"Danny the Champion of the World"

     There are so many ways to look at children's media, media made for children and media made by children. You can look at children's media and how it relates to spirituality. You can examine the media, studying how it teaches and represents spiritual principles. You can also examine children's media under the light of adventure and how that relates to a child's everyday life. However, the category that is arguable the most important is that of the family.

     The reason the family is probably the most important section is because, ideally, all of the other sections would all occur in the family unit. The family should be the main source of media for children. Parents should be deciding what things their children should be consuming, not somebody else's parents or random people. Also, the family should be where children learn about diversity, imagination and experimentation.

     Also, it is from the family that a child derives his identity. He is someone's son or daughter, someone's sister or brother. The family is one of the most important things in a child's life. And this is clearly seen in Danny, the Champion of the World.

     Danny, the Champion of the World is a book written by Roald Dahl. It is about a young boy, named Danny, who lives with his father in a gypsy trailer. Danny and his father are best friends. His father is a mechanic and teaches Danny everything he knows. Then, one day, Danny finds out that his dad poaches pheasants. And this leads them on a whole new adventure.

     The whole book is essentially about the relationship Danny has with his father. There are other characters in the story, but they are all subsidiary; the focus is always on Danny and his father. They are always present in each other's lives. They are each other's world. Danny does not like inviting friends over to his home because he likes spending time with his dad. I am not saying that children should not have friends, but that their father should should have a strong relationship with their children. After his died, Danny's father vows to give up poaching in order to take care of Danny, even though it was his favorite thing in the world.

     Even the moral of the story is familial. Towards the end of the story, after a huge fiasco with one hundred and twenty pheasants, a local doctors says, referring to the birds: "It never pays to eat more than your fair share." Just kidding. The actual moral is for parents not to be stodgy, but rather sparky, because that is what every child deserves.

     Because, supposedly, parents are the most constant thing in a child's life, it is important for them to be "sparky" because that will always stay with them. Danny's father taught him how to fix a car and to hunt pheasants. And looking back, I do not recall a time when my father similarly taught me things. I am not saying I had a bad father or anything, he was great. We just never spent the time together like Danny and his father did. And it makes me want to make sure I am sparky when I have kids.

     Family is one of the most important things in a child's life. It is always there, it is a constant. And ideally, the family is the gateway. The gateway through which media for the child is chose. And the gateway through which the child learns about diversity, inquiry and morality.

"The Iron Giant"

     Politics and ideology is something that is incorporated into all aspects of our lives. And they are probably the most noticeable in our media. Sometimes these ideologies are purposefully ingrained into our books, movies and art. Movies like Fern Gully and art like Otto Dix's The Match Seller are blatant and obvious in their political and ideological ideas. However, sometimes movies and books are infused with ideological ideas inadvertently. Everyone has their own ideas and opinions and this forms a part of them, forms a base. And whether they mean it or not, this base can inform how a piece of art or media is created.

     And because everything in infused with ideologies, whether directly or indirectly, it is important that we are careful in choosing which media to consume; it is even more important when choosing media for our children. We need to be critical when doing this. There are two kinds of critique when it comes to media. One kind is when the media itself critiques popular ideologies and ideas. Most of Hayao Miyazaki films do this. The other kind is when the consumer critiques and scrutinizes the media he or she is participating in.

     The film The Iron Gian (1999) can be looked at in both lights. The Iron Giant is a film that takes place in the 1950s, during the Cold War. A giant robot crash lands in Maine and is discovered by a small boy named Hogarth. However, as other people learn about his existence, they become fearful and violent, especially as the military is involved.

     The main theme of The Iron Giant, and which it is critical of, is anti-gun and anti-war. The Giant is harmless, unless threatened with violence; then he retaliates in self-defense, much like Gort. However, because of the Cold War, everyone thinks he is a weapon and is out to destroy him. Hogarth repeatedly tells the Giant things like "It's bad to kill, but it's not bad to die" and "Guns kill".

     The movie repeated calls attention to violence and wartime mentality and their downfall. The movies makes clear that violence is not the answer. Even when confronted by a giant, weaponized metal alien, the first thing we do to it should not be attack it. Only the people who take the time to get to know it understand that it is a docile entity; one to be sympathized with, not shot at. The movie ends with the threat of total annihilation for all of the characters; only to be saved by the one they were trying to kill.

