Annoyance: Hannah Montana & High School Musical

[dark angel]

Originally Posted by Miss Lockheart

I wonder how much of this abuse of children is actually government indirect control. We all know that children are growing up much more aware of their world these days, after the blindness they suffered in the Victorian era. Especially after the '60s kids are much more intelligent, they really think hard about everything and they question. In fact that's the most important thing- kids question everything, they ask why. Governments don't like that. If kids are aware of their world then they are much more independant, and therefore much less controllable. As with the people who are more spiritual or aware of nature, the government has to find a way to reign them in, to stop the independant thinking and make sure they can keep a hold of them. We are just one big taskforce to the government, which is why they have to put a stop to awareness and question.

So they approve of these shows for kids so they can induce a kind of tunnel vision in them. If kids are just thinking about fashion, fame, etc then they are muchy less likely to be thinking about the world and how to be independant and escape the ratrace. In fact fashion and fame, the material- if more kids want it, then more money will be made from it, which regardless of who produces it the capital still gets back to the government in the end. It's control disguised as entertainment.

But it gets worse- how many parents are actually watching what their kids watch? How many even care? As long as the kids are occupied, surely it's a good thing right? Parents (both parents usually) have to work, they don't have time to think about the TV their kids are exposed to, or what the impact of it is. And the way the shows are marketed to kids, they are probably the last thing that parents are going to consider when that child's commited suicide because the pressure to conform is just too much. Who would ever suspect Hannah Montana of causing the death of their child? It sounds extreme, but kids are extreme, they are highly impressionable. They aren't being taught to differenciate between reality and fantasy properly, it's sad.

Lately I've really cut down on Jonathan's TV intake. I haven't banned it altogether, that would be silly, but I've been thinking a lot about which programs I want him to watch. It's gonna be harder to keep an eye on him when he's older and I have to work, but perhaps I can get him into a good habit early, and encourage him to think about what he's watching. Not that the government would approve.....

I totally agree with you on all points.
TV is monitored and controled by and for the Government.
The way kids are today, even a few years ago when i was at secondary school people fall in line with dated trends, 'fads', People rushing to the nearest retailler to buy an array of basic crap.
TV is usually a big part of a regular childs life..with the absense of their parents due to work etc, the big black box in the corner of their room or in the lounge has become a kind of second parent...

It has begun to start even at the age of a few months, when a child is most vunerable, sat watching example: Baby TV. A waste of time and money, telling a small child that a big red thing is a truck is not going to improve their IQ, when considering they dont even have a clue what the functions of a truck is. When a child is young, in my opinion, its a time to be with family and explore the world through practice, strengthen the bonds with their parent/s, not be slumped in a baby bouncer (I used to love them ^^) in front of the TV. Though understandably the parent population has never really been privellaged to spend valuable time with their kids due to work, paying the bills so-on.....but most do try hard to be with their kids...unfortunatley not every family agrees on this veiw...


I'm not doing a supernanny here or an obsessive parent thing, saying every parent should mollycoddle their child and protect them from absoloutley every horror in the world, because its not physically possible.
Kids should....need to have some degree of freedom, they should be able to learn from their own mistakes, though a little push in the right direction doesnt hurt either.

Like punishment, the government has now put a law on hitting your kids, (wish they'd done that when i was younger, lol lost a lot of brain cells) Okay i can see where they're coming from, extensive punishment of your child has a major effect on their self estem, but parents should be able to choose wether punishing their kids is the way to go. A little clip around the ear when they touch the cookie jar and hopefully they'll learn the lesson and not do it again (or take a leaf from grandpa's book and rob one when no-ones looking ).

(OH NO....damn I've just dropped my plate of curry and its smashed into a million peices >.< *goes to search for the hover* )

Though back to Hannah Bloody Montanna. I have seen the show and i do think it is a load of ******. No wonder kids are killing themselves having to be subjected to that every waking moment (*shivers* High School Musical >.<) It is teaching kids to behave and act in certain ways. Nowadays parents cant really control what their kids watch (evil child locks >.<) so they dont see what they're watching. Kids are easily influenced by others, especially their friends, its how trends spread. Life on the TV is extremley glamourised, make believe, Kids know this deep down but they want it so much, they want to be that pretty girl/ tough lad who's got everything going for them, clothes, money, a fantastic house, great grades, They subject themselves to the merchandise in a urning to be, have a part of that life.

But no matter how much the Government tells people they are doing good, they're just blatently pulling the wall down over our eyes. Convincing generations that their word is right and most of us just sit there, not questioning their own judgment, the distinguishment between whats right and wrong...
Most Kids will just rebel anyway, whatever genre, context, catagory you want to label them: Goths, Chavs, Emos, Skates, Teddy Boys, Moshers, Mods....so-on...
Unfortunatley most of them just rebel for the sake of it, their not in-tune with whats actually going on...just another 'Fad'...

Whatever happend to the good old TV?
Anime on cartoon network?
PowerPuff Girls?
Tots TV?
the simple programmes that didnt harm kids...no pressure with the latest trends or how skinny you had to be........it was just plain fun...

[JET73L]

Television nowadays "has to be" "responsible," and "teach" kids all of this stuff that either ius supposed to be common sense, or should be taught or learned in the process of a functional lifetime. Unfortunately, this just encourages such behavior and stupidity because, in order to stop this stuff being "boring," they forget to mention that they are examples of what /not/ to do. At least with older programming, it was impossible do do most of that stuff without training your imagination (I'm gonna build a spaceship out of cardboard boxes and fly to Namek/not-quite-evil demon dude's ateroid/wherever it is those kids with the spaceships flew to), and even earlier it was harml;ess (if a bit embarassing for the recipient, ie. banana cream pie, or a model volcano full of mud). That stuff had next to nothing to do with real life, which is the whole point of television.

