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Feb 27

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Grease Lightnin’

As a child, Grease was one of my most watched movie, mostly because it was one my grandma’s favorites, so I’d see it every time I went over to her house.   The film was produced by Paramount Pictures and released in 1978.  A PG13 film due to sexual content and references, teen smoking, and drinking, Grease exemplified many of the fears that were present in the delinquency and rebellion of the generation of adolescents. The film, although released in the late 70s is set in 50s America, traces the lives of a couple rebellious high school seniors, the T-Bird boys and the Pink Lady girls.  Throughout the movie, the T-Bird boys are seen pushing their masculine and rebellious role, spending their time working in the school auto shop, chasing girls, and causing trouble along the way. The Pink Lady girls, on the other hand, are shying away from some of the more typically female characteristics, within the realm of maintaining their womanhood.

In the back, Sandra D sits in the pink skirt, before her rebellion; in the front, smoking, is the new Sandra D after the influences of modern pop culture have influenced her. Created by a Grease fan at fanpop.com

Most notably, Rizzo spends her time trying to act like one of the guys; chasing guys instead of letting them chase her, and promoting the “sexualization” of the teenager through her actions and dress.  By the end, Rizzo has not only exemplified a change in the meaning of womanhood, but she has also transformed good-girl Sandra D into a rebellious girl like herself.  The growing movement of female gender roles expresses the clear change that was occurring in the 50s.  Parents were no longer able to restrict the pop culture of the generation’s adolescents.  In addition to the importance of changing gender roles, the film expresses some clear moral panics of the ages through the story.  The rebellious girls are able to take in Sandra D and transform her from a feminine ideal girl to a rebellious, sex-driven teenager, which exemplifies the fears of the previous generation of parents.  Even the most feminine and traditional of girls could lose their way in modern pop culture. The film clearly shows the moral panics of the previous generation of parents and the ever changing gender roles of the newer generation in the 1950s.

Feb 27

Ni Ni Ni Ni Ni Ni Ni Nick NICKELODEON!

Growing up in the 1990’s, I spent countless hours glued to a television that was seemingly stuck on one channel, Nickelodeon.  Nickelodeon is a network aimed at children and preteens; its shows vary from animated, educational programs directed at younger children (2-5 y.o.), to animated, entertaining programs for the grade school child, and also to programs with teenage actors who deal with friendships, relationships, school, and other issues, primarily for the preteen/teen audience.  After a few years of minimal success, Nickelodeon hit it big in the ’90s and the beginning of the 21st century.  It opened an attraction at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida, and created a series of animated shows, referred to as Nicktoons, that shaped pop culture for the “’90s kid” generation; my favorites included Rugrats, Doug, and Hey Arnold!  (And as I got a little older, All That and Clarissa Explains It All became quick favorites.)

Nickelodeon Promo.  1996.  From Youtube.com.

Because Nickelodeon was a network for kids, all of their commercials and advertisements were for the latest toys and newest kid’s meals at this and that fast-food joints.  There was even a promo after every live taping of All That that told young viewers that the show was taped in front of a live studio audience at Nickelodeon Studios Orlando, Florida, somewhere I would’ve loved to visit as much as any other kid wanted to go to Disneyland.  With all the time I spent watching Nick shows, I was probably exposed to just as much, if not more, commercialization.  Unknowingly, I had become a child consumer.

In The Commercialization and Co-optation of Children’s Play, Chudacoff mentions Nickelodeon as a contributor to the development of children’s culture.  He states that “Nickelodeon and Disney, as well as national networks, opened new opportunities for program producers, retailers, manufacturers, and, especially, marketers to shape children’s tastes and desires” (pg. 178).  As a child consumer, I was completely mesmerized by all sorts of advertisements for new Barbie dolls, Polly Pocket, and entertaining board games like Mouse Trap.  Most, if not all, of the toys I was given as a child were a direct result of my exposure to these products via commercials seen while watching Nickelodeon.  Some of the animated shows also began to promote their own products, offering “a ‘backstory’ of fantasy with [its] product to create a meaningful relationship between toy and child,” as stated by Chudacoff (pg. 180).  Even today, if you were to flip to the Nickelodeon channel it would be highly obvious that all commercials are made for children exclusively.

Nickelodeon's signature orange splatter logo.

Apart from the entertainment I found through Nickelodeon, I also had easy access to a medium that displayed objects I desired; commercials on Nickelodeon were sort of short video representations of most toys in a Toys “R” Us catalog, I even derived many of my birthday and Christmas lists from such advertisements.  However, despite the excessive advertisements that were thrown my way at each and every commercial break, I fully enjoyed what I was engaging in, t.v. shows that I could relate to and discuss with my peers (even if we were all just kids).

