Inappropriate Material
This is post 40 of Section III. To begin at the beginning, go here. Section II begins here. Section III begins here.
“So I thought, her—father”—Gwen put an unpleasant emphasis on this word—“is in software, maybe this is some wonderful new educational stuff. She had it with her, so we went downstairs and put it on.”
“Let me guess,” Bennett said. “The witch turned out to be a nice person who happened to be a senior citizen and taught everyone a lesson about age-ism.”
Gwen laughed. “I think that would have been an improvement. This really wasn’t even a story at all, but just a video game. Like, you have to move to the right place to hear the evil stepmother planning to lose them. Then you have to find the right key, pick up the stones, et cetera. . . .
“Of course Lizzy was very good at it, and I’m afraid my attempts to wean her away were about as successful as yours. But the worst thing about it was Chloe’s attitude. She got very defensive, and said Lizzy just wasn’t ‘ready’ for the Brothers Grimm version. I must admit I lost my temper a little. I reminded her that not only did she love that story when she was three, she also had The Wizard of Oz memorized, word-perfect, when she was five.”
Bennett nodded his head fondly. “I remember,” he said. “She used to correct me if I slipped up when I was reading it aloud to her.”
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“So I thought, her—father”—Gwen put an unpleasant emphasis on this word—“is in software, maybe this is some wonderful new educational stuff. She had it with her, so we went downstairs and put it on.”
“Let me guess,” Bennett said. “The witch turned out to be a nice person who happened to be a senior citizen and taught everyone a lesson about age-ism.”
Gwen laughed. “I think that would have been an improvement. This really wasn’t even a story at all, but just a video game. Like, you have to move to the right place to hear the evil stepmother planning to lose them. Then you have to find the right key, pick up the stones, et cetera. . . .
“Of course Lizzy was very good at it, and I’m afraid my attempts to wean her away were about as successful as yours. But the worst thing about it was Chloe’s attitude. She got very defensive, and said Lizzy just wasn’t ‘ready’ for the Brothers Grimm version. I must admit I lost my temper a little. I reminded her that not only did she love that story when she was three, she also had The Wizard of Oz memorized, word-perfect, when she was five.”
Bennett nodded his head fondly. “I remember,” he said. “She used to correct me if I slipped up when I was reading it aloud to her.”
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posted by Hobbes at 10:22 AM
5 Comments:
Wonder why childrens stories, cartoons and games have to be so violent? I often wondered about that.
Yeah, I have toadmit as a non-parent I have some mixed feelings about translating culture into interactive forms. It appalls me but I admit I'm not ready for the future.
I remember a compromise I made with Jerry was buying him a computer game based on a fictional trip along the Oregon trail. I have to admit it was fun for him and he learned things I hadn't known.
T&I: Kids love the idea of violence. And life is violent; they should be prepared. My favorite statement on this is Saki's "Toys of Peace."
Doug: My kids had an interactive disk about the explorers. It was o. k., as long as they didn't spend hours and hours just watching the cool effects. But literature in that form is no longer literature.
I feel like I'm in the "Twilight Zone" since you posted this the day after our famiy saw "Wicked" which isn't the same as the "Wizard of Oz" but does have some relationship.... I have lots of reading to catch up on here. Love the phrase "memorized word-perfect."
Thanks, GEL. I enjoy your careful reading and commenting.
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