childrenstelevision

posts about #childrenstelevision more →
Hey Kids, There's More To Life Than Being Famous: The Rise Of The Celebrity Children's Show
How Young Is Too Young To Teach Kids About AIDS?
Which Children's Television Shows Drive You Insane?
The Origins Of Your Favorite Muppets, Revealed
It's Electric: The Electric Company Returns

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La Chica Lucy
11/22/09

In reply to Hey Kids, There's More To Life Than Being Famous: The Rise Of The Celebrity Children's Show
I was first exposed to iCarly about a month ago, while I was baby sitting my cousin's kids. I'm not sure which was worse: changing a poopy diaper on the crying toddler I had just bathed whose bottle was leaking milk everywhere or watching two episodes of iCarly. That evening was the moment this 38-year-old lady became truly comfortable with her decision not to have children.
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MediasBlue
11/22/09

In reply to Hey Kids, There's More To Life Than Being Famous: The Rise Of The Celebrity Children's Show
"Unless, of course, you're Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt, who will never disappear, because the universe just likes to fuck with us sometimes."And that, Hortense, is reason number 45682 why I love you.
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Edited by MediasBlue at 11/22/09 7:24 PM MediasBlue was starred MediasBlue was unstarred

lafleur
11/22/09

In reply to Hey Kids, There's More To Life Than Being Famous: The Rise Of The Celebrity Children's Show
Oh interesting, I was just talking about this the other day. BBC is doing a series about finding the "best young" people in various jobs-- last week was butchers. The voiceover for the show explains that BBC is trying to find the unsung heroes of Britain. I thought it was incredibly cool, because it brings attention to some of the less glamorous (but still important) careers that kids these days aren't really considering. It doesn't try to make the people on the show famous, à la Big Brother or whatever, but it emphasizes that you can be a non-celebrity hairdresser, or be really proud of your knife skills.
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Edited by lafleur at 11/22/09 7:24 PM lafleur was starred lafleur was unstarred

JZee
11/23/09

@lafleur: Yeah - I really liked the idea of it but I can't bring myself to watch it because I break out in hives at the sight/sound of George Lamb.
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lafleur
11/23/09

@JZee: Sex hives.

I don't know what that means.
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scarletbegonia
11/22/09

In reply to Hey Kids, There's More To Life Than Being Famous: The Rise Of The Celebrity Children's Show
It seems like kid and teen shows used to feature characters that were the epitome of normal...quirky, but pretty normal. Look at The Wonder Years, Clarissa, the kids on Full House, Boy Meets World, etc. (even Rory from Gilmore Girls, while super smart and more ambitious than your average teen girl, was not far fetched) and compare them to Gossip Girl, Hannah Montana, and every other show where the protagonists are either rich, famous, or both. Since kids are no longer able to relate to characters on account of their "every man" appeal, they must aspire to unrealistic goals in order to connect to the shows they watch.
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Edited by scarletbegonia at 11/22/09 5:47 PM scarletbegonia was starred scarletbegonia was unstarred

sequined
11/22/09

In reply to Hey Kids, There's More To Life Than Being Famous: The Rise Of The Celebrity Children's Show
Don't these kids know that if you're famous you can't have any fun and make any stupid decisions anymore? Think about how you'd have lock down your facebook page! And proof read your tweets! And like, comb your hair before you leave your house. It would be SO LAME! SO LAME, YOU GUYS!

Being un-famous is SO MUCH BETTER because the world at large doesn't care who you hold hands with at recess or if you're getting kind of chubby for your Jordache jeans. And they don't care if you just eat cheetos for dinner. And they don't care if you post stupid photos online, or if you fail a test, or whatever.

The perks of non-fame are innumerable!

Kids today have no foresight about important things. Geez.
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TheFormerJuneBronson
11/22/09

In reply to Hey Kids, There's More To Life Than Being Famous: The Rise Of The Celebrity Children's Show
There's something about this that is so completely foreign to my nature. I don't understand the desire for fame, not even for money. As soon as people think they know you, they think they know your business. And then your life isn't your own. Who would want that? It's crazy talk.
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CubeRootOfPi
11/22/09

@TheFormerJuneBronson: Right? Why do people want to be known to everyone so badly? That would induce more paranoia than happiness, IMO.
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TheFormerJuneBronson promoted this comment Edited by CubeRootOfPi at 11/22/09 5:44 PM CubeRootOfPi was starred CubeRootOfPi was unstarred

TheFormerJuneBronson
11/22/09

@CubeRootOfPi: They seem never to notice that celebrities are always bitching about not being able to go out for milk without being accosted. Or that they need to hire people to make sure they aren't injured or killed by crazed fans. Or that everything they do is publicized--half the time with the publication's interpretation of what it means.

