So on Wednesday we talked a little bit about new media in our discussion of parental monitoring. And it made me think about something I think about a lot- how parents need to be up-to-date on the technology that their kids are going to be using. I mean, it's a pretty tall order for parents to be in on everything their kids are using, especially since they go to pretty decent lengths to keep it hidden from their parents. I mean, I know I definitely did not let my parents see all the stuff I got up to on the internet when I was a teenager, mostly just because it was super super nerdy (coughharrypotterfanfictioncough). But there's also the fact that I had to teach my mom how to double-click. I know my mom has gotten a lot better at staying relatively current in more recent years- she has a twitter account purely so she can follow my younger sisters and see what they're up to, for example. But I know there are plenty of parents out there who "keep their heads in the sand" when it comes to the emerging technology, especially the numerous social networking platforms out there.
So it begs the question: where is the line? How current do parents need to stay without letting it actually take over their lives? It's a tough thing to figure out seeing as these are all new problems without much research to guide people along. The minute you have one thing figured out, the next thing comes along and takes over. I mean, it was not that long ago that myspace ruled the teen world online, and now it's next to irrelevant. And how many teenagers can you think of that are going to train their parents to use their social networking platforms just so that they can more efficiently track them? I know I wouldn't have, and I wasn't even getting up to any shenanigans.
Guys, check out this Canadian Duracell advertisement. I had to actually put my hands on my face while I watched it, it was so cute.
So if you live or work in the Provo area you doubtless know about the "serial groper." He's this guy who's been going around assaulting women on or around campus and he hasn't been nabbed yet. Now, perverts around here aren't exactly a new thing. It's actually a real problem in this area because people are so trusting and women here are even more afraid of reporting stuff like that than in most places. It's just that he's gotten really famous because it's the same guy and he keeps doing it and getting away.
Here, read this article about something Divergent gets so so right. [it discusses rape and rape culture so you have been warned]. [also there are some story spoilers if you care about that]
The article pretty much covers it all. I pray for more and more stories that show women that they have the right to be respected and listened to and that show strong, likable, admirable men who respect women. Stories that show boys that doing so is what makes them manly, not the reverse.
I am a feminist because I believe that men are capable of better than what our culture tells them they are, and I appreciate Divergent so much because of that.
In conjunction with our discussion of media violence on Wednesday and of princesses and gender roles on Monday, I would like to present to you the realization I had the other day.
Okay so my favorite Disney movies have always been Beauty and the Beast, Mulan, and Pocahontas. When I was a toddler Beauty and the Beast was that movie that I watched ad nauseum, had memorized, basically worshiped. I loved Belle because she loved to read and wanted adventures and had brown hair like me and thought Gaston was a jerk. Also I loved the music. When Pocahontas came out I was five years old, and I was all about her super long hair and the fact that she loved the environment like I did and was the one who saved the boy. I LOVED that. Also the music was beautiful. When Mulan came out when I was eight I loved her for again being the day who saved the day, and in the end being a hero who still got to be a girl. Plus again, music.
Changing gears though, there is a lot of violence in those movies for a kid of age eight and below to be seeing. The Beast and Gaston battle it out on top of the castle and Gaston stabs the Beast in the side with a big scary dagger and there is blood. Then the dude falls off the castle to his death. Yikes.
In Pocahontas, our girl herself is very "hey no don't fight each other that's stupid," but there's still plenty of fighting. Our boy Thomas shoots Kokoum and emotionally scars a generation. The two sides go to WAR with each other, even if the only gunshot is the one that hits John Smith in the end. But man. Shooting.
But then. BUT THEN. There's Mulan. I mean, yes, this is a movie based off the story of a war hero, so obviously there's going to be war involved. But the fact the remains that Mulan goes to training camp and learns to fight, then goes to war with the Huns where she starts an avalanche that kills thousands of people. I will say again: the heroine of this movie has a body count in the thousands. Not to mention that we see the battlefield wasteland the Huns left behind when they decimated the imperial army, plus more fighting once they get to the imperial city. That is a violent movie.
Does that mean they're bad movies? No. Do I think I am more aggressive as a result of being obsessed with them? I don't think so. I mean, I like to think I got the right messages from those movies, especially because I identified with them so strongly because those main characters embodied so many characteristics that I already had and/or valued. But still- thousands. Yikes!
So I watch a lot of television. But here's the thing; I don't just watch the shows I watch. I engross myself. I talk about them with my friends. I discuss them on blogs. I read and participate in meta-analyses.
There was an episode where Troy and Abed got into a fight over whether they would build a blanket fort or a pillow fort, and the entire episode was formatted like an overly-dramatic history documentary.
Another one was a straight-up parody of Law and Order: SVU.
Zombie movies. Buddy-cop shows. Video games. Christmas specials. Glee. Old west. Terrible horror movie. Alternate timelines (my personal favorite).
You name it, they've done it, or at least referenced it. This season, the actor playing Troy was only in the first few episodes because he decided to leave the show to pursue his music career. The writers didn't even try to pretend it wasn't happening.
gif replacement due to language: Troy says, "That son of a *****!"
Okay, they seriously just had Abed tell us, "Look, we know this might suck because Troy was one of your favorite characters, but we're going to do the best we can. And also we're still a little bitter that Donald is leaving and we're going to make him apologize to you."
And it's not just the plotlines. It's the main characters, too.
Jeff, the jerk with a heart of gold, aware of his own good looks, works hard to be lazy, daddy issues, glue of the group... I could go on and on.
My personal favorite character, Shirley, the overly-sweet yet also sometimes emotionally manipulative mother type. Kills with kindness. Christian who accepts other religions but whoa hey actually doesn't really.
Don't get on her bad side.
To avoid this turning into an entire dissertation, I'll leave you with this: this show is a treasure and you should watch it and enjoy the genius of its writing, because it has everything that someone who is interested in actively participating in their media consumption could want in a tv show.
Also bad puns.