     The Iron Giant, while being critical of some ideologies, can also become criticized by the viewer. The unit-violencec/anti-gun theme of The Iron Giant is pretty obvious, which may cause some people to balk. They may see The Iron Giant as childlike is it's crusade against guns. The very first instance of anti-gunnery comes when some hunters shoot and kill a deer. There is nothing wrong with using guns to hunt. To attack people who do so is wrong. And here is an example to prove my point.

     However, while the film is clearly against violence, it does not vilify the army. The leader of the army does not want to send in troops unless there is proof of potential danger. Also, he only attacks the Giant under the impression that he had killed Hogarth. Once he realizes that Hogarth is alive, he tries to stop the attack on the Iron Giant. So, while it is strong in its ideologies, it does not really vilify the opposing side, like many other films do.

     The messages we get from consuming media are as different as the media we consume. Because of this, it is important to consume media that is critical of extremist ideas, critical of people who think everything is black and white; because the world we live in is not like that, it is shades of grey. And to determine which media we should consume, we should also be critical of it.

"Rabbit-Proof Fence"

     The world we are living in is becoming more and more diverse. And because of this, it is important that our media reflects this growing diversity, especially children's media because it is the children that will be growing up in this diverse place.

     There are two main ways to address diversity in the media. The first way is to simply show it. Movies like The Fast and the Furious franchise are diverse because they boast a multi-ethnic cast. Comic books can be diverse when they change the main character, such as having Miles Morales (half Black half Hispanic) replace Peter Parker as Spider-Man or by having a woman become Thor. By having characters that are minorities, diversity can be shown. This approach typically does not address political issues.

     The other way is to address political topics related to diversity, such as racism and bigotry. And because these topics are being covered, having a diverse cast is usually necessary. Books like Baseball Saved Us deals with what it was like being Japanese during WWII. The recent film Selma, is about the Civil Rights movements in the 60s. These texts examine at how dogmatism and prejudice affects those around us.

     Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002) falls into the second category. This film is based on a true  story about three half caste (half Aborigine and half white) girls that were taken from their home because of the Half-Caste Act. They are placed into a camp where they destined to be assimilated into the white, European culture. However, these girls escape and try to return home.

     The act was passed, essentially, as a way to slowly absorb the Aborigines into the white culture. They want to get rid of diversity by eliminating the natives. In a chilling scene towards the beginning of the film, A. O. Neville, Chief Protector of Aborigines, explains how marrying half-castes to white people will eventually remove all trace of their ethnic heritage.

     People like Neville think they are helping the Aborigine people by re-educating and assimilating their children into the European culture. However, the only thing they are doing is harming families and reducing diversity.

     However, the film does not make everything black and white, instead there were shades of grey. There were white people who helped the three girls in their journey. Also, there were natives who lied to them and tried to help recapture them. Just as people are diverse in their skin colors, they are equally diverse in their intentions and character.

     As I was watching this film, it made me wonder how different the world would be if the Europeans were merely travelers and traders, instead of colonizers. How rich would the Aboriginal and Australian cultures be if they were never interfered with by people who thought it knew better? What would South America be like if the Spanish Conquerors had not actually conquered anything?

     Because of modern technology, our world is becoming more diverse, because we can more readily see and experience cultures not our own. At the same time, because we have all these different cultures at our fingertips, we are blending them together and creating one world-culture. Because of this, it is important to include diversity in our media. Having diverse media is important because it can help people better understand those of a different culture. Diverse media can also help maintain and prolong cultures that are in danger of being enveloped in the world-culture.

"The Bridge to Terabithia"

     Whenever someone mentions nostalgia, many people immediately think of their childhood. For a lot of people it was a time to be cherished; a time full of fun and adventure. Many people look back fondly on their childhood, remembering watching Saturday morning cartoons and playing pretend in the backyard.

     There is a lot of media and other things that can trigger these nostalgic feelings. Recently French Toast Crunch was rereleased with a box whose sole purpose was to trigger nostalgia towards the 90s. VH-1 ran several TV series 100% based on nostalgia, such as I Love the 90s and My Coolest Years.

     Bridge to Terabithia is a novel that stirs up nostalgic feelings, though it was not created to in the same way as I Love the 90s. The setting is contemporary to when it was written, but it deals with children and childhood. The book is about a young boy, named Jess, who befriends his new neighbor named Leslie. Together, they discover a hidden part of the forrest and create a whole, imaginary kingdom there. There is no real driving plot to the story; instead it focuses on what it was like to be a kid.

