Directions: state an argument (thesis) that you believe both texts support. Note: Your thesis does not have to be exactly "values Teare and Hade see being promoted by children's book series that are linked to lucrative franchises," but it's a good place to start.
Perform exercise #1 under “Writing as a Reader” on pg. 573 of Inquiry, but write a paragraph rather than an essay. Your paragraph should be approximately 200 words, but no more than 300. (Due before the beginning of class on the 29th.)
Replies: As usual, you are here to help and learn from your classmates.
Teare:
ReplyDeleteElizabeth Teare is an author who graduated from and taught literature at Yale. Teare is known for writing biographies of famous writers but also shows an interest in children’s literature. Teares essay, which was published in The Ivory Tower and Harry Potter: Perspectives on a Literary Phenomenon (2002). Teare first presented a draft of this essay at the 1999 Modern Language Association convention. In her essay, Teare explains her concern over the commercialization of contemporary children’s literature.
Hade
Daniel Hade is a professor at Penn State University. Hade has worked as an editor for the Journal of Children’s Literature. In his collection of essays titled Voices of the Other: Children’s Literature in the Postcolonial Context (2000), Hade criticizes the American Girl book series and The Pleasant Company, questioning the validity of comments made in the American Girl book series that assured the readers that the stories are historically correct and the fact that they have also been commercialized.
Children, in any given point throughout history, are often associated with needing a hero to idolize in order to get through any obstacle that is presented in their lives, and those heroes are often glorified. This idea presents itself in the essays “Harry Potter and the Technology of Magic” by Elizabeth Teare and “Lies My Children’s Books Taught Me: History Meets Popular Culture in the America Girls Books” by Daniel Hade. Both essays are famous for bringing out the evils of children’s books use of commodity and manipulation to buy product, however, there are numerous other wondrous points made in both essays if one knows how to look for it.
ReplyDeleteIn Teare’s essay, she briefly mentions the innocence of not only the series’ main character but also its author. Teare makes a decent argument in saying that because Rowling was a waitress with amazing ideas and not just another famous person writing a book, people flocked to her because she was relatable. Harry Potter is considered a hero as well simply because he had a hard life growing up, but he had these famous parents with an even more famous death and ended the books by defeating their murderer just as every great hero should.
In Hade’s essay, he spends a great deal of time talking about one of the American Girl dolls, Samantha, and how she is presented in books. Samantha is known for helping out her best friend Nellie and Nellie’s sisters in the orphanage. Of course, Samantha is just a good friend and is presented as the heroine only for being more able than the other girls and spreading her wealth.
Whether it’s a chicken nuggets kid meal from McDonalds or a mighty kid’s meal from Burger King, children are almost guaranteed some type of toy to help persuade where they want to eat. It’s a fact; children are influenced by what they see on TV and read in books. .Some argue that children’s literature has lost the true value of educating and entertaining today’s youth, some people argue these books are used as a stepping stone to generate huge profits. If in fact these arguments are true the values children’s books are teaching today’s youth could be viewed as immoral business practices.
ReplyDeleteBoth Elizabeth Teare and Daniel Hade are well known authors who argue children’s literature ultimately is turned into a market strategy to produce profits, turning the books into action figures, dolls, and accessories, often using the internet. In Teares essay Harry Potter and the Magic of technology she states that Harry Potter books are offered on the internet allowing Internet commerce, the definition of commerce according to Webster’s Dictionary is “trade on a large scale”, thus supporting her argument that these books have the ultimate goal of making money. In Hades essay Lies My Children’s Books taught me he states that The American Girl series is said to teach American History to young girls but in fact teaches inaccurate history lessons and leaves the readers with a happy ever after feeling. Hade further supports his argument by proving examples of inaccurate history written in these books and suggests they are sold under the false pretense of history and literature. The findings in these two essays are significant, creating many questions for the skeptical thinker.
