Not Entertaining

We took a few days away from town to go to the mountains of Shenandoah County, VA. One of the perks of going away is that there is no TV. We read a lot and watch movies and DVDs of old sitcoms like "I Dream of Jeannie." I find Jeannie to be absurd, but entertaining and it's okay that it's absurd. Jeannie is a genie who has magical powers. She can give her master, an air force Major, x-ray vision and I don't have a problem with it. It's not supposed to be based in reality. It isn't trying to be. It is fantasy. But there are movies and TV shows that are attempting to be entertainment, that are more realistic in their story lines that are so outrageous that they deserve to be banned from the airwaves.

One such example is a loathsome movie I suffered through last night called "Are We There Yet?" This "film du toilette" is about a young man who owns a sports memorabilia store who falls for a woman he sees who happens to be "hot" as my five year old would put it. He decides against pursuing her when he sees she has kids. Then she has car trouble and he rescues her and then begins this ridiculous relationship between them. She continually uses him. He allows it. The climax comes when she needs his help to get her kids to Vancouver where she is working because their father can't keep them. The kids are barbarians. The woman is a hateful shrew. This poor man is abused beyond the scope of anything realistic. Is this really what a family comedy has become? Do we really want:
1. Boys to only think of girls as sex objects?
2. Girls to think it's okay to treat boys like their servants?
3. Boys to be abused and mistreated by woman who use their looks to get what they want?

I truly cannot comprehend why any self-respecting actor would associate them self with such drivel, especially one with children. People who participate in the production of this dreck should be flogged.

On the TV side, there are offerings such as Nickelodeon's "Drake and Josh," the story of a musically talented boy and his manipulative stepbrother. The movie is targeted toward the "tweener's of today. If you have children between 10 and 13, ban this show from your home. I mean it. Here's a recent storyline. Drake or Josh win a chance to parachute from a helicopter (seriously). They ask Mom. She says no. They go anyway. During their ride the pilot gets knocked unconscious, they lose a parachute and end up jumping together into the ocean. Where to begin? First, I may have only majored in History, but I believe that there are a couple problems with the whole parachuting from a helicopter thing. First, if the main propeller didn't chop you into tiny pieces, the one on the tail would and that would only be if you could manage to stay conscious as the helicopter got to a safe altitude for parachuting.

Then there's the jump into the ocean. They just happened to land exactly right so they didn't lose consciousness AGAIN! And they were rescued, even though they had no floatation device.

I get the point that they were trying to prove. You should listen to your parents. They know what's good for you. It seems a pretty distracting way to get that point across to a young child. The point was missed on my ten year old. All he cared about was how cool it would be to jump out of a helicopter!!! "Drake and Josh" is banned from the house now.

I am pretty flexible when it comes to what my kids watch. I try to watch things with them and help them understand any stories that are complex. I don't generally ban movies because of profanity, but I don't believe that it's right to allow a small child to watch an R rated movie. They aren't ready for them. I also believe that it is my responsibility to ensure what my kids watch is appropriate. I also believe that people who produce entertainment for children have a responsibility to them as well. They shouldn't create mindless, slapstick entertainment for my kid and fill it with messages that encourage, sexist, racist and stupid behavior. Kids are smart and deserve better. People who make this garbage hoping to rake in a buck are not smart. They are greedy. Greed is not an admirable quality.