any of that today they'd probably be arrested. ?

So the movie was BOTH accurate and fantastical????

I don't take ANY of my philosophy from Hollyweird.

Long time since I saw that film.  But IIRC theyn stole a handgun and broke into a junkyard?  So yes, they were technically juvenile offenders.  since the purpose of the juvenile justice system is intervention and rehabilitation, rather than punishment, then yes, they should be brought into the juvenile court system.
To ignore the theft and B&E is to simply hope they will "grow out of it" without any outside influence or guidance.

Quoted: Quoted: 1. How accurately they depicted that coming of age. 2. The fact that if kids did any of that today they'd probably be arrested. ? So the movie was BOTH accurate and fantastical???? I don't take ANY of my philosophy from Hollyweird.

Accurate for the time depicted.

And I don't take my philosophy from film. But film can accurately depict events like ANY medium such as print.

Quoted: And I don't take my philosophy from film. But film can accurately depict events like ANY medium such as print.

True, but discussing the finer points of life using hollyweird as a backdrop is like giving a silk tie to a hog.

Or something like that. My opinion, and I'll drop out now.

Have a nice thread.  

Quoted: Quoted: And I don't take my philosophy from film. But film can accurately depict events like ANY medium such as print. True, but discussing the finer points of life using hollyweird as a backdrop is like giving a silk tie to a hog. Or something like that. My opinion, and I'll drop out now. Have a nice thread.

I think what you fail to understand is "film" is a common referrence point.

Most of us will be familiar with the film and the ideas expressed. It saves me from having to take several paragraphs to express that idea, I may simply referrence it.

Quoted: Were you anything like them?

Nope, wasn't anything like them. I would be disappointed in my kids.

they were not really bad kids, the bad kids were those older guys that bullied them

Where The Kids Depicted In The Film "Stand By Me" Bad Kids...?

None of them were bullys, or seemed prone to violence, the kid who swiped the gun was in a defensive mode, just a group of outcast who became stronger through the group.

Now.... Kieffer Sutherland's character was a very bad kid, and Kieffer was great in that role.

kiefers character Ace Merril (Ace-hole to the kids) is definately a bad one.  he becomes a real scumbag in some of the later stephen king books.

The four main kids weren't what i would call bad kids, but normal kids who occasionally do stupid shit, and get in trouble.  hell a lot o0f the stuff i did as a kid would turn your hair grey if i were tobring it up.  hell, sometimes *i* cant believe i was that stupid.