Music IS powerful.
We all know this and feel the effects of music in our lives all the time.
It moves us to
tears
laughter
dancing
love
hate.
It canincrease our spirituality
affect our mood
inspire us
cheer us up
bring us down
and even
negatively affect our lives.
Sometimes, I can't get a song out of my head and I walk around all day with it. I even sometimes sleep with a song in my head and wake up in the middle of the night to pee (or put a child back in bed) and no sooner do I open my eyes than the soundtrack turns on.
Isn't music POWERFUL? Do you think the "brilliant" executives at Nickelodeon use this to their advantage? Do you think they know that kids are going to hear a song over and over and they are going to sing it and want to have it in their iPod or on their CD players? Don't you think heads of a CHILDREN'S corporation would be more responsible, then, with what they put into kid's minds? I guess I should say, wouldn't you HOPE that they would?
The NAKED Brothers have a new single out. Heard it yet? Cameron has. He watches SpongeBob most days and at almost every commercial there is the song,
"I DON'T WANT TO GO TO SCHOOL."
Ah, excellent. I love hearing my three year old sing this catchy tune around the house, letting him know that even though he hasn't been there or made any decisions of his own not to like it, that he
DOESN'T
WANT
TO
GO
TO
SCHOOL.
He doesn't want to go to school so that he can make something of himself, get a good job, gain knowledge and social understanding, be successful in his life, be challenged and reap the benefits of hard work, gain self-esteem or be intelligent. He doesn't yet comprehend how big of an impact school will positively have in his life, but what he does know is that he doesn't want to go because he is constantly singing this phrase and it is getting in his head. This coming from a kid who doesn't want to eat good food, just because he thinks in his head that is isn't good. And maybe, there will be no negative effect on Cameron because of how hard I have already worked to instill in him that school is all of those wonderful things and that the song is just silly (PLEASE, I'm hoping) but how far are they going to go? What else is going to start popping up on our tv's because some "successful band" has written a song? How negative and detrimental will it get before we stop excusing it and saying that its just silly and that most kids won't be affected by it? It's about school now, but what's next? Nothing is sacred! Do you think messages in a child's head, from whatever source, can become truth just because they say it is so? I know it does. So now he is starting to hear in his head that he "doesn't want to go to school."
It makes me write emails like this.....
What is it going to take to get the "Naked" Brothers
song "I Don't Wanna Go To School" off of your
programming (commercials)? This is an extremely
inappropriate song for a number of OBVIOUS reasons and
there are many parents, teachers, school districts and
board members disgusted that you would even consider
putting this on your station where kids as young as 3
and 4 would watch. Many people are now refusing to
let their kids watch Nick because of this ONLY. This band can have their
freedom of speech and we can have ours. As a
representative of many of these people in my community
and surrounding areas, I would like to know what it
will take for you to understand that we do not want to
see these kinds of advertisements on the television.
Our society and world is already over-sexualized and
overrun with negative role models and negative
messages that lead to disfunction, poor attitudes and
high school dropouts, which directly leads to problems
in the community. The media is more powerful than the
failing censorship of parents and teachers. We don't
need it in CHILDREN'S programming!
We will continue to watch other stations to avoid this
single commercial until you pull it from the air. If
we need to get a petition of thousands of signatures,
I'm sure we could easily do it. Is that what it will
take? We are very disappointed that responsible
adults would promote this for whatever gain you feel
you will receive by putting this very negative,
inappropriate message into young children's heads. I
don't care if this very commercial has helped this
horrible band sell records, the potential damage that
it will do to growing children, tweens and teenagers
should not be worth it. You can make money through
other types of advertising. You should be bigger than
insisting on supporting this kind of blantant,
negative role modeling.
What will it take? We are standing by to do whatever
it will take.
...So who will sign?? I guess I'd better start finding my thousands of people. Maybe I should have thought out that detail a little more. I do that a lot - say things without really thinking first...
