I’ve written before about how much I don’t approve of violence in films, and how G-rated films (such as Ratatouille, The Princess and the Frog, and many others) contain violence—even guns!—while a single curse word can give a film a PG-rating. I’d much rather my child hear the word “damn” or even see a glimpse of a breast rather than guns and violence, but for some reason filmmakers (and many parents) believe otherwise.

Apparently, so do advertisers. We took our child to see Nanny McPhee Returns yesterday (it was okay—definitely not as lovely as the first one), and I was absolutely appalled to witness the violent Samsung commercial mixed in with the previews. So was my four-year-old. The commercial—displayed as a realistic, video-game like cartoon (it could have been a video game, as far as I know)—depicted a man, though live, gruesomely hanging in a tree, followed by a huge battle that included a lot of killing. Dead bodies were even shown lying on the ground. The point of this commercial was apparently to advertise the new video capabilities of the latest Samsung model.

Was this violent madness really necessary to precede a family film? I know Nanny McPhee was rated PG, but it was a very mild PG for sure—and the rest of the commercials were appropriate children’s film previews. Could Samsung have chosen a more appropriate preview as well—highlighting a children’s game or film, perhaps? Running this ad not only scared my daughter—it also pissed this mother the hell off. We went to see a family film—the movie is advertised as such; there’s nothing deceptive about this—and we were assaulted with these violent images instead.

I’m not complaining on my own behalf. My husband and I occasionally see violent films at the theater—Taken and Untraceable were probably the last couple we saw, if that tells you how long it’s been!—and during those films, we expect to see violent previews. That is an appropriate use of such advertisements. I’m complaining because the thing was used alongside previews to Alpha and Omega, Tangled, and other kids’ shows, before a kids’ movie played.

I don’t know who made this decision, and exactly how it was made, but it’s definitely made me rethink taking my daughter to movies—which is a shame, since it’s one of our favorite things to do. We try to attend a new film at least every other month. Now, however, I’m not so sure if that’s a good idea—what if they screen the next Grudge film preview before the movie?  If nothing else, we certainly won’t be watching previews before films anymore; we’ll just have to arrive right on time—good seats or none. In the meantime, I’ll definitely be writing the theater to see what can be done.