Dora Is a Slut… and Down With iCarly Too
Yeah… you heard me right.
Our culture it is so blatantly oversexed. 200 years ago, our imaginations were engaged with the hope of continuing in a country where freedom was having the right to have our own property, having the right to worship as we see fit, having the right to protect ourselves from the government with guns, and having the right to publicly have our own opinions in the press.
200 years later, as the most powerful nation on earth, not having to struggle for food and not having to defend our homes from the potential attack from other countries, we are so jaded and so self-indulgent that freedom of orgasm ( with whom, whatever gender, however often, on TV, abort the consequences) defines our political parties, and captures our imaginations. Give it a few decades and common public debate will circle around whether or not it is healthy for men to have sex with young boys… as long as it’s consensual. There are already scores of college professors across the country that fervently support NAMBLA (North American Man Boy Love Association)
I’m not even advocating any point of view yet, I’m just saying look at what we become obsessed with.
But let’s not even look at it from a moral point of view, let’s just look at it from a commonsense point of view. Multinational corporations, music moguls, and entertainment studios are all banding together to make money off of us, off of teens, and off of kids, and we don’t seem to care.
Sex sells. We all know that. But the age to which companies are trying to sell sex keeps getting lower and lower. Music is the worst offender. Teenyboppers and boy bands have always had mild sexual undertones… but let’s pick up at Britney Spears. Mildly suggestive Lolita-like pop star morphs into sex crazed “ I am a grown up now” talentless creation of record companies.
Next we have Hannah Montana. Disney slowly morphs a child TV star into a real pop star, ramping up the sex all the way along. It’s a no-brainer for Disney, because they get to create a fan base of children, then as the children get older they convert them into fans of the pop star that used to be in the TV show… and now mom and dad spend $150 bucks on tickets to the concert as well.
Next, Nickelodeon wants to get into the game. Several years ago, they started a TV show called iCarly. Kids all across the country started watching this show about a fifth or sixth grade girl who started an internet variety show. It becomes one of Nickelodeon’s more successful shows, and as their fan base gets a little bit older, and as the TV show’s star gets a little bit older, they decide to make their move into pop music. After all they’ve already created a ready-made fan base. Vanessa Cosgrove and her smash hit “Kissin U”.
Now, my seven-year-old daughter doesn’t understand why I won’t let her watch iCarly like all the rest of her friends. Well dear… here’s why. One, I don’t want record companies manipulating you to make money. Two, you are seven, and I don’t want you to worry about making out with boys for a good fourteen more years.
In 1985, the most popular show for girls age 8 to 12 was Care Bears. In 2009, it was America’s Next Top Model. If we can’t see what’s going on, we are blind. It is up to us to stop this trend. There are companies out there that would literally throw kids into a trashcan if it would make them a buck.
When it comes down to it, I would rather my daughter listen to Tupac or Led Zeppelin than iCarly. Why? Because those guys aren’t role models for my daughter. I can tell her that Tupac is from the inner-city, and all the pain he experienced growing up, he lets out his music. In this fragile time for her self-esteem and her self-image, I’m not going to leave it up to Disney or Nickelodeon to tell her what is appropriate.
And that brings us to Dora. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but there is a new updated Dora for an older demographic. I have posted a picture. No more baby fat. No more kiddish bob haircut. She’s cute, and much more trendy.
We have blinders on if we think that Nickelodeon wouldn’t put Dora on a stripper pole if they thought it would make them some good cash.
