Category: Entertainment

Random Thoughts on Children’s Television

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I have a toddler. And although I am anal about certain parenting issues, TV isn’t one of them. So Emma gets to watch TV. But with the wonderful new addition of TiVo to our household, I now have much greater control of the programs she watches. No longer am I stuck with whatever PBS Kid’s Sprout has on (goodbye Barney and Sagwa), and Emma can have her Elmo and Dora fix whenever she desires. And while she still likes a few things I find seriously annoying (Teletubbies and the new Veggie Tales), I generally like Sesame Street and Dora the Explorer (which is a good thing, since I see a lot of them). So what is it I like about them?

It’s hard not to like Sesame Street since I grew up watching it (which btw is the theme of its current advertising campaign). I like the diversity it portrays, its acceptance of all people and monsters, and the basic skills it teaches kids. And as I was noticing recently, it has philosophically evolved with the times to become more postmodern. When I was a child, I remember watching a segment/game called “one of these things is not like the others.” In this game, kids were expected to use logic and reason to deduce which item by its outward appearance was different from the others. The game is still played on current episodes, but now with a postmodern twist. There isn’t necessarily one right answer. Somethings may look different but in reality be the same as everything else. And there may be aspects of a thing that aren’t apparent on the surface that in reality set it apart. Multiple answers, multiple perspectives, multiple truths. I like that.

Dora is a bit different. (As Kevin Smith pointed out, Dora only works for adults who are high…) I like the bilingual language skills it teaches, but I had an issue with how it labels its characters. One of the characters, a fox, is named Swiper, because he swipes stuff. I do not support enforcing negative behavior by causing a child to self-identify with that behavior. Label a kid “trouble-maker” and he will live up to that name. It is a self-fulfilling prophecy. So I’m not too comfortable with how that’s modeled on Dora. (BTW, Swiper is Emma’s favorite character). But then I just saw an episode where Swiper gets into a bad predicament (a genie tricks him into switching places in a bottle with him). Instead of being happy that Swiper was in trouble or saying he got what he deserved, Dora, Boots, and their friends immediately offered to help Swiper. They felt sorry for him and did whatever they could to help him out. That’s the type lesson in love and mercy that I want Emma to learn.

So for all the junk that is out there, there are a few good things on TV. And yes, I’m overthinking children’s TV, but somedays that’s all I got to think about…

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Beauty and the Geek

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So as strange as it seems, I’m hooked on the reality show Beauty and the Geek. The premise is that a socially awkward geeky guy is paired up with a beautiful and usually dumb girl. They are supposed to do challenges outside of their comfort zones and learn how to appreciate each other. Each week one couple is forced to leave the house and the winners get money at the end. Read more here.

So the show is of course meant to play up stereotypes and all that, but this season has been really bad for that. I know we see whatever elements the producers actually want to bring out, but I continue to be amazed at how awful the girls are. I have no problem understanding that some people are well, not smart, and that a lot of women think their only asset is their sexuality – it’s sad, but expected. I just get frustrated watching how self centered and condescending the girls are. Besides forming cliques where the ditzy blonds got all the brunettes kicked out of the house, they obviously aren’t trying to learn stuff from the guys. The guys seem very open to accepting everyone and learning to see the world in a new light. The girls seem to think that they are there to bless the guys with their presence and do whatever they can to change them without being tainted by their geekiness. (reminds me a bit too much of how Christians view evangelism…). The guys are friends with everyone and stress that “geek” and “beauty” are just social constructs that don’t define the real person you are.

So while I fully realize that if I were on the show I would be cast as a geek (although I don’t see the geek girl and the hot guy scenario ever happening… a few too many other issues come into play with that), I just wish that stuff like this served more to broaden perspectives rather than enforce negative stereotypes. But its just a TV show right…?

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Life is Good…

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So apparently MGM recently announced that they will be making a film version of The Hobbit together with New Line Cinemas sometime within the next few years. No word yet if Peter Jackson will direct (or if Ian McKellen will return as Gandalf), but this is good news for us LOTR freaks. I guess its back to checking theonering everyday for news… 😉

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In (Annoyed) Mourning

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So the Alias series finale was last night… and I’m still annoyed and disappointed. For a series that was so into twists and mystery the ending was horrible. Nothing was explained and it was well – predictable and boring. It scares me now to watch Lost – will that end with no purpose or resolution to its mystery as well! What was JJ Abrams thinking!! anyway – just had to rant to the world

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Elmo Works for the CIA

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for all you Alias fans…
I was watching Sesame Street today with Emma and this sketch comes on with Elmo about telephones. At one point the phone rings and he says (as best as I could tell, it is Elmo) “wrong number. this isn’t Joey’s Pizza.” I thought it was funny…

