[ssf] [Upd-discuss] CAMPAIGN: BBC links- influence of media on children & clinton-ordered FTC report

adam basid adam at diamat.org.uk
Mon Apr 9 13:51:46 BST 2007


03/21/2007 01:08 PM Mashilamani Sambasivam wrote:

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09/21/2006 05:34 PM teresahackett at eircom.net wrote:

> What's this got to do with UPD?

... i think this is a good place to start

i spend a lot of time with this one
wrestling with how to communicate with children

what to tell them,
what to leave until later ...

((( for instance,

     here's one that can
     quite shock the young

     so press delete now
     if it resonates some how  )))






last chance:






<child_skips>


      santa is pretend


</child_skips>


      don't get me wrong


<child_skips>


       i don't mean the pretend-santas --
          the ones you get bouncing kids
          off their knees in shopping malls:

              the pretend-santas are real


              its the real-santa that is pretend





       the next one below
       can tend to shock children more ...

       so switch off your sets
       unless you're par ents

       in which case you will
       have no doubt past dealt

       or will deal with soon
       at a later yule tide --



        picture this:
        a child seeing some image
        of a lass in loose santa garb
        and questioning:


</child_skips>


            [ child ]

            what's that all about
            that red there
            can you see it
            up there

                    [ parent ]

                    yeah but everywhere's up for you

            [ child ]

            no,  not there, there

                    [ parent ]

                    oh ...

                    oh yeah ...

                     that ...

                      well ...

                       er, well ...

                       where do go from here ...

                       is it down to the lake i fear ...

                       that's er ...

                       that's something and it's nothing ...

                       it's pictures and it's stories ...

            [ child ]

            what,

            rudey nudey stories ...

                    [ parent ]

                     yeah and that ...

                    but it's mainly adverts ...

                    like any other comic ...

                    now

                    remember the last one you got ...

                    with that plastic twirly thing on the front ...


            [ child ]

                 perchang ! perchang !


                    [ parent ]

                       ouch !

                       yes, your perchanga

                       ouch !

                       mind what you do ...

                       oh ... you've still got it ...

                       well, that's lasted nearly a week ..

                       wonders will never cease ...

                       well this time ...

                       what about getting a different comic

                       or a book or something else

                       there's twirly-perchangi type things
                       in other shops

                       like compasses and gyroscopes

                       oh ... there's a comic there

                       with animals and art stuff

                       oh ...

                       you've got that perchanga-bit stuck again

                       haven't you ...


            [ child ]


            yes, up there, up there ...

            she's a got a plastic twirly thing too ...


                    [ parent ]

                       yeah ...

                          .........



      as comical as this is
      i'd rather have other conversations
      with children ...

      but when do you start thesedays --

          telling stuff ...

          and not telling stuff ...

          what age the child

          the children are all ages

          as are the images


      i'd prefer it different

      a lot different i guess ...

      firstly

           if these images really have to be sold
           or otherwise circulated
           can't we put them somewhere where
           they are only kept or accessed, by folk
           who've reached their majority
           or passed some kind of test
           or be deemed fit for prescription
           or something ...
           just some kinda bar
           other than cash and interest

      think of it this way ...
      if it was 50 cl of any flammable fluid
      in the work environment
       or a fire-cracker
      you would likely be required
      to go through similar qualification
      before being deemed safe to faf

      secondly

           i remember when i was small
           i used to love doing jigsaws
           putting the pictures together
           when i was bit bigger
           i turned them over
           and played with their colourful grey b-side
           of shape, feel and fit

           to complete the task
           it takes a lot of concentration
           or the task gives one the concentration ...
             whichever way round it comes
             i think it is clear, that these
              sense, mind, body, task-concentrations
               repeated over and over again
                whether through completing jigsaws
                 or scoring in a ball sport
                  tend to manifest in the game-user-stoicheia
                   they become habits

              reinforced learnt behaviors do tend to


<child_skips>


           so how does this fit in with pornography

           well, the porn-images are pretend too

           -- don't get me wrong

            i don't mean that the lasses
             and other models depicted
            in a pretend state of readiness
            are pretend --

               the models are real

               it's their rediness that is pretend


</child_skips>


           further,

               i understand that these images
               are sometimes accompanied
               with a narrative, some story

               guess what --

                these stories are pretend too, and

                the vast majority of them
                are written by men


            [ child ]

             are all stories pretend

                    [ parent ]

                      ouch

                      you back skipping

                      er ...

                      yeah ... most stories are pretend

            [ child ]

             what about the news

             is that pretend

                    [ parent ]

                      most of it

                      not all if it

                      why

                      what you heard

                      what you seen

<child_skips>


what to tell them,
what to leave until later ...

it depends on what the news is doesn't it --
  the images, the stories

quite a lot of time i find myself distracting
myself for sure, and others i guess
from the hard-core produced and propagated images

but as miserable as these images are
they do depict the many facets
of the wasted state of the real


  where to look, where to think,
  where to sense
  when the real is so wasted and stagnant --

   the imaginary i guess

-- unicorn variations ii : stranger than fiction

03/21/2007 01:08 PM Mashilamani Sambasivam wrote:


> Hello,
>   The following BBC links deal with the huge negative influence
> of media on children. I think you will find it
> very useful. If you found the links useful, please forward this email
> to as many parents / adults as you can. Remember your contribution
> by forwarding to few people may seem small by itself, but considered
> on the whole, it makes a huge difference.
> 
> Thanks much,
> Mashi
> (Mashilamani Sambasivam)
> 
> 
> hollywood sells violence to children-
> http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/920594.stm
> 
> Clinton-ordered Federal Trade Commission Report-
> Marketing Violent Entertainment to Children:
> A review of self-regulation and industry practices
> in the motion picture, music recording, and electronic
> game industries - 
> http://www.ftc.gov/reports/violence/vioreport.pdf
> 
> 
> The executive summary of the FTC report is a must-read:
> Quotes from the summary:
> On June 1, 1999, President Clinton asked the Federal Trade Commission
> and the Department of Justice to undertake a study of whether the
> movie, music recording, and computer and video game industries market
> and advertise products with violent content to youngsters. 
> 
> The President raised two specific questions: 
> 
> Do the industries promote products they themselves acknowledge warrant
> parental caution in venues where children make up a substantial
> percentage of the audience?
> 
> And are these advertisements intended to attract children and
> teenagers?
> 
> For all three segments of the entertainment industry, the answers are
> plainly 'yes'.
> 
> Although the motion picture, music recording and electronic game
> industries have taken steps to identify content that may not be 
> appropriate for children, companies in those industries routinely
> target children under 17 as the audience for movies, music and games 
> that their own rating or labeling systems say are inappropriate for
> children or warrant parental caution due to their violent content.
> Moreover, children under 17 frequently are able to buy tickets to R-
> rated movies without being accompanied by an adult and can easily
> purchase music recordings and electronic games that have a parental
> advisory label or are restricted to an older audience. The practice of
> pervasive and aggressive marketing of violent movies, 
> music and electronic games to children undermines the credibility of
> the industries ratings and labels. 
> 
> -----------end of message-------------




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