Prom should be mandatory viewing for teenagers. If we parents band together, perhaps life will eventually imitate art as depicted in this Disney-fied version of prom night.

 

In Disney's Prom, the kids aren't thinking about hotel rooms, hiding flasks or getting under a girl's hoop skirt. They're just concerned with whom they'll be taking to prom. That's it. And that's awesome.

 

When I think of prom in the media, I think of horror movies like Carrie and Prom Night, and television episodes like "90210" where Donna gets drunk and this season's "Parenthood" where Hattie loses her virginity. With the media's consistent depictions of prom as a night of debauchery, high school students practically have society's permission to stay out all night and get hammered in hotel rooms. Yikes!

 

My prom back in 1988 involved a group hotel room at the La Quinta, stashes of Strawberry Hill and sneaking over a fence to get busy behind a pool house. A recent high school grad told me her prom night involved the majority of her senior class being chased through a hotel by cops. As the mother of a 16-year-old, American parents have disappointed me by not getting this cleaned up by now.

 

If life imitates art, then I propose an experiment. Only let kids see movies that show a more innocent prom night. Let's reprogram our teens to think that the extracurricular activities of Prom Night are similar to, say, Back to School Night. Are you in?

 

Start the brainwashing this weekend with Disney's Prom! Follow it up with some High School Musical 3, Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen, and any other prom thrown by Mickey Mouse. Teens can watch more realistic portrayals of prom once they graduate high school. I want my kid to think that once the Prom King and Queen are announced, it's time to take the date back home…sober, chaste and in my parental eyes, perfect.

 

To read what kids think about Prom, go to www.KidsPickFlicks.com.

 

And for more upcoming Family Films, click to our Family-Friendly Guide.