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Feb 13

Shirley Smiles

The Baby Burlesk short films of the 1930’s starred America’s favorite child actor, Shirley Temple.  Released in 1933, Polly Tix in Washington features Shirley Temple as a “strumpet bent on seducing a senator”; she is essentially a call girl (131).  The short film includes adult themes such as political corruption, seduction, and bribery, played out by children of a very young age.

Screen Shot. Shirley Temple starred in "Polly Tix in Washington," released June 4, 1933.

In John F. Kasson’s piece, “Behind Shirley Temple’s Smile:  Children, Emotional Labor, and the Great Depression,” he states that these “children literally go through the motions of adult characters without, presumably, comprehending anything about the drama they are enacting” (131).  While viewing a few of the Baby Burlesks, I felt somewhat uncomfortable with the scenes being played out.  Even the way Shirley Temple struts across the stage suggests a level of flirtatiousness that seems highly inappropriate; not to mention her seductive walk is always directed toward her boy counterpart in the films.  The Polly Tix short displays Shirley Temple in a black lace skimpy outfit, dripping in jewels, and using her body and flirtation skills to sway the opinion of the new senator.  She also brings along a decadent cake to aid in her persuasion.  One scene shows Shirley feeding a piece of cake to the young senator; she literally had him in the palm of her hands.  Actions such as these play into the innocent act of young children enthusiastically shoveling delicious desserts into their mouths using only their hands, but on the other hand, exudes a level of maturity/intimacy usually reserved for adult interactions (similar to the bride and groom hand-feeding each other their first piece of wedding cake; it’s a somewhat sensual event).  Although it’s humorous to watch Shirley win over the senator with cake and her sultry antics, the underlying message endorses seduction as an acceptable way of obtaining what you want.

Feb 13

Vicarious Consumption: 20th vs. 21st Century

In “Modern Childhood, Modern Toys” Gary Cross discusses the family indulgence of expensive and luxurious gifts during Christmas. Without a doubt, the idea of Christmas and Christmas spending today follows through with Thorstein Veblen’s thesis on “vicarious consumption.” I would even argue that Cross’s explanation on “vicarious consumption” is more so present within the twenty first century than so in the twentieth.
With the rise of technology and advancement of modern day toys, prices continue to rise for even the simplest of gifts. Most parents who can afford expensive gifts are willing to pay. As a prime example of a simple gift gone expensive I have included two pictures below, one of an early, simple twentieth century teddy bear next to one of the most popular teddy bear’s of today, the Build-A-Bear. The Build-a- Bear workshop is a for sure stop for parents during the Christmas season, with bears that talk, sing, and even dance; they are a for sure hit with the kids. But these fancy styled bears come at a price a lot higher than that of the twentieth century teddy bear. With the ability to build, clothe, insert your voice, and include an entire accessory set, the spending possibilities are endless in this “teddy bear wonderland.” Christmas is a perfect excuse for parents to spend more than a hundred dollars on a teddy bear (including accessories and stuffing). Gary Cross agues in “Modern Childhood, Modern Toys” that “trends favored the practice of purchasing toys rather than making them” (59) but with the invention of build-a-bear, parents are able to both make and buy the toy. The idea of making versus buying is now all wrapped into one and it strengthens Cross’s arguments on “parents pampering children” and spoiling them to the fullest during the Christmas season.

20th Century Teddy Bear stamp

 

Beach Build a Bear w/accesories

Feb 13

Second Reading Journal Prompt: “Baby Burlesks” Revisited

To reply to this prompt, visit YouTube and watch another of Shirley Temple’s “Baby Burlesk” shorts (here is a link to the list of videos that result when you search “baby burlesk”; use your discretion to figure out which of these is actually a Shirley Temple short from the 1930s and which is a video of Christina Aguilera performing on “X Factor”).