I suppose like so many things that kids want, it's something that seems more desirable until you have it.
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Sputnik_Sweetheart
11/22/09

In reply to Hey Kids, There's More To Life Than Being Famous: The Rise Of The Celebrity Children's Show
Sigh. I miss all the Nickelodeon shows of my youth-- Clarissa Explains It All, Pete and Pete, Salute Your Shorts, You Can't Do That on Television, Roundhouse, Out of Control, etc.
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beatrice2000
11/22/09

@Sputnik_Sweetheart: I liked how the old Nickelodean shows featured child/teen actors who looked like ordinary kids. Some were average-looking, some were pretty, but most looked normal, like people you'd know. On recent Nick and Disney shows, the kids have this perfect child-star look to them, that you can't imagine them as normal kids but belonging to an entertainment world and being more mature/media savvy.
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Sputnik_Sweetheart
11/22/09

@Sputnik_Sweetheart: G-d, I loved this show. It had a production budget of about $5, but they made it work.
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curiousgeorgiana
11/22/09

@Sputnik_Sweetheart: I used to resent it when my after-school activities kept me from the Nick line-up. Do not screw with my Salute Your Shorts time!!
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rodmanstreet
11/22/09

@Sputnik_Sweetheart: Holy Shit! Roundhouse! I loved this show.

I feel like the overarching theme of this generation of Nickelodeon shows was the "do it yourself" quality. This, like All That and Clarissa and Pete and Pete, always had a "made by kids/teens" feel, whereas iCarly and Hannah Montana feel so obviously written by creepy adults.
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meritxell: an erotic life
11/22/09

@Sputnik_Sweetheart: Wow, that show was SO 90s. I used to love it and now I feel old.
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Atomic Bowling
11/22/09

@curiousgeorgiana: Oh man, Salute Your Shorts made me REALLY want to go to summer camp. Then I went, and I was the weird girl and didn't have a group of equally weird friends and it kind of sucked. But I still loved the show.
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morninggloria
11/22/09

In reply to Hey Kids, There's More To Life Than Being Famous: The Rise Of The Celebrity Children's Show
This trend will lead to nothing but strippers.
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scarletbegonia
11/22/09

@morninggloria: And bloggers. And feminists who do nothing but strip and blog about it.
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BytheSea
11/13/09

In reply to How Young Is Too Young To Teach Kids About AIDS?
Kami may be controversial for a westeran audience, but in parts of Africa, the pediatric AIDS rate can go as high as 50%. AIDs is not an "issue" there, it's a daily reality. #sesamestreet
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whynotshesaid
11/12/09

In reply to How Young Is Too Young To Teach Kids About AIDS?
I knew about AIDS when I was about eight or nine years old. Two words: Ryan. White. #sesamestreet
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you've got red on you
11/12/09

@whynotshesaid: That's exactly what came to mind for me, too. His story was fascinating and sad to me. I grew up in Bloomington, Indiana, so it was also extremely close to home--and caused the first stirrings of disgust with the intolerance of the bible belt. I have no issue with an HIV-positive muppet; I think it's a wonderful way to teach children acceptance and tolerance. #sesamestreet
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Red-headed bookworm
11/12/09

@whynotshesaid: Me too. I lived in Indianapolis as a kid, EVERYONE knew about Ryan White there. #sesamestreet
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whynotshesaid
11/12/09

@Red-headed bookworm: @you've got red on you: I actually lived in Utah at the time, and a lot of kids didn't know anything about AIDS, but those who did were pretty ignorant and mean about it. It just wasn't something that was discussed, you know? Plus our educators were too busy sending home fliers warning our parents about drug dealers who were hanging around playgrounds and pushing LSD on Mickey Mouse stickers to spend any time clarifying things related to the "gay disease."

But I used to sneak my stepmom's People magazines, and I watched the made-for-TV movie with Lukas Haas when it came out, and I was so upset by the whole thing. Not just that he had this fatal illness through no fault of his own, but that other people were so cruel about it. I mean, I was old enough to know that people could be real dicks to each other - I knew about slavery and the civil rights movement and sexism and sex abuse and ugly divorces and custody battles - but even so, the language used to discuss people with AIDS was shocking to me.
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Edited by whynotshesaid at 11/12/09 10:34 AM whynotshesaid was starred whynotshesaid was unstarred

TubOfTaft
11/12/09

@Red-headed bookworm: They even have a section of the Children's Museum in Indy dedicated to him - with his actual bedroom furniture and all. #sesamestreet
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Lin-Z [linguist on duty]
11/11/09

In reply to How Young Is Too Young To Teach Kids About AIDS?
A while back I watched a documentary about Sesame Street and how they launch the series and localize it in different countries. And I have to say that lambasting an HIV-positive puppet for the South African series is just ignorant. A huge percentage of children have HIV/AIDS and/or have lost a family member to it. Introducing this character is a way for kids to know what's going on. This is a very real issue there. #sesamestreet
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Lin-Z [linguist on duty]
11/11/09

@Lin-Z [linguist on duty]: This isn't the part about South Africa, but here's a bit of the film anyway #sesamestreet
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KATE!
11/11/09