     I entire time I was reading Bridge to Terabithia, I kept having one of two thoughts. 1) I wish I was a child again. Or 2) I wish I had a child. I have not consumed media that made me long for my childhood as much as Terabithia. There were so many things that I directly related to that reading the book was a trip down memory lane.

     At the school where Jess goes to, the older boys (sixth and seventh graders) would play with the sporting equipment during, while the younger boys would race each other. The girls would play hopscotch and jump rope. The recess at my school was similarly segregated. One way was in basketball. The basket court was essentially saved for fifth and sixth graders. The fifth graders would play against the sixth graders. I was not very good at basketball so I did not play very often; but when I did, it was because I was one of the tallest kids in my grade.

     Our soccer field was also separated, though, in a slightly less politically correct way. There was no distinction between age groups or grades; instead it was the white kids against the Mexicans. The only white kid to play on the Mexican team was Spencer Sutherland. I do not know why, but he had a helluva kick.

     Another part of the story that reminded me of my childhood was Terabithia itself. Growing up, I did not have an entire made of world like Jess and Leslie did. But I did have a place, our treehouse on the other side of the pasture behind my grandma's house, that I would frequent. I would go out there and play GI Joes with my brother and cousins. We would find sticks and use them as guns. I even had a tree stump that doubled as a motorcycle. We would go back there and play all the time.

     But the part that made me reflect the most was when Christmas rolled around. There is this small passage about when Jess got a racing-car set from his dad. It was not working properly and he could tell that his father was not happy with it. Jess knew his dad spent more money on it than he should have so Jess desperately wanted it to work so his dad would be proud he got it.

     It made me reflect on all the times I had gotten something for Christmas that I did not particularly like/want but that I did not want to make my parents feel bad for getting it. And after thinking about receiving and giving presents for a while, it made me realize that I had been a ungrateful child. Without going into too much personal detail, those 13 lines made me reflect and rethink Christmas more than anything else ever had.

     Bridge to Terabithia brought childhood to life. Reading this book was pure nostalgia. Nothing I have read or seen before had made me wish I was a kid again so bad. I love the 90s is cool and all; but that is superficial and mostly explores pop culture items. Bridge to Terabithia, on the other hand, explores what it is actually like to be a kid.

Play and "Disney Infinity"

     Play is an important part of childhood. In fact, one could argue that most of childhood is spent playing. When we grow up, we play a lot less and usually as a release from work. As adults, play can become means to an end: relieve stress, add some fun to a routinely boring day, etc. But with children, play is an end in and of itself.

     While not always the case, a lot of times play involves a game of some sort. It was interesting to see the different types of board games. Before playing them in class, I had never given much thought about the different areas games challenge. Some games are just random luck, like Candy Land. Other games, such as Hungry, Hungry Hippos and Rock'em Sock'em Robots, are still mostly luck, but with some basic motor skills involved. More advanced motor skills are tested with games like Operation, Jenga and possibly Twister. Games like Clue and Battleship have been made into movies challenge critical thinking and do not require any physical skills.

     The skills tested usually, or at least try to, correlate to the age of the  target audience. Candy Land, made for small children, requires no skill and therefore can be enjoyed by even the youngest of children. If you have a small children play Jenga, she will just have fun knocking the blocks over and playing with them. Another small children would not even comprehend how to play Clue.

     That is one of the important things about play: it should correspond with the capacities of the player. If the games is too easy or too hard, whether physically or mentally, the player will not enjoy it. I have played video games, where the levels get progressively harder, where I just quit the game because it got too hard and I was no longer having fun.

     It is also important that the game not be too hard to learn. In class we played Disney Infinity which was the first time I had played it. I am also not a big gamer; I usually stick to games where an arrow directs to the next thing I need to shoot. But, at least in the Toy Box mode, there was nothing guiding me. I should have watched a tutorial, but I did not; so I was left to figure things out on my own. Which was kind of hard. I was not having fun at first because I did not know what to do. But, after I figured a few things out, it became more fun. It is always fun to play the game, but not so much in learning how to play.

     Play is an important part of life, whether you are a child or an adult. And in order for play to be effective, it needs to be within certain boundaries of difficulty. If it is too hard to learn, kids will not bother to learn how to play. Or, if it is too hard or too easy to play, children will either become frustrated or bored and will quit playing.

