Even heroes have the right to bleed

[here_inmyhead]

Taken Jeshi's comment from Blue's journal:



Oh no, dear! Your argument that children's movies have taken a downfall...and childhood in general...is entirely understandable! In fact, childhood as a whole has been sliding downhill! I am reminded of that many, many, many times in my classes. You should take Arts Education like me lalala

The children's movies today are terrible as they are unoriginal 'sequels'. They tell the story all over again but throw in random jokes that aren't even funny. Society today is horrifically naive, thinking that they are doing good for their children when really, they're doing the complete opposite. People will have their children watch endless television all day on "safe channels" which, no, may not have sex and violence in them, but they are induced with toy ads and other mindless commercials about what shows/fashions/products are "hot" and give the message to children that quantity > quality, and they become commodity dependent. The top consumers in the world today are, sadly, children.

And the movies don't have issues where children question anything anymore. Death, for example--no one dies in children's movies anymore. Bambi was absolutely beautiful for that, as well as Cinderella, as they touched on the "broken family" issue where the child loses a parent and they have to cope with that and grow from it. Those movies gave positive messages to children, but parents today think it's terrible because "Oh, children shouldn't have to see such terrible things!"
Well.....no...children shouldn't have to see anything like that, but it happens, and way too often. And because it happens often, why should we lie and shelter the children from the truth?

An issue raised in my ELIT class the other day was homosexuality. Most of the people in my class don't have a problem with it, which is good. Is it a good thing to talk about to students? Absolutely! There are wayyyyy too many books today that still promote the traditional "nuclear family" but in actuality there ARE no families quite like that anymore. And in the classrooms, there are people who divorce and re-marry with a same-sex partner and the children don't understand...in fact, society still encourages the need to detest homosexuals and for what? Who knows. However, because of that it hurts children with same-sex parents and they shouldn't have to feel like that, which is why teaching about it is absolutely a priority.

However...back to the parents who think they know everything--depending on the area, there are parents who will raise hell to no end because "No way, you're not teaching my kid how to be gay"--um...what, right? Parents get the wrong idea too quickly, or they just want to, again, shelter their children from the truth.

But touching on "fond memories of the 80's and 90's"--I totally agree. When you were, say...six years old, what did you do when you had no schoolwork? When you went outside for recess with your friends, what did you do? Did you play games, and if so, what were they? When I was younger, we would make-believe and pretend we were Power Rangers and Sailor Moon characters. We played tag and the millions of variations of tag (TV tag, movie tag, "boys chase girls" and "girls chase boys", dragons and monkeys [yeah, I know, wtf], shadow tag, etc.), and we would sit at the top of a huge monkeybar dome playing a game we made up called "Monkey down the Toilet" (fun, actually--someone "fell in the toilet" and turned into an alligator who would try to eat the monkeys dancing on the edge...yeah, again, wtf my school was creative).

I don't know about you, but I don't see many kids doing that kind of stuff anymore. When they're asked to come up with a game, they can't seem to figure out anything as there's technology that does it for them. It's terrible, they sit around like fragile porcelain dolls and can't even do anything active because they get hurt way too easily now, and that's because they're never outside anymore. Which is why my job will be to hopefully teach kids to think for themselves again >>;

That was a good rant. Time for me to go now xD;;;



The fact we still talk about Bambi's mom today says a lot about its impact.

Have we gone that low to truly oppress ourselves? To censor death, special meaning, and that these characters are human like anyone else? Are we that spoiled that we can't afford risks anymore? That we sugarcoat life for the "good" of the children?

I miss the days when villains win, but hope still lies in a band of freedom fighters who never give up despite all odds. What happened to the mouse trying to rescue her family and sick son from the farmer's plow? Hell, as much as I hated Cinderella and as much as I bawled to death when the stepsisters ripped her dress apart while Lady Tremaine watched with a cruel smirk, I'd rather have my emotions played with and challenged then let my brain turn to mush by some forgettable movie that doesn't let me think. That's it's always comfortable, always "something for the kids to like." Just because the target audience is children doesn't mean dumbing down the story itself. Children have another sense of understanding, children listen. They soak up anything and root for their heroes--who didn't play as their favorite character when they were younger? Hell knows I've played with my Polly Pockets and wished I was Belle.

Nowadays, it's like the Disney Princesses are just glamour figures on a poster or whatever. It's about marketing and well... they feel empty. Don't get me wrong. I'm glad they're still around--hell, Aurora and Jasmine's a better role model than Bratz anyday. XDDD! It's... I don't know. Whenever I pass by birthday cards, birthday party supplies, etc. it's like the number of kids series provided gets smaller and less varient, or recycle the same stuff over and over. Back then, we must've had Pokémon, Transformers, Latest Disney, Barbie, TMNT, etc. now we've got... what? Shrek, Dora the Explorer, PotC, ancient Chicken Little stuff?

