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.