"The Catcher in the Rye"

     We like to believe that children have it easy: they get to play all day and do not have any responsibilities. However, that is not always the case. As much as we would not want to believe it, childhood is often full of trials and despair. And this is probably evident the most, of all of the sections we have discussed, in the documentation.

     These hardships can be seen in J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye. This novel is about 16 year old Holden Caulfield who is traveling home after being kicked out of school. The book is about Caulfield's troubles as he is coming home and him reminiscing about previous exploits.

     Life is not easy for Holden Caulfield. He has been kicked out of four different schools. He is worried about what his parents to going to do when they find out. Most of the people he knows annoy him in some way or another. And they are almost all phonies. He often gets roughed up. He accidentally breaks the record he bought as a present for his little sister. He accidentally offends this girl he really liked while on a date. Nothing ever goes right for Caulfield during the entire story. It is basically a book about how hard it can be being a 16 year old.

     The Catcher in the Rye is also told from Caulfield's perspective. Because of this, it is written in a conversational, casual tone. It is full of slang and digressions. Caulfield often digresses, for pages at a time, from what is happening at the moment. He will be in the middle of explaining what is happening to him as he goes home and will be reminded of someone or something from one of his previous schools, which he will talk about at some length before returning to the topic at hand.

     Because of this, The Catcher in the Rye is a documentation, a faux-autobiography. The story is told as the main character experienced it. He is recounting this experience for some unclear reason. He is documenting part of his life.

     I feel like the documentation section we have discussed kind of serves the same function as Holden Caulfield wants to as the catcher in the rye. He wants to stand at the edge of the cliff, waiting for children to come running by and catch them before they fall. He wants to protect them from the harshness of reality.

     Similarly, the documentation also wants to protect children. However, instead of catching them as they fall, it saves them in a different way. It wants to warn them of the despairs and hardships, warn them of the cliff, so they are better prepared to handle it. Documentation stories can help children transition into adulthood.

   Many people idealize childhood: children do not have to work and they do not have any responsibilities; they get to play all day and not worry about a thing. Unfortunately, childhood is not always that easy. Sometimes it can be full of grimness and adversity. Documentation stories, such as The Catcher in the Rye, seek to explore and expound on these situations. And because of this, they can be useful in helping children transition into adulthood without falling off the cliff.

"Sherlock, Jr"

     Experimentation seems, to me anyways, at the crossroads between inquiry and imagination. Being inquisitive leads people to figure things out and to learn. One way to satisfy the Spanish inquisition is through experimentation. Imagination leads people to create new and unique things. Experimenting with what is around can aid the imagination. Both experimentation and imagination help people see new things.

     Children are naturally imaginative and inquisitive;  and because of this, it is normal for them to want to try and experiment with things. Tommy may want to know what happens when he sticks a fork in an outlet. Kimberly might experiment with putting ketchup on her taco.

     In class, most of the examples of experimentation that we looked at involved  an artist experimenting with, or stretching the boundaries of, the medium in which he or she worked. B.J. Novak's The Book with No Pictures played around and experimented with font size and style and onomatopoeia. George Melies experimented with the medium of film, seeing what it was able to do. In a similar manner, Buster Keaton played with film in his movie Sherlock, Jr.

     In Sherlock, Jr, Buster Keaton plays a movie theater projectionist who wants to become a detective. The beginning of the film is straightforward and filmed in a traditional manner; however, it is when he falls asleep that the experimentation with the medium begins. Keaton falls asleep, only to have his sub-conscience leave his body in a dream like state. Keaton used a cross dissolve technique to overlay two separate images of himself on top of each other, one being his physical body and the other being his dream.

     In no other medium can this idea and experimentation be fully developed as it is here. The layering of images can be done with traditional still photography, but without the moving aspect, Keaton's journey away from his physical body does not resonate as much. And painting two Buster Keatons does not have the same affect as having two real images of him does; someone can paint whatever they want.

     The medium of film is further experimented with when Keaton first enters the movie. By taking careful calculations, the filmmakers were able to place Keaton in the same part of the frame in various locations. And when these parts were edited together, it looks like Keaton is magically transported from one location to another. This effect can only be done with the juxtaposition of moving images; making it unique to film.

     In Sherlock, Jr., we see Buster Keaton experimenting with film medium, in the very same way that George Melies did, in order to create a new and imaginative film. By exploiting the properties of film, Keaton was able to tell and expound on his story in ways not done before.

