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Newsweak
So Newsweek magazine tries to scare parents this week with a lurid cover story about the "Girls Gone Wild Effect." The premise is young girls are becoming fame-obsessed little sexpots because they’re constantly exposed to BritneyParisLindsay.
I couldn’t get past the lead of the story before spitting my Trader Joe’s Bay Blend all over the kitchen table. Actually, the editor’s note was the first tip off that something about this story was fishy.
Here’s editor Jon Meacham: "I suspect some readers will take a look at this week’s cover and think we have...gone soft. A quick, cynical interpretation might be: Newsweek wanted to sell a lot of magazines, so we are playing the celebrity card..." You know when pro athletes say "it’s not about the money," and of course it’s about the money? Same deal here.
Anywho, writer Kathleen Deveny starts off describing how her 6-year-old daughter Jing Jing (that’s daughter, not panda) loves Lindsay Lohan. "Loves, loves, loves her." She describes how first-grader Jing Jing has seen "The Parent Trap," "Herbie Fully Loaded" and "Freaky Friday." Then she gets all worked up wondering "are we raising a generation of "prosti-tots"? "Allow us to confirm what every parent knows: kids, born in the new-media petri dish, are well aware of celebrity antics," she writes.
Well, Kathleen, did your first-grader walk down to Blockbuster and rent PG-rated "Freaky Friday" all by herself? Of course not, you let her watch the movie. There is no reason in the world a 6-year-old girl needs to be aware of Lindsay Lohan or any other celebu-tard. It’s not hard for an engaged, cautious parent to filter out popular media junk when kids are this young. You control what shows they watch. You control who and what has an influence in their lives.
My 6-year-old daughter’s idea of a celebrity is Mulan. I passed up taking her to see "Happy Feet" because it’s rated PG. That may be irrational, but I figure if you adopt standards early, it might be easier when they reach middle school.
Also, what kind of parent lets her kid watch the Lindsay Lohan "Parent Trap?" I’m pretty sure Hayley Mills never partied without underwear.
posted by Kid You Not at
12:17 PM
2 Comments:
I do agree with your commentary although, as a parent I have screened and found nothing wrong with the G rated Parent Trap as in this stage of Lindsey's career she still appeared to behave like a normal human being. An involved parent screens these films before renting them and decides just how exposed and tainted they want thier children to be by the media. I feel like a parent who would write a column blaming the media for exposing its child to bad behaviour should examine themselves more closely and figure out who is in charge and raising their offspring. Yes Kathleen Deveny you have chosen to raise her like a "prosti-tot" instead of raising her by real standards.
Why not stay away from Disney altogether (with perhaps the exception of Winnie the Pooh)?
When it comes to marketing manipulation, Disney is no different than Coca-Cola, or Budweiser, or American Idol - they're just here to sell, sell, sell, except in this case they're working on your kid!
In my opinion, Disney is sort of the "gateway drug" into American Consumerism, ready to hijack your child's ability for independent thought and imagination and replace it with their own.
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