In your blog post, summarize the content of the Burlesk that you watched, and tell the reader a bit about the movie that the Burlesk is supposed to be satirizing. Then, use your Burlesk to address some of the questions about child actors that John Kasson raises in the chapter that we read  (“Behind Shirley Temple’s Smile,” packet page 123) and/or some of the issues that we discussed in class after watching the “War Babies” Burlesk. For example, Kasson writes (on packet page 197): “Shirley Temple’s early roles were perched ambiguously on the cusp between innocence and flirtatiousness.” Use specific references to your Burlesk to analyze the way that Temple’s screen persona exemplifies this “ambiguity.” Or, on the same page, Kasson continues: “The intended humor of these shorts…rests on the difference between adult knowledge, desires, motives, and pleasures and childhood innocence.” How does your Burlesk exploit this gap between knowledge and innocence for the sake of humor?

Feb 13

Furbies

In 1998, the widely known childhood toy, Furby, was launched to the public. Furby was a furry hamster like robotic creature that could talk and turn its head and bat its eyelashed. Furbies had two languages built into them, furbish and english, and were said to speak less furbish and more english as they grow. Tiger electronics began selling these furry robots for $35 and as they became more popular around the holidays, some parents were paying up to $300 per toy.  At first they were a cute, fun, toy for children until they started getting labeled, “creepy,” and were becoming banned across America. As this toy grew in popularity, some could argue that it became a moral panic.

At the peak of the Furby’s popularity, rumors started spreading and putting a negative light on Furby.  Because it gradually learned english, adults were worried that the toy actually repeated words said around it. Some parents swore that their children were able to teach furby curse words for it to repeat back to them. Americans were saying that this toy is an “immediate and real danger.” The National Security Agency thought that when people would take the toys home, they would repeat secret information that they had heard. Some bloggers even said that Furbies were a “chinese spy targeted at the youth of America.” With negative headlines labeling these toys as dangerous and creepy, they were quickly removed from homes across America.

At this time, some Americans believed that Furby was a threat to social values, while others argued that it was an innocent toy. Parents argued that children were taking an interest in learning new curse words to teach to their toy and Americans were worried that their private information was being stored in Furby. While these rumors were eventually proven as false, there was a period of time that Furbies caused a moral panic throughout America.

Feb 12

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Toddlers and Tiaras

What is the worst thing you have ever seen on television?  If you asked me, or Charlotte Trigg’s from People Magazine, it would have to be TLC’s Toddlers and Tiara’s.  This television series follows the behind the scenes action of what really goes on in a child’s beauty pageant.  In the pageants there are girls of all ages.  You are never left wondering when the next temper tantrum is going to be because the show is full of them. Even though, if I were four years old I’m sure I’d be throwing a temper tantrum the size of these poor girls hair as well.  Prepping and preparing for these pageants are a full time job for mothers and daughters alike.  The girls spend hours practicing routines and singing songs to get them ready for the big day.  They are also put through the ringer with the amount of make up and hair appointments the mothers drag them along to.  What I find most disturbing is the mothers that whiten their daughters teeth, or take the daughters to get waxed.  Why anyone in their right mind would take a four year old to get their eyebrows waxed is completely insane.  To me, a great example of the type of exploitation of kids is in the case of Shirley Temple; whose parents exploited her talents and cuteness to captivate the country during the Great Depression.  Shirley was forced to spend long hours on set, nearly seven days a week filming, so that her parents could reap millions.  In John Kasson’s “Behind Shirley Temple’s Smile” he states how one of her directors scolded her for playing, saying “This isn’t play time, kids,” and later Temple recalls him saying “it’s work.” As a child, what is important is just having fun and being a kid, not being on set all day trying to please their parents by making them look good, or by making money with their acting.  How do we expect our kids to grow up, if they are not spending time with other kids, learning and developing their minds to become adults.  This type of exploitation has to stop because it’s not doing anyone any favors.

 

Feb 12

Modern Family – ‘Little Bo Bleep’

Modern Family is a comedy sitcom that premiered on ABC in September of 2009. This mockumentary style series was created to appeal to the everyday American family by featuring three different families that can be characterized by modern-day circumstances. However, this past January, the show found itself in the midst of a controversy. Episode 13 of the show’s third season, titled ‘Little Bo Bleep’ was centered on one of the young daughters, Lily, learning and repeating the F-word.