     Experimentation seems to appeal more to children than to adults. As people grow older, they get set in their ways and reject new things that are different. However, children are still learning and growing and still do not reject what is new. Because experimentation is closely related to imagination and inquiry, both of which are strong with children, it is naturally embraced by the same children.

Imagination and "Alice"

     Imagination is an important thing. And is something that is usually attributed to children. Children are inherently imaginative and this imagination generally fades as the child grows. Give a child a stick and he will make it into a gun or sword. Give an adult a stick and he will throw it on the ground. Why that is, I have no answer. Through the imagination, we are able to "do" things we normally cannot. I feel like the song "Pure Imagination," sung by Willy Wonka, is very apt at describing imagination is and does.

     One verse of the song goes: "We'll begin with a spin. Traveling in the world of my creation. What we'll see will defy explanation." With our imagination, we can create new worlds. And this is obvious in Alice. In this film, Alice is playing in her room, when she begins to imagine and create a new world around her. She sees her taxidermy rabbit and pretends that it comes to life. She then follows the rabbit into a new world that defies explanation. The majority of the world is created from things in her room, imagined to be new and different. (Though, I am suspicious as to where the bones and skeletons came from). At the end of the film, after she has finished imagining, she is back in her room. Also, when people imagine and play pretend, they always do it in their own head and own voice. Alice voicing the characters further reinforces the idea that Alice is imagining all of this.

     Willy Wonka continues, singing the next verse: "There is no life I know to compare with pure imagination. Living there you'll be free if you truly wish to be." We can see this at play in the short "A Shadow of Blue." Unable to reach her paper butterfly, a young girl realizes that her shadow has a different reach than she does. So she imagines her shadow getting up and chasing her origami. At the end, we realize that the little girl is wheelchair bound and could not do any of the things we saw her shadow do. But, she does do feel caged, confined to her wheelchair. Because of her imagination, she is free. She is free to do things that she could not do in the real world. She could be mopey and sit on the bench doing nothing, feeling sad for herself. But, she realizes that her legs are not the only way she can move. Her imagination releases her from the here and now and allows her to be free.

     Our imagination allows us to do things and be things that we could not do or be otherwise. Without an imagination, Alice would have been stuck in her room with a dead rabbit, instead of going on a wonderful adventure. Likewise, the wheelchair bound girl would not have been able to chase her paper butterfly were it not for her imagination. Imagining things cannot replace actually doing things. But, it's impossible to actually do everything, but it is not impossible to imagine them.

Documentation and "Not One Less"

     There are several different ways for children to transition to adulthood. One way is a rite of passage, which we talked about last week during our "Adventure" discussion. Generally speaking, a child leaves the comfort of home and goes out into the wide, undiscovered world. There he learns new things and grows. Upon his return to his home, he is a better person.

     Another way does not require a sabbatical, instead the child stays at home. This transition is not marked by a pilgrimage, but rather by added responsibilities. Before, the child was a child, free to play and explore. However, at a certain point, whether through direct or indirect choices of the people around him, the child acquires new duties that he now has to fulfill.

     In the clip we watch from The Secret of Roan Inish, we see two children doing daily chores. They help fix the roof and other things. They do not have time to play; they now have "adult" responsibilities they have to complete. This is relatively normal transition for children.

     In the short story Vanka, the main character similarly has new jobs and obligations given to him. However, along with these, comes harsh punishment for not fulfilling them. He is not ready for adulthood and longs to be saved by his grandfather.

     However, the transition we see in Aruba is not, or at least should not be, the norm. Milan has adulthood thrust upon him in a frightening way. He is bullied at school. His parents do and deal drugs. His father is abusive. Milan comes home from school to find his father choking his mother. Suddenly, Milan feels the need to take upon himself adulthood and take matters into his own hands. He finds his father's gun and leaves it at school. The authorities find it and follow it back to Milan's father. Upon inspecting the home, the police discover drugs and arrest Milan's father. Because of his home life, Milan had to step into adulthood earlier than most children.

     The outside world, and even the world inside the home, can be a scary place. It can be full of sadness and despair. While it is important to preserve the innocence and happiness of children, it is also vital to prepare them for real life. Where, when exploring an exciting tunnel, they get bullied instead of finding magical creatures.

