We got into this fab convo on one of my Facebook groups about content and morality, and it was fascinating as the viewpoints were SO different, but that we were still GETTING ALONG!!
I love you ladies ;-)
ANYHOO -
Peggy Eddleman (Hope you don't mind me singling you out) and if you DON'T know who she is, you need to go meet her because she's just unbelievable, and I'm sure her book will be made into movies, and will just be AH-mazing. (From Sara Crowe to Random House - uh, yes. I did just name drop, lol)
ANYWAY.
(Again, because I'm obviously having a hard time staying on track today).
She said something about writing MG so she didn't have to worry about morality, but then realized that her book could be perceived as giving a "bad message" and I got to thinking about the shows my kids have watched, and the "bad messages" they might be giving off.
DORA:
Uh... four-year old (ish) girl runs all over the country side armed with nothing but an annoying map, and a magic backpack that gets her out of every situation, and keeps her safe from a thieving fox.
CURIOUS GEORGE:
Honestly this is a show about a stupid monkey who gets in scrape after scrape, and the man with the yellow hat is there to get him out.
I had no man with a yellow hat to save my sorry ass when I almost fell to my death while scaling the side of a cabin (long story).
CARS:
Snotty and spoiled means that the nicest kind of people will rally behind you and become your closest friends.
CINDERELLA
You only need to dance with someone once to have true love. (And maybe tiny feet)
SNOW WHITE
I bought this movie for my daughter, and after watching it once, was so offended by the ridiculousness of Snow White that I threw it away.
I nearly did this with Snow White and the Huntsman, which COULD have been a really cool film.
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST
All smart girls read - LOVE this part.
Being held hostage by a rich beast in a castle will make all your dreams come true - Don't love this part as much.
MEGAMIND
Okay. This movie is awesome.
But the bad guy is the good guy, and you should always listen to the talking fish?
And even if you screw everyone over, you still get the girl?
YO GABBA GABBA
If you dress stupid enough, and sings songs like There's A Party In My Tummy, HUGE celebrities will come on your show.
(You would MAKE MY DAY if you left another example in the comments. Seriously)
Here's the thing - I don't put a bunch of crap in my books that doesn't need to be there. Cam in Gestapo swears a lot, but if I'd made it "realistic" the f word would be a noun, a verb, an adverb in almost every sentence... you get the idea.
At the same time--some scenes need detail, others don't...
And I'll leave you hanging there.
It can be a hard line to walk, and I think the most important thing as an author is to know that you will not please everyone.
I have two reviews on SPill Over that are NEXT TO EACH OTHER on amazon and one says - Nice clean YA Romance. The next says - I stopped reading b/c of the language and "sexual situations"
So. Yeah. Same book. Two readers.
And another thing - If you're looking for a bad message. YOU WILL FIND ONE.
And that's all I have to say about that.
But wow, I feel like I was ALL OVER THE PLACE TODAY...
WINNER OF ARC OF FALLING (from Friday) IS MARY DE BASTOS!!! WOOT!!
(You can thank random.org for your win ;-)
Also - Steph Campbell is doing an AH-mazing fundraiser on her blog...
Check it out HERE
~ Jolene
12 comments:
NO WAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I WON! I WON I WON!!!!
I'd like to thank my son Sebastian for taking a nap so I could read your blog and leave a comment. Bless you child.
*****
I think everybody grows up differently and so some thing shock others and some not so much. It is what it is. I do find it necessary when a girl gets her first kiss and loses her virginity the same night. Doesn't work like that. Or am I just out of touch?
I love reading your posts, they crack me up!
I was thinking about some of the shows I watched as a child versus the ones that are on today that my kids watch. And really, you are right, I mean if you really analize them all, some of them are sort of morbid.
I friend of mine posted something on FB that said I just watched a movie where a mother and family were brutal murdered in front of the husband and it left her sole surviving child a cripple.
Someone asked her which movie she watched and she stated, "Finding Nemo!"
LOL!
Anyways, congrats to the winner!! Sad it wasn't me but excited for who does get to read it!! :P
THE LITTLE MERMAID
Sell your soul to be with a boy, but don't worry about the consequences Daddy will jump in and save you.
Ha! So true! Since we got Netflix, we are going back to old shows I used to watch as a kid and I"m SHOCKED at how awful the kids in them are. Denis the Menace... used to think he was cute. Now... I get why he's called a Menace. And his parents just smile and pat him on the head?? Come on! Get some parenting skills already!
I wouldn't let my kids watch Disney movies when they were toddlers and pre-schoolers. People thought I was whack, but they are so violent! Orchestrating a stampede to kill a cub's dad? Poisoning apples? And how many mothers were offed in those things?? And all this falling in love because you ONCE heard someone sing or saw them across a room??
My daughter was commenting that all the books she's read lately are depressing. I told her it's because happy books where nothing bad happens don't have conflict or plot. Something bad or sad has to happen... and usually someone can make that out to be a bad message.
Love it!
Okay, we have a big problem with this issue my household. But under full disclosure, I love this show and would much rather have them watch it than Spongebob--their other favorite. (And really, I don't blame the show for my kids' tattling issues.)
Phineas and Ferb.
For Candace: If tattling doesn't work, try try again. Because someday you may receive a major reward for catching your brothers in the act.
The cartoon version of Alice in Wonderland. The whole thing is an acid trip and the caterpillar has a hookah. Seriously? How did my parents miss that?
:D
Every single disney princess movie in existence, ever, is offensive to the feminist movement... Your dreams won't come true until you meet a prince and marry him... half the time the princesses are under some spell so they CONVENIENTLY haven't had a chance to cultivate a personality or friends or an accurate world view of their own. Mothers are evil and fathers will save you...
That being said... I LOVE disney movies! LOL Does that make me a hypocrite?
The Smurfs...plug in the f word with smurfing...and you got yourself a dirty, dirty cartoon.
You funny Jolene! You threw away Snow White? It's a classic! :D and my girls are scared to death of it--LOL!
My addition to the list is that little Golden Book: The Poky Little Puppy. I read that to my oldest once, and then hid it in the very back of the junk cabinet in the kitchen. It has a terrible message! LOL! :D
but now ease up on the Yo Gabba Gabba. You know I love that show. ;p <3
If you're looking for a bad message. YOU WILL FIND ONE. So true! And you can't please everyone. Fantastic post!
Suzi took mine. Phineas & Ferb make and do ridiculously dangerous things all day long. :0) But I still love them. And we love George in our house. LOL. It is very true that if you're looking for a bad message you'll find it.
Twilight: undead pedophiles are sexy and cool and it's super romantic to not only marry the undead pedopile, it's desireable to become undead yourself.
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