Not saying stuff like Pirates is bad or anything. I just miss when we had adventure. We're locked inside our houses now, and we're taught it's bad to be a kid--I mean, look at the 5-year-old that dresses like Paris Hilton and wears her mom's makeup. The racial slurs and misogyny that reigns the rap music teens listen to. It's bad to imagine, it's bad to think, it's bad to know the truth--it's bad to be you.

There's a big difference between being responsible for your kid or sheltering them. Being responsible is not letting your 6-year-old watch "Dawn of the Dead" 'cause the zombies and blood and gore are gonna give her nightmares and traumatize her and she wouldn't understand the humor of some dark jokes. Sheltering your kid is suing Disney because "OMG I JUZT RENT3d DIS MOVIE NOW MAI KIDZ CRYIN' KUZ BAMBI'S MOM DIED. U SHUDVE HAD A WARNIGN IMA GONNA SUE!111!11!1" I watched movies with death in them all the time. Did I cry? Yes. Sometimes. But I understood that it's a part of life. How are these kids, when sheltered from larger issues such as death, going to handle the real world, where people's heads are being blown off in Iraq? Is it an illusion to them? That it's something that happens to "someone else"?

I seriously worry about our future. Kids's future. I mean, really.

Comments

[sarajayechan.livejournal.com]

I miss the days when "overcoming all odds and standing up against the evil oppressors" MEANT something, and we were shown there WAS something for the heroes to be rallying against rather than "the bad man is bad and the princess uses her magic powers to make him go away" even when all the bad man did was smirk and the princess was a stubborn, spoiled brat (but she's really a feministic kick-butt womyn and we should admire her!!).

[swordianmaster.livejournal.com]

Word word to that.

It's not -all- bad. 99.9%, yes, but I occasionally find gems in the rough - I rather like Foster's Home, as it tells us the sad truth about reality in the 21st Century - Everyone you know, meet, or end up interacting with is flawed in some aspect. It's only by acknowledging and learning to work with those flaws that makes a team truly a team. A band of faceless, machine-like corporate drones is not "being team players", it is being subservient slaves to the almighty dollar.

Granted, I don't like that Fosters is getting whored out to McD's and the like, but you can't help that.

Likewise, there is absolutely nothing wrong with digging up the old movies. There's a reason there's still enough market that Disney drags movies out of its vault every 20 years or so.

Boycott the Hannah Montana, the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, the Princess Sequel Fluff.

Show the classics. Your Beauty and the Beasts, your Bambis, your Sleeping Beauties. I always said it was a stupid move when they put Aurora Rose into the Princess roster, as the true story behind that movie was less about Aurora and her Prince Charming, and more about the conflict between the three fairies and Maleficent.

I'm rambling now, aren't I?

[valkyriur.livejournal.com]

I love "Foster's Home...", but mostly because it's just so silly. But now that I think about it, it's probably all the flawed character that make it worth it. The characters actually have some personality. That's something I don't see much any more.

YES!!!

[zerenitia.livejournal.com]

I mean, look at the 5-year-old that dresses like Paris Hilton and wears her mom's makeup.

THIS...this is true, and it is absolutely horrific! And you said that the kids are being taught that it's bad to be a kid today, and it really, really is happening like that! Parents come in the restaurant with their children and order breakfast; the parent likes their eggs poached soft and they flip out if the eggs are slightly overdone; the parent, though, will push and push and push the kid to hurry up when ordering and gets aggravated when the kid has barely had a minute to look at the goddamn menu!
Parents act as though decision-making is an important value they have for their children when it totally isn't and this is a perfect example. What you want to eat for breakfast is a very important thing because, obviously, you're not gonna eat what you don't like, right? So the kid's gotta pick something that they know they WILL eat, but how do they know what they like? They've got to take the time and think it out but the parents freak out if they take even a minute to try to decide D:

No patience for kids at all--everyone expects their five year-old children to act like twenty year-olds. The eight year-old kid wants to wear what Paris Hilton wears and the parents think it's funny and "just a phase" and go along with it when...uh...NO IT FUCKING ISN'T. Parents are not being as much parents anymore as they are trying to be the kids' friends but then they go off in this big wankfest about pedophiles!

Why do they think the pedophiles sexually pursue the kid modeled off of Paris Hilton?! Foolishly foolish fools


How are these kids, when sheltered from larger issues such as death, going to handle the real world, where people's heads are being blown off in Iraq? Is it an illusion to them?

