Submitted by Natasha in Alberta, Canada
(To read more about Natasha, visit her website Becoming Something.)
As I was reading a book here in my over-sized cushy Ikea armchair, I heard CBC television behind me telling viewers to watch out for the “magic” winning word or something, as they watch The Polar Express.
That was the moment my threshold for talk of “magic”, directed toward kids, was crossed. I didn’t even know I had a threshold until that point. I didn’t know I had an opinion on the matter. Then all of a sudden, I HAD AN OPINION.
And here it is:
“Magic” is the commercial everywhere-word to kids as “Sex” is the commercial everywhere-word to adults. Sex is used to sell almost everything adult. Soon, we’ll be seeing commercials for Immodium AD saying: “Immodium AD– stop diarrhea so you can have sex every day, any moment, no matter what!” or “Don’t put up with your wife’s food poisoning– just give her some Immodium AD!” Commercials for personal injury lawyers: “Lawsuits will make you look strong and sexy.”
So many kid story plots, particularly girl story plots, center around a magical book, brush, mirror, rainbow, song, dance, dress, etc, etc. Dora is full of magic. Barbie and the Diamond Castle? Magical necklaces AND mirror. Dragon Tales has a magical rhyme. Disney has a patent on magical kisses, magical hours, and definitely magical wands. I could go on and on with more examples but I’d rather get to my point.
When I was a kid, the lack of logistics in tv shows bothered me. I felt like I was being cheated of a potential good story, like the writers just got lazy. It still bothers me that Dora can fit a canoe in her talking back pack. And that I’m supposed to believe that her normal sized neck can hold up that gigantic head. Please.
You could argue that it’s good for their imaginations. You could say that childhood is a time for fun and wonderment and suspended belief.
I say that real life provides enough wonderment. Science is fun. Nature is fun. Real people are fun.
The stunted, limited imagination of children’s media is what really irks me. When the explanation for an incredible event in a story is “The magical chant/dress/wand did it!”, an unlimited number of possible story lines are tossed in the trash like homemade pumpkin ravioli with fresh butter and parmigiano reggiano in favour of a Big Mac. Sure, I like a Big Mac. When I don’t feel like making supper, when I’m depressed, when I need a treat, I might feel like a Big Mac. A little brain candy now and then can be a fun release. But eat Big Macs all the time and you’ll have the pallor of that guy in Supersize Me. And then you’ll die and no princely kiss will wake you up. The end.
The kids really enjoy this new show called Martha Speaks about a talking dog. The animation and writing reminds me a little of Arthur (which show I love) and the explanation for how Martha came to be a speaking dog is that she ate some alphabet soup and the letters went up to her brain instead of her belly. Okay, so not a very scientific or credible explanation but it’s a lot more imaginative than “a magical spell made her talk!” Or worse– no explanation at all. (Doesn’t it just figure that Martha Speaks was originally A BOOK?)
I’d prefer it if Alexa and Liana in Barbie and the Diamond Castle outsmarted Lydia, or negotiated with her, or outnumbered her and tied her up and fed her Big Macs everyday. Instead, they used their magical heart necklaces to protect themselves. And they are helped out by Melody, the muse, who lives in a magical mirror. Sure, there’s always a moral involved in these silly stories like, “If you stick together and don’t fight with each other, your friendship has power and you’re protected by the magical necklaces!” But I don’t need a whole convoluted story with an evil woman and two girls who only defeat her through their friendship and magical accoutrements in order to teach my girls that it’s nice to have friends and to be a friend. Geez, after all those silly plot twists and turns they should at least learn something about why you don’t want to grow up to invest in Bre-X or grow up to fake your way through a vice-presidential campaign– a message with some meat to it, please.
I feel sick about teaching my kids moral values through cartoon shows in the first place. I suppose they’re fine as reinforcements but the ratio of entertainment to education is usually something like 9:1. It’s not the skeptic in me but the person of average intelligence in me that realizes these corporate giants are slipping minor moral lessons into these kid soap operas to make us feel like we’re not giving our kids candy for breakfast. It’s like the commercials saying that Kraft Dinner and Diet Coke now come with vitamins. That little post script doesn’t convince me I’m partaking of something good.
I’m also bothered by how this talk of magic could potentially subvert my children’s belief in God and legitimate miracles. Once they realize how childish and vacuous all this talk of “magic” is, when they are as sick of it as I am, are they going to have trouble believing that Jesus walked on water? Miracles do happen and I believe there’s always a scientific explanation behind all that’s spiritual that we don’t understand but if you’re not set up to believe in reasons other than “magic aka no reason”, will your imagination be able to make that leap?
I notice that whenever my girls play, the game usually has something to do with princesses. I didn’t play princess games when I was a kid. I never thought to ask to dress up as one for Halloween (two years in a row, no less). It’s modern day commercial brainwashing, I tell you. And I’m the dealer peddling the imagination-deadening drug.
I never thought I’d be this mom who lets her kids watch so much tv. It’s simply me giving in, giving up, giving myself a break because I have so much of my own emotional garbage to deal with and while they tune in, I tune out.
Still, what happened to the days when I had them watch the very entertaining and yet educational Signing Time dvds? Or our Bill Nye the Science Guy dvds? Or our Animated Hero Classics videos?
The books we have in our house for the kids must add up to one thousand, at least. We have classics like Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. We have the Olivia books. We have many Usborne books that even I enjoy reading: Tudors and Stuarts, Winston Churchill, Martin Luther King… books on science and art. They are the best books you can buy for kids, really. Top quality and Internet linked, written at their levels. We have abridged classics for kids. And they do enjoy these books. Honest. (And Usborne books are very well made with nice smooth covers and juicy photos.)
But most of the time they can be found reading ghost stories, The Baby-sitter’s Club, or repetitive fairy books.
I AM SICK OF IT.
Sure, I read as many Baby-Sitter’s Club, Sweet Valley High, and Nancy Drew books as I could get my hands on when I was a kid. But LOOK HOW I TURNED OUT. I wish I had the library our house is blessed with. I’d be a freakin’ genius by now if I was my own mother. Or at least I’d be able to find Timbuktu on a globe in under two minutes, probably.
I’m resisting all these commercial toys. I always have been cautious about inviting them into our home but now I’m really going to crack down. We have enough Barbies; we don’t need the whole collection. We have enough My Little Pony’s; we don’t need all of Ponyville. We don’t need to OWN the Disney movies. (And in fact, we have maybe three of them.)
For Christmas this year we are buying our kids EXPERIENCES. We bought tickets for Jude, Montana and I to go see a nearby city production of Romeo and Juliet. He’ll LOVE it. We’re giving Daisy a date out with us at a nearby pottery/ceramic studio. They get bored of their new toys so quickly. And have you seen The Story of Stuff?
If I can find my sewing machine peddle, I’m going to make the girls curtains, sew up Josie’s new bedding, sew some stuffed sweater animals, make a fabric checkerboard for Montana, and make them a tent.
And I’m going to force them to use their imaginations until it kills them, dammit.
i don’t really agree either I mean kids are young and just know that using magic is fun and innocent not like an adult who knows the difference.
While I don’t agree with all you’ve said, I don’t denied that its not possible. The current world is full of fantasies and the marketing is so real and convincing. But again, everything in moderation is key.