Parent reviews for Ruby Bridges (2024)

I don't recommend showing a movie with the N word to Children.

I’m surprised there are so few reviews. This is true history. Every American should watch and understand. It’s also a beautiful story of faith and family. We watched it with daughters age 13 and 8.

Great messages

Great role models

Great examples (and true!) of courage and purpose in the face of adversity.

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Was hard to watch the adults be so mean to a little girl who just wants to go to school. Ruby was awesome. She was really tough and brave. Her family was very tolerant with the situation, but Ruby changed history!

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I watched with my white first graders to continue our conversation about racism. They're fascinated with Ruby who was their age. I appreciated the attention paid to her parents' emotions and difficulty in the film. We did pause and talk about the language. I don't think that's a reason to avoid this film with younger children. I think Ruby's has resonated with them because they are the same age, and they're very interested o learn that she's still alive today. I have heard from other parents at their too-white school that they are already hearing these words. I want them to learn and understand why racial slurs are bad and harmful from me first, not their peers.

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Katherine R. Parent of 8, 10, 14, 18+, 18+ and 5-year-old

Inspirational film about the integration of black students into white schools. Heart-wrenching at times (some difficult scenes to watch) but necessary to understand the impact. Ruby Bridges was an incredibly brave little trail blazer with more love and wisdom packed into that little body than the hoards opposing her presence. A must watch for children (9+) and adults. *Disappointed to learn commonsense media only rated this film 3 stars.

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This movie did an excellent job of providing an accurate depiction of what Ruby's experience must have been like. The hate and the resistance to integration was very real, and to see it processed through the eyes of an innocent young girl was very powerful. The family faced many struggles, but their resilience and faith was just as strong. Excellent messages, history lessons, and little Ruby's beautiful spirit created the components of a fantastic movie.

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I watched this with my 7 and 8 year olds. The yelling and protests are disturbing, but clearly shot to be brief enough to get the point across without traumatizing kids. They do say the N word a few times but the sound is mixed so it’s a bit hard to make out. It’s clearly not promoting use of the N word... My 7 year old said she liked the movie, but thought it was sad. Which is how we should all feel when we think about what Ruby and her family had to go through!

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This movie tells the story of a first grade girl who was the first to integrate into a school in New Orleans. The movie is older, so the quality and style of the film reflects late ‘90’s made for TV movies. However, the story is so good that it is worth watching, especially for elementary and middle school children. While this movie does not hold back from a lot of the violence and language that took place, I think there is great value in showing it to children as young as 7 or 8. After all, the child who actually lived through it was only 6, and she managed to survive. I believe Disney created the movie with the intent for it to be appropriate for and appealing to children. There are no cuss words in this movie, but there is significant use of racial slurs used in this time period. I would not let this deter parents from viewing the movie with their children. This movie has excellent educational value, and I think it is important to explain and discuss the movie with children both before and after viewing. This movie also strongly reflects the Christian values of the main character’s family and ultimately attributes her bravery and strength to her faith in God.

Great messages

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