Another fabulous point, hun! It seems the only people who are bringing out the fact that there are problems overseas and there are hardships right now being experienced by so many people everywhere in the world because of this are people like teachers and the few who value truth. It purely sickens me by how many people will refuse to let their children even know that "bad things are happening but hopefully they will get better soon"--I mean, even THAT could be better than just denying a fucking war!

It's getting scary for everyone, there's talk about people going into the U.S. and here in Canada, there's shit happening everywhere, but the parents are brushing it off like it's nothing, like it won't happen. When did WWII happen? How long ago was that? I was born like 40 years after it happened, but even to me it doesn't feel like that long ago, seriously. Because it wasn't.

....You and Blue are both bad for setting me off on these rants, you know that? :p

Re: YES!!!

[valkyriur.livejournal.com]

Signed. I second everything you said here.

Re: YES!!!

[zerenitia.livejournal.com]

:D I like when people agree with me.

Re: YES!!!

[insanepurin.livejournal.com]

The 2000s suck because we're forced to grow up too fast. D:

Maybe this doesn't relate to the topic, but it does relate to kids:

They cry in the dark so you can't see their tears
They hide in the light so you can't see their fears
Forgive and forget all the while
Love and pain become one and the same in the eyes of a wounded child

Because Hell... Hell is for children (http://www.sendspace.com/file/g1r202)

Re: YES!!!

[zerenitia.livejournal.com]

I so wish I could download that right now but I can't D: University comps suck for this very reason.

But you're totally right--the kids are forced to grow up way too fast and it's not healthy, mentally or physically for anyone.

[valkyriur.livejournal.com]

I completely agree with you.

One of the reasons why kids don't go out is because there's no playground equipment because "zomg1 sue because my child broke his arm by falling off the equipment". So now the kids have barely anything to play on when a simple "you're responsible for your child's safety" would fix the problem. Why do you think these stupid kids are jumping off roofs and junk right now? Because they never had a chance to learn at a young age that "hey, jumping off that tall piece of playground equipment might get me hurt".

And your thing about television and movies, YES! I'm still on the fence about whether I'm going to have kids or not, but I've already started buying DVD sets of things that I'm willing to let my kids watch. Things like "Sonic the Hedgehog", "Thundercats", and probably the old "Sesame Street" if I can get a hold of it. "Sesame Street" is entertainment now filled with Elmo likes to color and walls and Roseta is Hispanic and let's do this and that. Whereas when I was a kid we'd learn our numbers and letters throughout the show with all the little skits, and how others get hurt feelings, or about how people in other countries live. The worst part about those movies you are talking about with the "not funny jokes" is that most of them don't have any real plot points or climaxes. They're boring.

On a related rant about television, what's up with parents that put televisions with satellite or cable in their kids rooms?! I was babysitting one time and the parents told me, "oh they're allowed to watch tv when they're in bed". Okay, sure; I hear this all the time, no problem. Until I walked in to check on them and the 8 year old was watching freaking "Samurai Champloo"!!! Yeah, that's great! Let him watch some gory, blood infested, curse-filled show without even knowing about it! Great job! Then you're going to wonder why your kid is suddenly acting all violent and horrid! What am I supposed to do? I said "Hmm, maybe you should watch something else." But that's really all I can say because for all I know this kid watches the show every night.

Don't get me started on the "Bratz" dolls. They should just changed the name to "Slutz". The worst part is these Bratz babies or whatever they're called. They're little babies that are dressed up as slutty as their older sisters or whatever. It's DISGUSTING! And it's NOT CUTE! And then the parents wonder why when the kids reach 10 they want to dress up like a little whore! Gee, let me think here.

And Disney...Disney needs to stop using their name to promote some of those lame "no plot point" movies that you mentioned earlier. I have had no inclination to see any of their movies lately. Not because I see Disney on the label, but because the movies don't even look interesting from the previews. I mean, if you can't even make a trailer look interesting I think that's pretty lame.

[zerenitia.livejournal.com]

Not encouraged to be creative! Then again, they're not taught how to think anymore. My classes get us doing many, many, many interactive things so what we get the sense that hey, kids learn from this! Kids learn to think outside the box and get totally into it but the thing is that no one wants their kids to actually think. If the kids can't think, then the adults can oppress them all they want and throw their ideas to the side with a "You're just a kid, you don't know anything" comment when really, the kids know more than the adult. The problem with giving the kids the power to think is that...it gives them power. With that power, they can tell commercial ads "No, I don't need that" and "No, you're wrong" and no one wants that >(

Haha, like I said about the movies, though--none of them are what I'd call "sequels". They're just the same damn story thrown back together with weak characters and variations of the originals.

