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Mar 7

The Lorax: Environmentalism Then, Commercialism Now

Susan Linn of the Huffington Post wrote an article recently about the “slew of corporate cross-promotions” making an appearance thanks to the new film The Lorax, an adaptation of the famous Dr. Seuss children’s book.  Linn criticizes the use of the new film to promote commercial products such as HP computers, Seventh Generation diapers, and Mazda SUVs.  The Lorax is a children’s book that was published in 1971 and originally taught a lesson in environmentalism.  The use of this book’s popularity to create a film that in turn fuels commercialism has caused a controversy; Linn explains that the environmental message of the book directly conflicts with the creation and distribution of products using the film and the Lorax as selling points.

This article nicely complements Chudacoff’s piece on commercialization.  The merging of a “‘backstory’ of fantasy with a product” is exactly what’s happening with The Lorax (pg. 180).  Advertisers are taking advantage of a beloved book and using its big budget movie deal to sell products.  Linn talks about how “[m]arketers routinely exploit children’s emotional connection to media characters to sell them on practically everything.”  Chudacoff discusses exactly this issue and how it emerged in the 1950’s through the medium of television.  In his own article on toys and commercialization, Cross writes that the “defeat of reformers’ attempts to prohibit toy ads on television” contributed to the growing number of children consumers (pg. 291).  Based on the Huff Post article, it’s obvious that manufacturers have, as Cross states, “formed alliances with makers of children’s movies, TV cartoons, comic books…” to sell products with the Lorax as their middle man, something the “real Lorax” would have had no part in (pg. 293).

Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax Trailer. Youtube. 2012.

Mar 6

SHINE ON LITTLE PONY!

uploaded to youtube by whitemagicofdoom on june 9, 2011


A Very Pony Place- Shine On Part 1, with the subtitle Come Back, Lily Lightly was a Program Length Commerical that aired in 1985. This episode takes place in Unicornia, which is a fantasyland where brightly colored unicorns live and play.  The story begins with a group of unicorns stringing lights throughout the town in preparation for the “Rainbow Lights Party.”  A neon pink pony named Lily is named the “Princess of Lightly.”  Overjoyed with this title, Lily laughs, which causes her horn to light up.  Embarrassed, she runs away.

As the story progresses, the rest of the unicorns sing a song about “getting the giggles” and they show how “work” can be fun.  In the meantime, Lily meets a firefly who tells her that it is ok to be different.  He convinces Lily that it is great fun to “shine” and that everything will turn out ok if she will only be herself. This story is very similar to Rudolph the red-nosed Reindeer, a beloved Christmas tale, which has been told to countless American children for generations.

In Spinning Out of Control, Gary Cross states that, “the toys derived from these stories were abstracted from the real world of family care and future roles.” (281)   I disagree with his opinion. This Little Pony episode dealt with several “real world” issues. Friendship, acceptance, and  laughter are all importance issues in the real world.  “Be yourself and others will like you just the way you are,” and “laughter will enrich your life” are both values that benefit family care and future roles.

The setting and the animated ponies were fantasy, but this did not distract from the lessons present in the script. I feel the “make-believe” aspects of the show are what captivates the young audience and keeps their attention for 30 minutes. As a parent, I feel that this particular episode would teach my children some wisdom in an entertaining way.

 

Mar 6

TV, Video Games May Exacerbate Attention Problems

A recent article from the McClatchy-Tribune News Service suggests that environmental aspects like excessive television and video game exposure may have great influence on the impulsivity and attention abilities of children.  The article describes a study in which researchers observed the gaming habits of 3,000 children from a dozen schools in Singapore, aging from 8 to 17 .  The study revealed that the effects of video games were both positive and negative.  Video games may help with visual memory and attention, but they could diminish a child’s potential to complete goal-oriented tasks that require long term commitments.  This is because, researchers suggest, the excitement of gaming might make other activities seem more mundane than they actually are.  A young boy who has a passion for Mortal Combat or Call of Duty would likely skim through his nightly reading assignments, if he bothers to read them at all, as long as he can lose himself in the wonderful world of gaming at least once before bedtime.  The effects of this indulgence, as revealed by the study, increase the likelihood of impulsiveness and attention disorders.

A drawing used in an article about a video game addiction lawsuit. If children are constantly doing this instead of socializing, they are likely to suffer consequences.

This article is not suggesting that children who play video games are automatically impulsive and require medication if they want to make anything close to the grades their parents expect from them.  Referring to what was mentioned in one of our class discussions, parents should not destroy the intimate connection between electronic media and modern children because of the social consequences.  Sure, too much gaming may be a direct cause of impulsive children, but how would a boy be able to socialize with his friends by discussing the latest Xbox 360 game if his parents stripped gaming from him completely?  Believe me, being the middle child of five, television and video games are a huge topic in daily conversations among kids six and up.  TV and video games are too engrained in our culture to keep children away from them.  Even if a huge portion of the country’s parents succeeded in shutting out their children from electronic media, the social consequences for those children would have drastic effects on their self-esteem and social skills.  Parents should make it a top priority to regulate the amount of gaming and TV watching done by children in their household.  Before they force medication onto their children, parents must be sure they have attempted to deal with the biological and environmental influences on a child’s impulsivity and attention abilities.

 

Mar 6

Fourth Reading Journal Prompt: PLCs and the “Real World”

In “Spinning Out of Control,” Gary Cross argues that the “program-length commercials” on children’s television during the 1980s represented a departure from previous children’s culture in that they created a completely separate world, far from the concerns of adults. With the advent of these PLCs, Cross argues, “the old view that children should learn from the past and prepare for the future is inevitably subverted in a consumer culture where memory and hope get lost in a blur of perpetual change” (packet page 290).

In class, we tried to identify counterarguments to Cross’ theory, but were somewhat stymied by our lack of content knowledge of the PLCs he mentions. To respond to this reading prompt, watch one episode of an 80s-era PLC (lots of them are findable on YouTube), and analyze whether the content of this episode corroborates Cross’ theory. Briefly summarize the content of your episode, and then comment: Do you see any themes or plot elements that would contradict his argument? Or does the narrative of the episode that you watched support his theory that 80s kids’ TV contained no references to, or discussion of, events in the “real world”?

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