T O P I C R E V I E W
KittenGoddess
Member # 1679
posted 06-05-2001 05:50 PM
I was listening to the radio at work today and I once again heard one of the newer commercials for the soft drink Sprite™. In the commercial, the father tells the kids that mom is going to read something and then they're going to discuss it and then the mother starts reading from the beginning of A Tale of Two Cities . The kids whine, and then the announcer asks if you need DVD's and talks about collecting Sprite™ caps to earn DVD's, etc.I found this to be an incredibly sad statment about society today. I mean, perhaps reading and disucssing books isn't something most of us do with our families, but what's wrong with an educational activity that requires parents and children to interact as opposed to sitting down in front of the TV for hours. We'd all probably be alot better off if we had a few more book discussions and watched a few less DVD's. Plopping down in front of the TV generally doesn't encourage thought, or discussion, or interaction. And it's sad that corporate America is encouraging this kind of behavior and is being allowed to get away with this kind of very blatent statment about it.
Any thoughts on this?
~KittenGoddess
------------------the kittenblog
"Follow me or perish, sweater monkeys!" ~from 'Bring It On'
[This message has been edited by KittenGoddess (edited 06-05-2001).]
Celtic Daisy
Member # 2971
posted 06-05-2001 05:59 PM
I completely agree. Even though i am a little more of a couch potato than i'd prefer, hehe. But i LOVE to read. I always have a book by my bed. I only wish i had my friends to read with and discuss books. I love to do stuff like that. It is sad when they use stuff like that for commercials.------------------ "A six foot tall anorexic bimbo,with plastic breasts is making me feel weird about my own body." -Miss Bif Naked
Gaffer
Member # 2105
posted 06-05-2001 07:45 PM
Ooh, that's yucky. I must admit, I found the style of A Tale of Two Cities to be a bit dry and stopped a little less than halfway through--I tried though! I've never actually seen a DVD and I don't have a player, which leads me to think the entire commercial is aimed at the upper middle and upper classes with money to spend (so they're not gonna need to get DVD's through Sprite anyway). It's not a particularly brilliant marketing strategy on Sprite's part.
Rizzo
Member # 802
posted 06-05-2001 10:50 PM
Hear hear. When I watch YTV, (youth television) I am disgsuted by the commercials. The ads aimed at preteens these days leave me with no hope. They encourage gross-out humour, objectification of women, and a more/bigger-is-better attitude (well, I guess that's what ads are for, but...). Any sort of commercial that underestimates the intelligence of a certain group (e.g. teens, mothers, women...) really gets on my nerves.
Confused boy
Member # 1964
posted 06-06-2001 10:15 AM
Bare one thing in mind though. DVDs, TV and computers are not replacing the book. Infact, sales of books have continued to increase, completely unaffected by new technology. While I hate all advertising in general (merely a way to create "need" for something uneccessary)TV has not stopped people reading (not quite yet anyway).
KittenGoddess
Member # 1679
posted 06-07-2001 12:36 AM
Well confused, I don't know about DVD's and TV not replacing the book. I find it upsetting how so many of my peers express how much they hate to read. They find it boring, and it simply doesn't hold their attention at all. They read only when absolutely necessary. They'd much rather sit down to watch a re-run of 90210 rather than read a classic (or even a not so classic) piece of literature. I've noticed this not only within my own peer group, but also in my younger sister's peer group. I find it upsetting that we're encouraging this kind of idea and telling kids that it really isn't fun to read.~KittenGoddess
------------------the kittenblog
"Follow me or perish, sweater monkeys!" ~from 'Bring It On'
Lucky1402
Member # 894
posted 06-07-2001 06:15 PM
Gee, people in my school have that idea in their head, too. That ready is boring and pointless and that the people who read are the "nerds." since when did reading and appreciating literature become a geeky thing to do? Personally, I LOVE to read. I especially love old stories and poetry (I was the only one in my class who was actually interested in ready the Odyssey and Romeo and Juliet). Sad, sad.That commercial just proves that today, people would much rather sit for hours and watch tv instead of reading a classic novel. Which isn't completely bad- hey, I watch my fair share of television too, and some shows are even educational. But television only goes so far. What happened to the time when reading was fun because it could "take you to places you have never been before?" (In a sense.)
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"At one point we decided to fight fire with fire. Well...basically...your house burned even faster."
JunkiePanda
Member # 4006
posted 06-09-2001 07:19 PM
you talk to A LOT of kids now a days and see they have no reading or comprehension abilities at all. this year i decided to get out of my accelerated english class(i wanted to focus on my performing). now i am in no way implying that everyone in on level classes are ignorant or stupid...but i was dumbfounded. there was a girl in that class you had to SOUND OUT the word romantic...how did she make it into the tenth grade? when we finished a book called night by ellie weisel, about the holocaust(the book is only around 130 pages long and it took us three weeks!!!!!)a kid turned to me and whispered "that is the first book i have ever read". WHAT?! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!?! the youth of this country are sooooooo lazy. they are used to be able to just sit down and soak up whatever pop culture wants them to know that when it comes to ACTUAL knowledge...they have nothing. i had to explain to an eighth grader what the word "witty" meant. if you are ever in houston and see how completely moronic a lot of the kids here are...dont be surprised. and what is great to know is that the man who was the superintendant of H.I.S.D(one of the WORST! schools in the country) is now on president bush's cabinet as education advisor. OUR COUNTRY IS IN BIG TROUBLE FOLKS! our kids cant and wont read. i am very thankful my parents encouraged reading from early on. i love to read and take a particular interest in economics and politics(i love marx and chomsky)...when my english teacher asked me what i was reading, and i told her i was reading a biography on che guevara she dropped her pencil. IT IS A SHOCK TO TEACHERS TO FIND OUT KIDS WANT TO LEARN THINGS THAT AREN'T FORCED ON THEM. volunteer at your local libraries and elementary schools to read to kids...this is the best way to spark their interest early on.