In reply to How Young Is Too Young To Teach Kids About AIDS?
if sesame street really wanted to push the gay agenda, Bert would get aids from a late-night cruise in central park and pass it along to Ernie. That would be a great scandal. #sesamestreet
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DutchessOfDork
11/11/09

In reply to How Young Is Too Young To Teach Kids About AIDS?
Kami probably got it from her mother as I read somewhere that mothers have about 1 in 4 chance of passing it on to their children if they give birth through the birth canal.
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Edited by DutchessOfDork at 11/11/09 7:47 PM DutchessOfDork was starred DutchessOfDork was unstarred

Penny
11/11/09

In reply to How Young Is Too Young To Teach Kids About AIDS?
Personally, there is no "too" young, and I think this character is great. One of my best friend's hubby is HIV+ and it's important for kids (hell, grown ups) to understand that 1) this is not just a developing world illness and 2) it does not mean you're going to drop dead any second. Oh, and it's not contagious. Seriously, it still baffles me how some people retract.

Anything that promotes tolerance for something that has been so stigmatized is a positive in my book.
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Edited by Penny at 11/11/09 7:12 PM Penny was starred Penny was unstarred

Elaken
11/11/09

@Penny: Not only tolerance but actually knowing anything about it. I had a human sexuality teacher at a community college tell the class that HIV can skip generations. A woman can have it, not give it to her child, but then the grandkid can be born with it because apparently he thinks it becomes part of the DNA. Like, wtf. I was the only one to call him on it. The amount of misconceptions I have come across when it deals with HIV/AIDS is just staggering. #sesamestreet
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la.donna.pietra
11/11/09

@Elaken: My sixth-grade teacher told my class that AIDS came from people having sex with monkeys. Really. 1987 was a weird time, but still. #sesamestreet
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Elaken
11/11/09

@la.donna.pietra: I still hear people say that and it shows such a limited knowledge about how things work. #sesamestreet
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wannabegossipgirl
11/11/09

@Elaken: This is actually possible, any university microbiology/virology classes will tell you that HIV can be intgrated into the host genome (AKA human DNA) and remain in a dormant like state called latency. It probably wasn't passed through the mother's DNA because HIV doesnt tend to attack gamete cells, they go for immune cells which could have been given to the child in many possible ways, through the placenta, or the breast milk. And then the child carried the latent form throughout her life and then in the grandchild the virus decided to manifest itself. #sesamestreet
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thechibster63
11/12/09

@la.donna.pietra: Kids in my class ask me about this all the time. #sesamestreet
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la.donna.pietra
11/12/09

@wannabegossipgirl: Your definition of "latency" seems to be unsupported by the scientific community:

[pathmicro.med.sc.edu] #sesamestreet
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la.donna.pietra
11/12/09

@thechibster63: I suspect that it's some sort of conservative meme that won't go away. It's certainly very popular online. #sesamestreet
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thechibster63
11/12/09

@la.donna.pietra: Sometimes they tell me that the government created AIDS to kill black people. To which I reply, "Then why did gay white men have it first in the U.S.?" #sesamestreet
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la.donna.pietra
11/12/09

@thechibster63: Gay white men didn't have it first. Gay white men were diagnosed with it first. Big difference. #sesamestreet
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wannabegossipgirl
11/12/09

@la.donna.pietra: The section from that website about post-integration latency is says that the HIV genome is, in some cases, integrated into the host genome. Maybe I was a little unclear with my definition of latency? Latency in viruses is just when a virus establishes a domant state in a host cell, some viruses are incorportated into the genome and some just lie within the cytoplasm, but in the website article it is talking about clinical latency which is different. I just wanted to make a point that it could be possible for someone to have it, their kid "not have it" (latent virus stage) and then the grandkid have it, although this is probably very common, and that the HIV genome being integrated into the human genome is not some absurd idea (look at retrovirus, almost 10% of our human genome has ancient retroviral DNA). I'm not an expert (yet haha) by any means, I've only taken a few courses on this stuff. #sesamestreet
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thechibster63
11/12/09

@la.donna.pietra: I understand this, but try explaining it to high-schoolers. #sesamestreet
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jemandtheholograms
11/11/09

In reply to How Young Is Too Young To Teach Kids About AIDS?
Oh Traditional Values Coalition--you never stop amazing me in your ability to not get it. The issue with Kami presumable has nothing to do with homosexuality since she's a 5 year old orphan--presumably infected by her now deceased mother! #sesamestreet
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ladyfalcon is skin deep
11/11/09

@jemandtheholograms: Another "what?" moment was when they said that HIV is primarily spread by homosexuals in the U.S. Now, I know in my area (DC) this falls under the Super Not True category, and while I'm not certain I would be willing to bet that it's not true elsewhere, either. But the big moment of confusion is, What the fuck does the US rates and means of infection have to do with the presentation of an HIV+ muppet to South African kids? #sesamestreet
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jemandtheholograms
11/11/09

@ladyfalcon is skin deep: Anything they can do to hate on the gays and prevent the spread of knowledge is good in their book. #sesamestreet
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