If we ignore it, it still won't go away.
Recently I purchased the first season of Fraggle Rock. I will give a complete accounting of the entire season when I am done watching them, but I wanted to say something about the episode that I just watched. Episode #17 ("Marooned") of the first season is one the most interesting episodes of any children's show that I have ever seen. Something I have found intriguing is how they never shied away from death on the show. Boober especially was always obsessed with death and was rather morose. This particular episode he is trapped by a rock slide with Red, and for most of the episode they are in a tiny cavern, hoping for their friends to rescue them. Throughout the episode, they discuss death and their fears and show real tenderness with each other. I'll be honest with you fine folks, I was almost tearing up a few times. This episode was definitely not done for laughs, though there were some of those as well. But I don't think they could have made this episode like this nowadays. As I'm watching this I'm thinking about how scary it would be for a young kid. But then it hit me. This is something that kids really need to know about and be able to deal with from a very young age, and I think many children's shows and books have moved away from this. I'll admit that I am no expert on the subject of kid's TV shows simply because I don't really watch a great deal of them, but what I see now is different from what I am seeing in Fraggle Rock. There are things that could be seen as genuinely spooky, but they are not shied away from. Newer shows don't quite have the same feel. The scary isn't dealt with; it's either not allowed to air, or made less scary or more funny. Most cartoons don't even allow the possibility of death. I feel like TV shows for kids are really letting down our children, failing to teach them anything, or at least limiting their lessons to the nice things to learn (friends are good, toxic chemical spills are less good). Are we coddling our children too much? I don't know, but I fear we may be.
posted by Pants since 1986 @ 10:06 p.m.
2 comments
2 Comments:
My motto is let kids be kids ~ that's how I was raised. Even though I was a little coddled, there wwere still enough serious issues to learn by and work out. Pets that died, Grandparents, etc.. One of my best friends died when we were in gr. 10. It was totally a bad experience. Death is a very scarey prospect for kids, and they will experience it on their own soon enough. However, having said this ~ some great books and shows are great ideas. There are great books for issues like death and alzheimers out there. I still think that the best thing is to be open and honest with your kids!! (I hope I will not get ex-communicated, but I am still scared of death.)
It is very late and I am starting to ramble...
Night D
ps not Lorraine originals ~ but they seem to suit me to a tee
Hey, Darrell. I vaguely recall that episode (which is weird in and of itself). I'm also jealous that you have the first season - I saw it advertised just a short time ago, and really wanted it.
Other than that, I'm not sure about kids shows nowadays. Like you, I haven't watched many. Darrian isn't that interested in TV yet, and we're not that interested in letting him watch a lot anyway. I do agree that you can't ignore these issues, but I think that you need to approach them a little differently than with an adult. I guess I'll learn soon enough.
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