I, too, also detest the Bratz dolls. Honestly, I wasn't even aware of these Bratz babies until just now, but damn is that sick.

And I also miss the old Sesame Street. The last time I had heard of it, they turned Cookie Monster into a stoner a "Veggie Monster" --what the hell, as if kids actually got the idea that eating an all-cookies diet was good for you! In fact, I remember distinctly the fuzzy monster saying a couple of times himself that cookies are good occasionally, or maybe it was Big Bird who interfered, I don't know. But though we all adored the Cookie Monster, I always knew better to eat the food on my plate because if I didn't there was some poor child overseas who could really use it and I should be thankful that I have what they don't, dammit. I mean, I was taught to consider the fact that I am actually VERY lucky to have all this stuff.
Oh yeah, and the last time I heard about Sesame Street, they had apparently killed off Ernie. WHY ERNIE?!?! Oh wait, I forgot--Ernie and Bert are the very reasons why there are more homosexuals. *rolls eyes*
I'm sorry, I watched Ernie and Bert sleep in the same bed but I never once thought of them as homosexual. In fact, I never once thought of them even having sexual relations in any way--THE IDIOTS WHO BROUGHT THIS UP JUST RAPED MY CHILDHOOD BY BRINGING THAT TO MY ATTENTION.

But seriously? Ernie and Bert sleeping in the same bed never bothered me or even had me questioning--I just thought they were good friends. I mean...friends have sleep overs all the time and sleep in the same beds, do they not? They do so on camping trips...OMG AM I A LESBIAN BECAUSE I SHARED A BED WITH MY BEST FRIEND?!

...Shutting up now XD

[insanepurin.livejournal.com]

...Wait a minute. They ditched Ernie because they thought he and Bert were gay? Okay, now THAT is just disgusting. Hell, as a kid, I thought they were just friends too! :o Isn't it interesting how it's the outcry of the general public and TV executives that's ruining our childhood rather than us?

Not to mention the "Cookie Monster encourages bulimia" bullshit. Hell, even though Cookie Monster loves cookies, he'd chomp down whatever sort of food was offered to him, whether they were veggies or not--just that cookies are his favorite. :o

OMG I SLEPT WITH MY MOM AND DAD WHEN I HAD A NIGHTMARE WE MUST HAVE INCEST PROBLEMS

[zerenitia.livejournal.com]

Oh, they did, and a lot of us SS junkies were pretty pissed XDD;

And yes, you MUST have incest problems. It's just like how my cat curls up sometimes under the sheets with me--OMG I SLEEP WITH ANIMALS =O

[valkyriur.livejournal.com]

Seconding your comment about squished creativity.

I seem to remember an episode where Cookie Monster actually got sick and one of the other characters was like "if you'd eat healthier things instead of cookies you might not get sick". Something along those lines.

As for Bert and Earnie...I thought they were brothers. The way they acted reminded me of my sisters or my best friends who were brothers. When somebody told me they were banned from certain areas because they were thought to be gay my reaction was "WTF?!"

[zerenitia.livejournal.com]

XDD My Social Studies 30 teacher had told me that apparently Bert was Peurto rican and Ernie was Dominican...which just creeped the hell out of me because I didn't think they had even been given official nationalities.

[valkyriur.livejournal.com]

See my icon. If you can't see my icon, my reaction is "What?" 0.o

[zerenitia.livejournal.com]

Oh, I see the icon XDDD And it depicts perfectly my own facial expression when I was dispensed this information.

[insanepurin.livejournal.com]

Geez Louise. That's like when my Mom had to stop my little brother from watching Family Guy--because he was too young to be watching it in the first place. We let him tape Inu-Yasha so he wouldn't stay up past his bedtime--he can handle the violence of IY, but he wouldn't understand the sexual jokes in FG.

Don't forget in old Sesame Street where they explored Mr. Hooper's death! Would they dare go through such a topic anymore? I've watched different Sesame Street specials such as Ernie thinking of plagiarizing his cousin's tiger painting and another where Grover was made fun of for playing poorly in baseball and takes his feelings out on his bat (and Big Bird, who painted a picture of him and he yelled back, "It stinks!") and... seriously. These feelings are real. (Lord knows I've acted like Grover many times before) Hell, is Forgetful Jones even on the show anymore?