Although the word was beeped out and her mouth was blurred each time she said the curse word, the episode drew negative attention from advocacy groups such as the Parents Television Council, which claimed that the show was exhibiting “poor taste” and a mild form of child abuse. The actors responded by saying that it was no way child abuse because the child actress actually said the word “fudge” during filming.

Reading these articles and watching this episode of Modern Family, I cannot help but relate it back to our class discussion of Shirley Temple. Many American viewers during the 1930’s were concerned that such a young girl such as Shirley Temple was being exposed to the actions and behaviors of adult women. The ‘War Babies’

Lily and her fathers (Cameron and Mitchell) right after she says the F-Word during a wedding.

video clip that we watched during class showed very young children portraying the lives of young adults. While watching Shirley Temple in this video, I realized I had conflicting emotions about what I was seeing. A part of me was disturbed by the kissing and sexual innuendoes being expressed by the kids, but the other part of me was highly amused to see these children behaving like adults.

I experienced this same phenomenon while watching the ‘Little Bo Bleep’ episode of Modern Family. I thought it was absolutely hysterical to watch Lily say the F-word out loud, especially when she does it in the middle of a wedding. However, it does become uncomfortable when you think about such a young child actress being trained to say the curse word. In the end, I think it is absolutely ridiculous for the show to be criticized for this particular episode. Modern Family prides itself on presenting an accurate portrayal of all aspects of family life, and this situation is something many families can say they have experienced.In response to the child abuse accusations, if the young girl was indeed saying the word “fudge”, the show’s producers were in no way abusing the actress.

Feb 12

It’s Time to DUEL

Yugi picture from http://images2.fanpop.com/images/photos/6800000/Yami-Yugi-yu-gi-oh-6816369-1024-768.jpg

Growing up as the only child in my house from age 10 onward, I had a good amount of alone time and as a result had the privilege of exercising my active imagination. I would spend hours combobulating elaborate adventures for my action figures and was gravitated to fantasy worlds portraying heros that would fight evil to save their friends. “Yugioh” (a graphic novel in Japan before expanding to other forms of media here in the United States in 2002), allowed children this opportunity to project themselves as a hero, just as Jerry Siegal “saw Superman as a kind of projection of his own self-image or his own fantasies about himself” (Hajdu, pg. 30). The plot of “Yugioh” was one in which the protagonist, a young boy named Yugi, played a card game known as “Duel Monsters” to save the world and become “the King of Games”. You can probably decipher from that what the next step was for an entrepreneur looking to capitalize.  Any possible “Yugioh” memorabilia you could imagine you could obtain; from blankets, movies, and video games to lunch-boxes, toothbrushes, and whitey-tighties. This economic demand for all that was “Yugioh” highly inflated prices, allowing for some of the rarest trading cards to sell for hundreds of dollars (http://most-expensive.net/yugioh-cards). With great hype though, especially around products targeted to children, comes controversy. At my school the cards were eventually banned as it reportedly caused kids to partake in stealing and other violent acts. I can even recall a story in the national news reporting that a child killed their parents because the parents would not buy them more “Yugioh” cards. I do not intend to trivialize murder but, it seems ironic looking back upon that story after reading about similar happenings during the “Ten-Cent Plague” in which the mother of a boy who killed himself “told authorities that the boy was an incessant reader of comic books and was re-enacting a scene from one of them” (Hajdu, pg. 88). It is eery how history tends to repeat itself. I believe though, parents are quick to blame the media for any acting out that occurs because there is no way their kid is the rotten egg. For the most part, parents do not really understand the new fads that are taking place among children. Just as we determined in class that comic books did not depict gruesome violence page among page, but were rather stigmatized, “Yugioh” cards became the same. Yes, you did compete with “monsters” and “spells” in an effort to lower your opponents “life points” to zero, but the game was more strategy than anything. It took hours to establish my deck that could counteract every possible scenario so that I could win. Also, rather than playing alone in my room it allowed me to meet a different niche of people and expand my friends outside of just sports. Besides that, “Yugioh” was just downright cool. The show possibly has the best theme song for any cartoon ever. Take a look below!

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