     Not One Less also tackles a similar subject. When the elementary teacher in a small village has to leave for a month, Wei Minzhi is hired to be the substitute. She is not much older than her students, being only thirteen. She must make the transition to adulthood by taking responsibility for all of these kids, not one less, and making sure they stay in school. With not much of an education herself, Wei Minzhi must maintain order and teach them. She even travels to the city by herself to look for Zhang Huike. However, this part of the film is similar to concepts talked about last week. She leaves the small village, finds Zhang Huike and returns home a changed person and with a reward. Because of the responsibilities she has, she raises above her peers and becomes more of an adult, while the other children remain the same.

     Childhood is not all magic and fuzzy creatures. There is disenchantment and and despair. Children need to be able to learn, explore and grow in a safe environment. However, it is also important that they do not enter the world disillusioned. Stories like these can help prepare them.

"From the Earth to the Moon"

     Jules Verne's 1865 novel From the Earth to the Moon, deals with a post-Civil War gun club in Maryland, suffering from an existential crisis. Since the end of the Civil War, there had been no use for guns, cannons and other artillery. So members of the Gun Club did not know what their future had in store, since they had devoted most of their lives to the development of artillery. However, this all changed when the president, Barbican, announced a plan to send a projectile to the moon. The rest of story follows them as they prepare for, and eventually execute, this experiment.

     In a speech given by Barbican, he says, "I have asked myself if, by means of suitable apparatus constructed with reference to well determined laws of resistance, it would not be possible tons end a ball to the Moon!". The president of the Gun Club does not wish to send a projectile to the Moon for financial gains or even scientific reasons. He merely wants to know if he can. He is curious. And it is his inquiry that fuels all the events in this book.

     From the Earth to the Moon does not focus on the event of landing on the Moon, but rather, all of the preparations done preceding the launch. Verne goes into detail regarding all of the necessary planning to send a projectile to the Moon. He has a chapter dedicated to the type of cannon to be used. He writes about the dimensions and the material that the cannon is be be made out of. Similarly, he spends another chapter on the characteristic of the projectile and a third chapter on the type of fuel to be used to launch the satellite.

     Not only is inquiry the foundation for the book, all of the characters in the story are inquisitive. Once the plan to send a projectile to the Moon was announced, everyone in the United States became fascinated with the subject. They read everything about Barbican's plan itself. They also devoted themselves to read what and been published about the Moon itself, everyone becoming curious about something that had never held their attention before. Verne writes, "The immediate effect of Barbican's proposal was to make every body brush up whatever astronomical knowledge he had ever acquired regarding the Moon. All books on the subject were in immediate and universal demand."

     All of the remarkable things accomplished in From the Earth to the Moon were done because of inquiry. If the people had not been curious, they would not have constructed a giant cannon, built roads and railroads, and other things. It was even inquiry that sent the first people to the Moon. Barbican originally only planned on sending a ball, but that changed with the arrival of Michael Ardan.

     Ardan arrived from France during the construction of the giant gun. He proposed to Barbican that a projectile capable of carrying passengers be used instead of the original design. When asked why he wanted to go to the Moon, he responded: "I don't know whether the other worlds are inhabited or not, and as I don't know, I am going to see!" The childlike character of Ardan is the embodiment of inquiry.

     Inquiry is a huge part of our existence, in particularly as children. When the Gun Club is threatened with their existential crisis, it is inquiry and a curious mind that saves them and gives purpose to their lives again.

"Babe"

     Babe (1995) is a film about a small pig, named Babe, who leaves a massive pig farm ands ends up on the quaint Hoggett farm. Here, Babe is adopted and cared for by the Fly, the sheepherding dog. While on the farm, he learns a lot of valuable life lessons, as well as helping others learn similar lessons.

     One of the biggest morals of Babe is that against prejudice. The film begins with a narrator explicitly saying that: "This is a tale about an unprejudiced heart, and how it changed our valley forever." Because Babe has an "unprejudiced heart", he is able to help break down that prejudiced barriers that existed on the farm.

     Fly and her husband Rex have grown to think of the sheep as stupid and should be treated as such. The narrator even says that Fly thought that "it was a cold fact of nature that sheep were stupid, and there was nothing that could convince her otherwise." Similarly, the sheep thought the dogs were ignorant. And these prejudices had existed for a long time on the farm.

     When Babe finally gets the chance to try herding sheep, he gets laughed at. Fly tells him that "they're sheep, they're inferior" and "We are their masters, Babe. Let them doubt it for a second and they'll walk all over you." When Babe protest, saying they are not lesser beings, Fly responds again: "Be ruthless. Whatever it takes, bend them to your will."