I can only think of one thing worse than Bratz and their prostitute STD-ridden babies--horrific remakes of the classic toys of the 80s/90s. Only My Little Pony looks remotely similar to the original thing--Polly Pocket became a generic Barbie ripoff, Littlest Pet Shop had their eyes bulged out and look hideous and contrived, and the Trollz look like they held a drinking party with Britney Spears. It always hurts me to see these toys collecting in discount stores, and just... my inner child weeps.

*clings desperately to old Polly Pocket castles* At least Beanie Babies hardly changed... they just gotten softer. :o

[valkyriur.livejournal.com]

I miss the old Sesame Street. ;_;

Yeah, the new Polly Pockets are so LAME. My Little Pony isn't nearly as bad, but poor Polly Pocket. We have/had tons of those and my sisters and I would play with those for HOURS.

[n64-chick.livejournal.com]

I also agree with what you said. Being an aunt for about ten kids, I've seen all of this first-hand...and it's annoying!

btw, slightly off topic but I still have my Polly Pockets.

[insanepurin.livejournal.com]

If I ever had kids myself (which I'm not. XD), I'd show them the cool stuff, like SatAM, Powerpuff Girls, Sailor Moon, Cardcaptor Sakura, Reboot and such. :3

Me tooo~~~ I believe they're at home with Mom and Dad. XDD! I keep all my old toys~ ♥

[n64-chick.livejournal.com]

I do just that actually. I let my nephews watch SMBSS and I have Care Bears for the nieces.

Heck, a few of them like to pretend that they're the Mario Bros. and such. It's great at my house because some distance into the woods by my yard, there's the remains of some kind of building. We pretend it's Bowser castle. Too bad they live in North Carolina now...

[valkyriur.livejournal.com]

Sounds like my sisters, my friends, and I. Except we played Sonic. We had woods out in the back, so we used those quite often. We also got really creative with reusing different areas of a rather small park for different Zones/levels.

My younger cousins play Sonic now, but it's with the newer Sonic characters. It's still cool to see them run around and play it though.

[jasmine28.livejournal.com]

It is really sad what this world is coming to, particularly the recent phenomenon where children are being raised not to think about the world or really use their imagination, but to consume.
I think it was my generation (I was born in 1989) that was the last one exempt from the whole consumer lifestyle for children as it is now, but I think it ended with those born in 1994. My cousin was born in 1995 and just from watching her get older, I've noticed that she's had to 'grow up' a lot faster than my friends and I ever did.

Kids just aren't how they used to be, I guess we're all lucky that we got the chance to dream when we were younger.

[spfi-duo.livejournal.com]

(Nam)

Hmm...a lot of movies titles there. o_o

To be perfectly honest, my childhood consisted of being kicked out of my house from about six in the morning till dinner time, unless there was school that day. We simply didn't have time for television. We had to entertain ourselves. Living in this same neighborhood for...fifteen, sixteen years (moved here at the end of 1993, I think), I know everything about the outside, but every once in a while, my house surprises me with a wall I never knew was there before.

My point? ...well, I don't know if I have one. Other than the fact that I watched those older Disney movies and can't remember at all, I think that says something. Oo I remember having complex wars between the girls and boys living in our neighborhood, and using anything from apples to sticks as ammo, and never getting hurt. I remember my father dropping a huge pile of rope in the middle of the backyard and building an intricate highway in trhe treetops with it (which is now reduced to a single swing, alas). But....I honestly remember none of those movies. At least not as a child.

And I'm not sure whether that's good or not. XDDD Maybe more little children should have my childhood. Then there'd be billions of me all over the world. Never a bad thing. :3

[darkfreakoid.livejournal.com]

Omg I used to play Sailor Moon with my friends in elementary school, then it was pokemon, and so forth. XD

I always said to myself that if I had kids or neices/nephews, I'd make sure I'd have old-school cartoons and movies to show them. I hate how Nickelodeon never puts their older cartoons on DVD D:

[vontriz.livejournal.com]

Ahhh, the mouse mother one! I can't remember the name right now, but I watched it again recently, and, God, it is awesome. An amazing work of art.

Urgh, what I find stupid is how sex is often deemed as being worse than violence, in censorship land. Creating life is more vile than destroying it, it's crazy. I think it's stupid to shelter them from it altogether, death, homosexuality, etc. It's better to sit and watch something that may potentially upset them, at least you'll be there to explain it to them properly. I mean, I learned about sex from my friends as a kid and then at some point, my parents assumed I knew all about it, that's ridiculous. So many misconceptions (ho ho, double entendre!) grow from that.

It's a good thing that Bambie and stuff like that are such classics, at least they're still available to be watched now. I'd love a great animation project of that caliber nowadays, there's too much focus on that Shrek format of gross out jokes and pop culture references.