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American Idol and Evangelism

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So I was watching American Idol tonight (yes I do watch it) and the whole issue of how Christians interact with the world came up. One of the contestants is a self-proclaimed Christian named Mandisa. She has a decent voice, but isn’t my favorite. Tonight’s theme was 21st century songs and she chose a gospely praise song by a group called Mary Mary. From the moment she started I was uncomfortable. Having existed in the Christian subculture I remember the weirdness of celebrating anything Christian when it appears in the “secular” world (and to try to push anything Christian into that world as often as possible). In fact when that was done, it was celebrated as evangelism, as not being ashamed of Jesus Christ, etc… So I understand her choice in choosing a very preachy praise song to sing on live tv, but I cringe instead of celebrate. Obviously the judges didn’t know what to think. Randy said something about the song choice not working. Paula tried to be understanding of Mandisa’s spirituality, but ended up insulting her. But Simon I think got it right when he called her choice indulgent. As he expounded with another contestants indulgent song choice – this is American Idol and they need to respect that – in other words not make it their personal playground and soapbox.

So why did the whole thing bug me? One – it plays into the sacred/secular distinction that evangelicals have so bought into – only if something is labeled Christian can it be good or serve Christ. Why can’t Mandisa be a good singer for Christ on the show without going outside the assumed bounds and preaching. Two – it shows the lack of respect Christians have for nonchristians. By forcing a very Christian song into an arena where others would not understand it is arrogant (and indulgent). I’m sure Christians were proud of her and will blame antichristian liberal bias if she gets voted off. But why can we lament lack of respect for our beliefs when we refuse to respect others’ and force our beliefs on them? I think there is a time and a place for evangelism – one that respects others and allows for dialogue. Tonight’s drama just reminded me in a small way of how often Christians are out of touch and miss the point.

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David Wilcox Song

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So David Wilcox is one of my favorite musicians (can’t wait for his new album). I recently came across these lyrics. This song isn’t on any cd, but I thought they were interesting and wanted to share them…

A Different Kind of War

There was a long haired guy who drew a crowd outside
He got them all angry over national pride
He was talking of the war that’s on our shore
And how we’ve never had to fight so hard beforer
It’s a war to fight and a war to win he said
But how do we strike and where to begin?
We want to kill those guilty of the crimes they’ve made
But they don’t live in one city; there’s no fortress to invade
This war is psychological and it starts right here
So in my defiance, I will not live in fear
Because fear is their weapon so I won’t give in to that
They know that fear turns to rage, and thats just their trap
The way they win is to make us strike back
They want us to launch a dreadful counterattack
The more people that die at the hand of our nation
The more hate it will breed in the next generation
In this kind of war, they’re not after our land
They want their children’s blood on our vengeful hands
They want to make us act like an angry mob
So we look like a bully that hates their god
Their plan is to hurt us with our own brute force
Like a herd stampeding down a deadly course
If they can get us running with a rage like this
They can lead the free world off the edge of a cliff
And the cliff is to fall for the trap they’ve sprung
To make us play the role of the vengeful one
They want us to chase them and hunt them down
To kill their people and burn their towns
The few guilty people are happy to die
If they can make us kill a few thousand more besides
Becuase the death of the innocents just fuels the flame
Until the next war starts and its all the same
And the future unfolds for a hundred years
As the terror grows and it breeds more fear
So who will decide the future of our nation?
Will we follow along with their invitation?
The invitation is to trust our hate
To let revenge define our fate
To never see that it’s a different war
And we can’t fight the same way we fought before
We’re not hunted by a tiger, or a lion or a shark, its more
Like FIRE that’s the danger and the enemy’s a spark
But the trickiest spin that the devil could twist
Was convincing the world that he didn’t exist
If you don’t believe in evil, then they’re just dangerous men
And you’ll fight fire with fire, and you’ll be just like them
An eye for an eye, time after time
Eye after eye until the whole world is blind
If our enemy is evil, like a virus of the mind
And its moving through the body of all humankind
Then the evil brilliance of this virus which is hate
Is that our natural reaction makes it replicate
We want to shoot at a target thats easy to find
But the enemy is in us – all humankind
We want to kill the invader like we could in the past
But you can’t kill a virus with a shotgun blast
This is not a nation that we’re up against
If it’s good against evil what’s our best defense?
The man on the street was drawing a crowd
Some people got angry and voices got loud
The crowd answered back to the sidewalk guy
That we must have revenge for the people that died
But the man kept talking about love and light
As if that were any way to fight the fight
And a scuffle started and they hauled him in
He was convicted of crimes and convicted of sins
And for national safety and religious pride
That sidewalk preacher was crucified

David Wilcox – copyright 2001
© 2006 David Wilcox

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