And I know there are teenagers who are going to be more responsible and understand that this song is kind of silly and talks mostly about not wanting to go to school during the summer but younger kids won't understand the lyrics, they will just hear "I don't want to go to school" over and over and that is the part that upsets me (although don't even get me started about this band or their performance of it at the Kid's Choice Awards). It's not that I regret my feelings or opinions sent in that email. I don't look back and think I am being overreactive or that I should take more responsibility for this. I am doing everything in my power to help Cameron understand how wrong this message is, but the media is powerful (and too greedy to really care). And I DO censor and control what Cam watches but what about when he's on a play date? Or when the tv is on at grandma's? Or whatever. And really, if he never hears it again, he's heard it ONCE and you know how quickly annoying songs can stick and how POWERFUL music is. I'm not ignoring the fact that kids say this all the time and "kids will be kids," but take this inappropriate message, put it to music, and introduce it to kids who don't know any better, and you have a serious issue. Let them play it on the stage for people who are fooled enough to waste their money on tickets to hear it. It shouldn't be on a kid's station!
Anyway..............
What is it going to take to get the "Naked" Brothers
song "I Don't Wanna Go To School" off of your
programming (commercials)? This is an extremely
inappropriate song for a number of OBVIOUS reasons and
there are many parents, teachers, school districts and
board members disgusted that you would even consider
putting this on your station where kids as young as 3
and 4 would watch. Many people are now refusing to
let their kids watch Nick because of this ONLY. This band can have their
freedom of speech and we can have ours. As a
representative of many of these people in my community
and surrounding areas, I would like to know what it
will take for you to understand that we do not want to
see these kinds of advertisements on the television.
Our society and world is already over-sexualized and
overrun with negative role models and negative
messages that lead to disfunction, poor attitudes and
high school dropouts, which directly leads to problems
in the community. The media is more powerful than the
failing censorship of parents and teachers. We don't
need it in CHILDREN'S programming!
We will continue to watch other stations to avoid this
single commercial until you pull it from the air. If
we need to get a petition of thousands of signatures,
I'm sure we could easily do it. Is that what it will
take? We are very disappointed that responsible
adults would promote this for whatever gain you feel
you will receive by putting this very negative,
inappropriate message into young children's heads. I
don't care if this very commercial has helped this
horrible band sell records, the potential damage that
it will do to growing children, tweens and teenagers
should not be worth it. You can make money through
other types of advertising. You should be bigger than
insisting on supporting this kind of blantant,
negative role modeling.
What will it take? We are standing by to do whatever
it will take.
...So who will sign?? I guess I'd better start finding my thousands of people. Maybe I should have thought out that detail a little more. I do that a lot - say things without really thinking first...
And I know there are teenagers who are going to be more responsible and understand that this song is kind of silly and talks mostly about not wanting to go to school during the summer but younger kids won't understand the lyrics, they will just hear "I don't want to go to school" over and over and that is the part that upsets me (although don't even get me started about this band or their performance of it at the Kid's Choice Awards). It's not that I regret my feelings or opinions sent in that email. I don't look back and think I am being overreactive or that I should take more responsibility for this. I am doing everything in my power to help Cameron understand how wrong this message is, but the media is powerful (and too greedy to really care). And I DO censor and control what Cam watches but what about when he's on a play date? Or when the tv is on at grandma's? Or whatever. And really, if he never hears it again, he's heard it ONCE and you know how quickly annoying songs can stick and how POWERFUL music is. I'm not ignoring the fact that kids say this all the time and "kids will be kids," but take this inappropriate message, put it to music, and introduce it to kids who don't know any better, and you have a serious issue. Let them play it on the stage for people who are fooled enough to waste their money on tickets to hear it. It shouldn't be on a kid's station!
Anyway..............
2 comments:
i will totally sign your petition...i am upset too. who do i email?
I agree, you are awesome for sending that email!
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