Dying Kids in Film

I was rather shocked when viewing the movie "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End," when in the opening scene a young boy is put to death by hanging. The young lad was the focal point of the scene. He had a coin in his hand and a barrel was needed to elevate the boy so the noose could be tightened around his neck. Then the hanging and death. Other movies also include kids dying. In "Hostel: Part II," a killer orders a child to pick one of his playmates to die, then executes that boy. (I can't stand gory movies where people are tortured and murdered) "Pan's Labyrinth" ends with the shooting of a young girl. What do you think? Do movies play a part in advocating a culture of death? Are we setting ourselves up to see more acts of violence against young people? I am aware that many kids already live in a culture of violence in their neighborhood, fueled by poverty, breakup of family, drugs and gangs. But do movies need to display the death of kids? Nell Minow, a film critic and columnist for Yahoo! says, "What's next, killing infants.?" Let's do better! Celebrate the lives of kids. These are the days my friend.
Jim "Train"