Children’s programming
Posted on April 3, 2008
Filed Under culture |
Occasionally I wonder how scriptwriters come to be employed on children's programs. Not all children's programs, just the overly-moralistic, simpering, asinine, coddling ones. Is it because adults can not tolerate banal content, and so there is nowhere else for these writers to go? Or perhaps the most idealistic people are attracted to children's writing because their lives are not complicated at all.
In truth, it is not just children's television. If you buy juvenile books and movies, please think about the message each piece delivers. Too much of it is garbage.
Imagine children's programming that challenged the participant to weigh honesty against discretion, or 'playing by the rules' against 'thinking outside the box.' A challenge that leads a child to make judgments will serve them better than moral indoctrination. I can not imagine the goal of some of the children's television, movies, and books I have seen. To make stupid and complacent adults?
Values centered on truth and obedience are important, but these are values one shows to friends. Never in history, and not now, have we ever been surrounded only by friends. Why not teach discretion at an early age?
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