Feb 27

“A Separation” Foreign troubles with Child Actors

Movie poster of Best Foreign Oscar Winning Film, "A Separation" (2011). Directed by Asghar Farhardi

In the national news section of Houston’s official news website in an article entitled “Oscar Foreign Directors not Daunted by Kid Actors”, an award-winning director of Iranian films, Asghar Farhadi, talks on the troubles of working with his daughter in his current Oscar-nominated film, “A Separation.” Eleven year old Sarin Farhadi plays “an estranged Iranian couples child.” Sarin’s father Asghar says his daughter “was the most difficult person to work with on the film.” The article described Sarin to be “the biggest diva on the set.” While Farhadi humorously talked on the troubles of working with his daughter he also gave some insight when working with child actors. The article explained that he “doesn’t completely explain the plots of his movies to child actors “and believes the less they know the better they do. This, he explained, was probably why it was difficult working with his daughter. She was already too engrossed in the story of the film. In other words, she knew too much to be natural.

I chose this national news article particularly because of the director’s quotes on his experience working with child actors and the approach he takes when they are involved in his films. When reading this, I immediately thought of the Shirley Temple reading “Behind Shirley Temple’s Smile: Children, Emotional Labor, and the Great Depression.” There seems to be an overarching agreement between movie producers, directors, and those involved in film making in their belief that children are better on the big screen when they are “natural” and “innocent.” In the reading, Kasson includes a statement from Shirley Temple’s mother in which she states, “I want her (Shirley) to be natural, innocent, sweet. If she ceases to be that I shall have lost her-and motion pictures will have lost her too” (136). It seems likely that Asghar Farhadi would concur with this theory. With his daughter being an important child actor within his Oscar-nominated foreign film, his opinions, and that of Gertrude Temple seem closely connected. Just as the directors in Kasson’s article argue of the dangers of Shirley becoming “spoiled” and resulting in her innocence wiped from her smile, Farhadi seemed to be stuck in the same situation when his daughter became the “diva” on set.

Not only does this news article present a current view of a director’s approach and experience with child acting, but it creates a correlation between past and present ideals on children in film. It also bridges the borders between America and foreign countries when relating viewpoints of child acting.

 

Feb 27

This is All That

All That cast

One of my favorite TV shows growing up was All That. All That was a comedy sketch variety show that had musical performances by the “it” pop stars at the time. All That began in 1994 and continued until 2005. The show aired on Nickelodeon I think on Friday evenings. The show was created by Brian Robbins and Mike Tollin. The All That cast consisted of 7-8 adolescences some where around the ages of 12-15. All That was structured much the same way that SNL is structured. There is usually an opening skit followed by the intro, and then followed by different comedic sketches and finally closed with a musical performance. Most of the comedic sketches poked fun at current stereotypes or certain elements of pop culture. After listening to the Mad Magazine lecture in class it is quite apparent that programs like All That were heavily influenced by Mad Magazine. Mad Magazine was created in 1952 and offered a satirical look on culture, the media, the nuclear family and so forth. Mad Magazine paved the road for TV shows like Mad TV, All That, and SNL to exist. Whenever Mad Magazine came out parents were worried about how much it was influencing their children. Growing up I never had an issue with my parents not letting me watch All That because my parents thought it was funny themselves. When I was younger I never really thought too much about the sketches, but now that I am older some of the sketches could have influenced other children. One sketch that struck me as offensive was one in which Kenan Thompson and Nick Cannon played the stereotypical Black woman cashier. This sketch is filled with lots of stereotypes most of which portray Black women in a negative light. Being a children’s program this sketch can negatively influence and strengthen certain stereotypes children have of others.

Feb 26

Smartees: The Career-Oriented Dolls

The Smartee Doll Franchise, picture from phillycollector.blogspot.com

 

On Christmas morning when I was around 10 years-old, I remember very vividly receiving a gift that was out of the norm. Being an average little girl of the 21st century, I had countless numbers of Barbies- Evening Wear Barbie, Wedding Barbie, Mermaid Barbie, and even a few Ballerina Barbies. However it was this Christmas morning in particular, as I slowly approached the difficult age where dolls would soon be considered “childish,” where I received a “Smartee” Doll. Her name was “Emily the Entrepreneur,” and her purpose was to help with the parents’ ever-present dilemma of toys and play being educational and purposeful.

