I am an avid Dexter fan and I really appreciate the complexity of the premise upon which it is based.
But as a teacher who has dealt with that age group, there is no way that any child of mine would ever be watching it with my permission. There is no reason on earth that could change my mind.
If the child were to ask me why, I would tell him. If he wants to watch it when he’s 18 yrs. old, it will still be available then, just as drinking and other adult privileges will be also.
Even if I had a genius child who was the most mature I’ve ever encountered, my answer would still be the same.
This show was never designed for children and it airs late at night for that reason.
If this makes me hopelessly old-fashioned, I can live with that. As someone else already stated, this show won’t help him get into college or find a rewarding career so if he can’t watch it till hes an adult, it’s not such a horrible deprivation.
Our American culture is already too desensitized to violence as it is. No need to saturate a child’s mind with more of it (and in a morally ambiguous context to add to the confusion).
I think that moral ambiguity (where we are rooting for Dexter to murder more) adds a layer of complexity that is difficult for many adults to process, let alone a child.
The episode where it became obvious that he had killed the wrong guy was one that even I found disturbing. Should I be expecting a child to be able to process that?