Question for parents

[Carol]

I'm wondering how parents of younger children (say, eight and under)
feel about the increasing level of violence in the books as it will
probably translate to the films. In HBP, for example (and please stop
reading now if you haven't read the books!), we have Draco (who's
always been depicted in the films as rather wimpy despite being a snob
and a bully attempting to murder Dumbledore (with two students nearly
killed when his efforts go astray) and Snape killing Dumbledore (who,
I assume, is a beloved character for most children). We also have that
terrifying cave scene, which will definitely be in the film. 

Then, in DH, we have not only the Battle of Hogwarts, but Hermione
being systematically tortured and two terrifying scenes involving
Nagini (the first one revolting as well as scary), and at least four
onscreen violent deaths (Wormtail, Dobby, Snape). Charity Burbage's
death, which needs to be shown to set the tone and establish the Snape
red herrings, may not be violent n itself (an AK), but she's hung
upside down first (disturbing in itself) and than fed (offpage and, I
hope, offscreen) to Nagini. 

I can see a PG-13 rating for HBP, but the violence in DH is almost R
level. At any rate, I don't see how it can be faithfully translated to
a screenplay (minus the slow parts) and still be suitable for younger
children, especially that first Nagini scene when she emerges from the
corpse of Bathilda.

There's a difference, too, between reading about these incidents,
imagining them for ourselves, and seeing them vividly depicted on the
screen. Some of these scenes seem to me to be too intense for younger
children. But, then, some parents show Freddy Krueger movies to
five-year-olds, so maybe I'm just being squeamish and old-fashioned.
I'd be interested in reactions from parents on the list. And I'm not
asking for arguments here, "right" or "wrong" views on the question.
I'm just curious about what others think. My own view is that the
movies should not be edited to make them suitable for younger children
(we need most if not all of those scenes), but they should definitely
come with a warning label since HP still has a reputation as a series
for children. There's a huge difference between the first two films
and the last two, especially DH.

I forgot to mention "Spinner's End" in HBP, which, while not violent,
may be too sophisticated for younger kids to grasp and too talky for
them to sit through (though the UV will make a great scene from a
cinematic standpoint). It's absolutely crucial to the plot and yet
it's not kid-oriented.

So, what do others think that the writers and directors should do
(edit out the violence and sophisticated plot elements for the sake of
younger viewers or keep them for the sake of coherence and
authenticity) and what do parents intend to do about younger children
who want to see these films? Or you can examine the question
theoretically based on the ages of your children right now as opposed
to the ages they'll be when these films come out.

Carol, who really wants to know what others, primarily parents and
grandparents, think about this question