The Smartee Doll Franchise was created by attorney Jennifer Hamlin and Jennifer Fine in October 2000, after Hamlin went to buy a doll for a friend’s daughter and felt surprised at the lack of career portrayal among the bodacious Barbies. The doll’s price was marked at $19.99, with each including: a book corresponding to their given career (complete with definitions of their career-type jargon), accessories such as stethoscopes, computers, and brief cases, a resume abstract, school diplomas for the doll’s profession, a casual outfit and an evening dress. The dolls also separate themselves from Barbie in their measurements. While they still exhibit a womanly body, and are the same height as a Barbie doll, the Smartee has larger thighs, hips, and waist.  “But we’re not trying to replace Barbie,” Hamlin says. “We just want to be her smart friend.” (People.com)

Just as Handler had initially intended the Barbie doll to “Inspire American girls, in her words, to imagine ‘their lives as adults’ and to use ‘the dolls to reflect the adult world around them’,” (Chudacoff 173) Smartees allow their consumer to emulate an adult-life that today’s adults consider worthy and beneficial to young girls.

Smartees no longer seem to be a prevalent product in the doll market today, despite their tremendous appeal to influential women such as Oprah, and parents alike. Based off of Chudacoff’s theory of Barbie’s success due to her style which was defined by marketers rather than by parents, is there a chance the Smartee Dolls did not see the same popularity because the control of primary predilection does not seem to be the child?

 

Feb 26

Too Young for “The Real World”

Being the strange child that I was, I didn’t spend all my television time watching Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon. By fourth grade, I had moved on up to MTV. Gone were the days of All That and Dexter’s Laboratory; I was enthralled by the coolness of TRL and the drama of my perennial favorite, The Real World. The Real World is one of the first “reality” television shows, and it features “seven strangers, picked to live in a house, work together, and have their lives taped, to find out what happens when people stop being polite and start getting real.” It has been on the air since 1992, and recently finished its 26th season.  Like the parents described in Chudacoff’s “The Commercialization and Co-optation of Children’s Play”, my mother expressed concern over my new television obsession. Although she accepted the fact that she couldn’t keep me away from the show, she was worried about what kinds of adult themes I would be exposed to. I assured her that it would have no negative effects on my life, and truth be told, it didn’t. In fact, it may have contributed to my open mindedness and accepting nature that I have today. In the 11th season, Real World: Chicago, I first learned about homosexuality through Aneesa and Chris. In the 16th season, I explored Austin along with Johanna and Wes, and I learned about the depth of addiction through Nehemiah’s struggles with his mother. Yes, there were adult situations presented in the show, but the positive effects outweighed the negative. I think the parents and policy makers embodied by Chudacoff’s essay have children’s best interests at heart, but it would probably be best if they chilled out a little bit. My mom did, and I turned out wonderfully.

A clip from Real World: Chicago, where the castmates react to the news of 9/11

Feb 26

Kids and Television

On a website called “Media Awareness Network,” there is an article entitled  “Television’s Impact on Kids” about the dangers or concerns related to tv. The article addresses the various ways that tv can have a negative impact on the minds of children. The issues that it presents are violence, sexual content, and healthy development. It points out that television has more violence than everyday life and can cause aggression, desensitization, and fear among children. The article also explains that tv allows children to be much more sedentary than children from previous decades and promotes unhealthy food in commercials. The combination of these things could be a factor in the rising rates of obesity. While I have never heard of the argument that advertising plays a part in obesity, it seems like a logical complaint. It stems from the rising rates of childhood obesity and the concerns parents have other this new issue in today’s society.

The article has no author mentioned, but it is directed to parents or adults. The entire website seems directed at teachers and parents. This article is a form of moral panic because it bemoans the increased emphasis of television in children’s lives and explores any negative consequences tv might have. The piece is meant to be informative and to succinctly articulate the negative aspects tv has on kids.

The article emphasizes violence as a negative consequence, which is also a negative consequence of the nursery in “The Veldt” by Ray Bradbury. The children in the story become desensitized to violence and end up killing their parents rather ruthlessly in the end. In this way, the two pieces are similar. While Bradbury’s story doesn’t really explore sexual content aspects the nursery might have had, it does seem to go into the health concerns relating to tv and technology. The family members are all lazy and when threatened with turning off all the appliances, the little boy, Peter, asks if he’ll have to tie his own shoes (167)! The roles that technology played in the family’s life changed each member into lazy and spoiled people who were used to having everything done for them. The article worries that tv could cause similar laziness.

In these ways, Bradbury’s story and the article are extremely similar. Both fret over the role that technology, particularly tv, plays in people’s lives and the eventual effect it might have.

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