     Even though Babe had previously met and befriend Maa, one of the older ewes, he has conflicting thoughts because Fly, his surrogate mother, is telling him that sheep are worthless. From is own experience, he has learned that sheep are nice and good creatures; but he is being taught conversely.

     Babe tries herding the sheep Fly's way but to no avail. He eventually talks to the sheep and asks them to go into the corral. They do what they are told with no fuss. When asked by Fly how he did it, Babe responds, "I asked them and they did it. I just asked them nicely."

     By the end of the film, Rex promises to treat the sheep civilly and not to bite them. Because of Babe's beliefs that the sheep were not dumb or inferior, he was able to break down the barrier that existed between the sheep dogs and the flock. These prejudices were abolished by an open heart.

     Another lesson, or moral, that is taught in Babe is that of seizing opportunities. Even though he is not a sheep dog, Babe takes the chance to be able to herd sheep. Rex is reluctant to give him this chance, thinking it an embarrassment. But Fly, on the other hand, sees potential in Babe and lets him try. If Babe did not take this opportunity and prove himself, he would have ended up as Christmas dinner.

     Farmer Hoggett likewise seized an opportunity many others probably would have passed up. When he notices that Babe separated the chickens by color, he begins imagining Babe herding sheep. This may seem like a crazy idea, but the farmer is a feeling and followed it. And because he took that opportunity, he won the sheepherding competition.

     Babe and Farmer Hoggett were able to prove themselves and win, even thought by taking every opportunity that presented itself, no matter how crazy it may seem. And even though no one else believed in them, they had faith in what they were doing.

     What at first may appear merely as a cute story about farm animals, is actually a powerful film teaching important lessons. Babe teaches its audiences that prejudices are wrong and warrant to place in their lives. It also teaches them to seize the day and take opportunities that others may pass up on.

Inquiry and "To Be and To Have"

     One of the many things that separate childhood from adulthood is inquiry. As children, we are actively inquisitive. We wander in our backyard, looking at the grass and the trees. We find a dead animal, we poke it with a stick. We dig through the rocks in our driveway and when we find a pretty one, we pocket it. Inside, we climb on top of chairs and stools to see what the adults are doing on tabletops and counters.

     However, as we grow older, we seem to lose some of this inquisitiveness. We don't sit in the grass; we sit on a couch. Instead of looking at what is happening on the countertop, we walk past; unless someone is cooking something that smells good, then we stop. As adults, we are still curious, just not to the same degree as when we were children. Instead of exploring the world on our own, we will watch a documentary or something.

    Being inquisitive is how we learn and grow. As children, we do not know much so we are naturally more curious than adults, who know a lot more. So it is important to encourage and reward this inquisitiveness. The media we consumed plays into this natural inquiry that children have. In Macaulay's book, we learn how a cathedral is constructed. Most children would have only seen pictures of cathedrals, so by knowing how they are built can help make them more real. It could also inspire a future architect. I never knew how bells were made, so I found it rather interesting.
     The film we screened, To Be and To Have, focuses on a setting designed to promote and reinforce a child's curiousness: the classroom. Here, the teacher instructs the children in all things from learning how to write to being better people.

     My favorite part of the movie was when the two younger children were trying to use the copier. They had obviously seen their teacher use it, so they knew its basic function. But they had not been instructed on the copier's proper use. But that did not stop them; they were going to figure it out on their own. They put the book down and copied it. Once they realized it did not work, they repositioned the book and tried again. They each had their ideas on what was wrong and through trial and error, they would eventually figure it out.

     This is a prime example of children being inquisitive. They were trying to learn and figure out things on their own. I am reminded of a similar situation from Curious George. George sees the Man with the Yellow Hat use the phone. George decides he wants to try it to and causes a lot of problems. Luckily for the students in To Be and To Have, they were not escorted off to jail for being curious.

     Children are naturally curious. But that slowly goes away was they grow older. Good children's media should kindle this inquiry and keep it burning. Here is a guy saying stuff:

Morality and "The Jungle Book"

     Most children's media contains some kind of moral. And in the case of fairy tales, these  morals were surrounded by violence and adult themes. Many people might think that these stories are too violent to be told to children. However, if we look at these stories in their native context, we may discover that they were very appropriate for children. Historically, children grew up a lot faster then than they do now. Children used to be considered adults as soon as they could work the plow or give birth. And because they grew up quicker, it was necessary that their parents prepare them for adulthood. Many times this was done through the morals and messages in fairy tales.