[dark angel]

Originally Posted by JET73L

(I'm gonna build a spaceship out of cardboard boxes and fly to Namek/not-quite-evil demon dude's ateroid/wherever it is those kids with the spaceships flew to)

We flew to the moon and met Garlical the space monkey, then we went to mars to kill the evil Zarphoid and became friends with Buzz Lightyear and Woody.

Originally Posted by JET73L

That stuff had next to nothing to do with real life, which is the whole point of television.

Okay I agree with that in some respects considering if we had any common sense when we were young then yes, we would of realised it was make believe and that it wasnt possible to fly to the moon in a carboard box. But that is what being a kid is all about, they are subseptable to pretty much anything and telling them through television, sterotyping them, influencing their minds before they are properly developed is basically what some of these programmes are doing.

Then again going over the top on banning TV and ranting about the damage its doing is a bit extreme. Yes people need...should know the possible consequences but some people choose to stay oblivious to it. Heck I was raised with the TV and I've turned out okay....but its just those kids..and its a growing number of kids that take what they see on TV, on board and havent turned out so well...Gang Warfare, soaps, teen trends, fashion icons, size zero..dont get me wrong i love sitting down in front of the box and watch a bit of violence or some cruddy soap, its like a comfort and many people share that but the failing to understand that these do called rolemodels are just acting has become a part of a Kids culture..

[Miss Lockheart]

My little one watches Tots TV- I made sure he didn't miss out on that classic

But seriously it's all true- it's hard though because we no longer live in a world where kids can go play outside and have adventures. My next door neighbour's just given me an emergency number for her house, because she noticed some chavs hanging around outside? That might be a bit extreme, but it just shows no-one trusts whatever is outside their front door anymore. I can't let Jonny play out in this area because it's pretty rough and a lot of older kids hang around (Jonny's only 2). So it's tempting to sit him in front of the idiot box for a few hours to give him something to do. But I'm glad that lately he's been paying more attention to his toy airplanes and cars than the TV, so I can happily switch the damn thing off.

About parents having to go to work and leaving their kids, I'm gonna be a bit controversial here- I've purposely stuck out the horrible stigma of being on single parent benefits because I really want to stay at home and watch my kid grow up. That's also my reason for choosing to only go to Uni a couple of hours a week starting September (when Jonny starts nursery). It's horrible, some people call me a scrounger and tell me to get a life and a job, but I know it's worth it if I can see that my son's growing up right. Again, stupid government, they make the benefit system look sleazy, like it's wasting taxpayer's money. Actually the fact that prisons are overcrowded and hospitals are full to capacity with mental health patients is more of a drain. Suicide watch too. And why? Because those kids had no parents at home!!! I tolerate living on a pittance and the snide comments because I know that my kid won't end up in prison at the end of the day.

Anyway, I've kinda gone off into a whole other topic

I'll be the first to admit that Jonny watches me play computer games, a couple of hours a few times each week. He watches me play FF and Tomb Raider. My brother sometimes puts Gears Of War on, but I take Jonny out of the room, it's a bit extreme. But yeah the games I play, he watches them really closely sometimes, when there's a good bit of story. Even the older games that have scroll bars, he still watches because he wants to figure out what's going on. As long as it's limited, I don't mind it at all, and it goes back to the realism thing. There's so much of it that couldn't possibly be real, and I think as long as that's explained to him then it's not a problem. He likes seeing the airships most of all, it helps him with his own toy ones, he learned what to do from watching the FMV of the Strahl But yeah as he grows I'll talk to him about it a lot and help him to differenciate between reality and game. It might not work, but at least trying is helpful, it's better than ignoring him and expecting him just to know, like parents of kids who watch High School Musical.

[dark angel]

Can i just ask anyone at all...
What is the big fasination with High School Musical??
Hannah Montanna?
Suite LIfe of Zack and Cody?



I dont get it at all....my likle Sisters, Emy and Abs absoloutley adore HSM, but its just....no....it hasn't even got a good storyline....lol what happened to the good old Disney classics?

Bambi (i cry everytime the mum gets shot >.<)
Dumbo (another crying moment)
Cinderella
Snow White
The Little Mermaid
101 Dalmations

Tots TV was auesome
So was Rosie and Jim though the Duck is very sly..

[Miss Lockheart]

That's a good point- everytime I see adverts for these programs (they are everywhere, including the DVD section at Tesco where they have TVs blaring 24/7) I cringe!!

These are the ones I miss-

Beauty And The Beast
Mulan
Pocohontas
Sleeping Beauty
Aladdin (everyone likes that one!!!)

Hehehe yeah Rosie and Jim! Then Teletubbies came along and suddenly people started growing up stupid...

[dark angel]

lol PARSLEY!!!
wow i used to love Parsley tehe *waves at Parsley*

yep..they lied >.< i tried to make tubby toast when i was about 7 and it tasted the same

[Miss Lockheart]

My sister got a Tubby toast maker and yeah it didn't even look like Tubby toast, it kinda looked like ghost toast

Parsley, wasn't that from The Herbs?

[dark angel]

Grr evil faulty merchandise....casper hat never failed though..

Yep, though they made him his own show...lol

lol Pirates of the Carribean Tooth Paste...it tasted wrong >.<

[Miss Lockheart]

And Cars toothpaste, and The Simpson's toothpaste, and High School Musical toothpaste....AAAARGHHH do kids really think their teeth will be any cleaner if High School Musical is all over the tube???

Although Pink Panther biscuits are ok....<_< >_>