     In Little Red Riding Hood, a little girl goes to visit her grandmother and gets eaten by a wolf. One moral of this story is to not stray from the path. Another would be to avoid avoid predatory people who would take advantage of you. (We mostly refer to rape, but the moral can be applied to other situations as well, sexual or not).

     In one of the earliest version, Little Red Riding Hood is able to outsmart the wolf and escape. One can see the moral here as "Beware but you are capable." Another version ends with the wolf eating Little Red. The moral seems to be "You are helpless so be careful." And in another version, Little Red is eaten but then is saved by a huntsman. The moral; "You are helpless but someone will save you." And then there is the modern, feminist version where Little Red Riding Hood outsmarts the wolf every step of the way and he can not even keep up.

     Fairy tales and been told and retold for hundreds of years. Many times they are adapted for their current audience. One modern retelling of Little Red Riding Hood is the movie Hard Candy, directed by David Slade and released in 2005. This version of the classic story updates the environment and places the wolf as a pedophile, looking for young girls on the internet. But, in this story, Little Red is not some helpless girl, she is just as smart and cunning as the wolf and beats him at his own game.

     Here's an article about how retelling fairy tales shapes their morals.

     The earliest of children's were based around morals and this tradition continues up to this day, as can be seen in The Jungle Book. Mowgli seems to learn a new lesson from every person that he meets. From Baloo, Mowgli learns to not worry about things he has no control over. He learns that not everyone is trustworthy from Kaa. The vultures teach him the importance of friendship; this is further reinforced when Baloo "sacrifices" himself to save Mowgli. From Shere Khan, Mowgli learned the ugly reality that people will hate you for things others have done. And from all of these different characters, and through his adventures through the jungle, Mowgli learned that he cannot be what he is not. He can't be a bear; King Louie can't be a human. But, like many modern fairy tales and stories, The Jungle Book is lighthearted to make it appropriate for children.

     Teaching morals to children has been importance since the first child was born. Many times morals were taught through stories. However, while the morals may have relatively stayed the same, the content of said stories has changed. As childhood has extended, morality stories have contained less adult content and have become more "child friendly."

Class Intro and "Son of Rambow"

     In class we talked about some of our favorite children's media and what makes for good children's media. The media I chose was the book series called Animorphs written by K.A. Applegate. It is about teenagers who gain the ability to turn into any animal they touch. They use this power to fight off an invading alien force called the Yeerks. The Yeerks are parasitic slugs that take control of others' bodies; these people are called Controllers. It was written for a 9-12 year old audience. This was by far my favorite series as a kid. It was so exciting to see kids turn into animals and fight aliens. It captured my imagination like nothing else.

     I recently reread the series. And I was pleasantly surprised at how they held up. True, the writing is a little immature, but then again it wasn't meant for college students. But the characters and stories were engaging. However, the thing that stood out to me, and which is why I think it is an example of good children's media, is the complex and adult issues it tackles. I did not pick up on any of these as a kid, but they were there; they had to have connected with me subconsciencely or something. But the series deals with things such as war and the horrors and the consequences of it; morality, innocence, freedom, etc.

     In my favorite book The Departure Cassie ends up lost in the wilderness with a Controller named Karen. Until now, the Yeerks have been painted as pure evil. But in this book, we see that not all Yeerks are the same and that they are not all "evil." They are parasites, and that's what parasites do. Karen asks what makes a predator better than a parasite? A lot of them are against taking hosts involuntary are forming a rebellion.

     The Animorphs series is good children's media because it takes adult themes and makes them accessible to a younger audience.

     Animorphs deals with children becoming adults because they are forced into war. Son of Rambow also deals with the subject of kids becoming grown-ups, but in a different way. In the film, Will wants to watch movies and hang out with the wrong crowd. However, his overbearing religious mother prevents him.

     While the film overtly deals with strict, conservative religion, I could not help but see it as a stand in for adulthood. Will wants to play and watch movies. But, his mother and the brotherhood are against this type of entertainment. They want Will to give it up. As children, we play and are encouraged to be creative. But, as we grow older, we give up this type of entertainment in order to have jobs and fulfill social responsibilities. As adults, it is not really acceptable to play and have fun, for those are childish things. Like Paul said: "When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things."

     Animorphs deals with the loss of childhood when children are forced into adult situations. Their innocence is taken away. I feel like that Son of Rambow laments the loss of imagination and creativity that accompanies growing up.