Books like all media can be a gateway to creativity for children of all ages. Giving them the hope and inspiration they need to survive the trying and difficult times that await as they grow up. However, there is always a risk that what children will internalize the more negative messages they receive from the media. Be it a video game, movie or book we as a culture must try to be vigilant in what we give to our children. However, things do slip through the cracks. Children's literature has long stood as a beacon of morality against the growing commodity culture surrounding children's media. Tear and Hade both show in their unique works that the walls of the palace surrounding the nobility of children's literature have already been invaded. Teare in “Harry Potter and the Technology of Magic” shows us the uneven messages found inside the Harry Potter series. Where material desire and worldly wants are acceptable as long as you are not an adult. In Hade's examination we see the dangers of some brands using books to market merchandise under the guise of being educational. Neither author provides a absolute solution to the troubles infesting children's literature but both are clear alarm bells that impart the importance of just because something is a book does not mean it is acceptable for children.
ReplyDeleteIn a world where the big fish eats the little fish, it is no wonder that big business commercializes everything it can get its hands on. Though literature has always been the go to for education, it has been violated by the all mighty dollar. What I find most disturbing is that it is our children that are being commoditized. Where parents once introduced children to literature for the literacy and entertaining values the books held, now parents have to compete with the merchandise that over shadows the intended use of literature. Hade, in “Lies My Children’s Books Taught Me: History Meets Popular Cuter in the American Girls Book,” argues that the stories are misleading, full of fictitious facts and a romanticized American history. With the vast array of merchandise associated with the books, it is hard to believe that the books are solely marketed to sell history. The books are just an introduction to the American Girl franchise. Children are allured into wanting the merchandise, into wanting a doll that has lived such a wonderfully fictitious life they want to live it too. The Harry Potter books are no different. Teare writes in her essay, “Harry Potter and the Technology of Magic,” how Rowling uses the popularity of the books to write books featured in the stories, with the intent that the readers will feel closer to the Harry Potter characters. The money made from the books is for charity, but it doesn’t change the fact that these spin off books were written with the intention to make money out of its readers, who are, by and large, children.
ReplyDeleteAs popular culture continues to grow and massive conglomerations continue to promote such expensive and somewhat unattainable dreams on how life should be, the reality of how America truly lives is swept under the rug. Now when you turn on your television, you are being reeled into buying the newest Sonos wireless speakers which go for $299 or to invest in purchasing a brand new Kia Soul, while all at the same time hearing Lady Gaga’s hit single “Applause”. The world we live in is a consumerist country and it’s all about the money you have and the people you know. Money is the motive as our culture portrays it to be. Children’s television show, books, and toys are misguiding our younger generation to desire a live that it lived by very few. In the Teare and Hade essay, they vividly express how in today’s world everything is commoditized and the goal is to make more and more money no matter what it is teaching children to idolize. Children dream of living high profile lives to where money is the key to happiness. The American Girl Corporation insists on telling fabricated stories of privileged 8 year olds who contributed to American history. As well as the Harry Potter Franchise promoting the grand feeling of being able to buy the newest broomstick and that those who cannot afford that specific broomstick are frowned upon. Children’s literature creates an unrealistic fantasy that life is too easy and that money can solve any problem that will arise. It may encourage dreaming and the use of ones imagination but not through a realistic portrayal of today’s society.
ReplyDeleteIn the essays by Elizabeth Teare and Daniel Hade, we are given insight into how two popular children’s franchises promote a culture of spending to children. Teare points out that the Harry Potter books make fun of adults who are caught in the spending culture while at the same time promoting that same culture with our children. The books have exploded into movies and all of the merchandising that comes with a blockbuster film. You can buy almost anything with a link to the world of Harry Potter including clothing, figurines, food, and much more. Hade references the historical inaccuracies that lead our children to believe in a portrait of history that has little to do with what really happened. The American Girl dolls from time periods throughout history offer little actual history while promoting a spending culture with girls. The costly dolls and their unbelievably expensive accessories make them out of reach for most families but those who can afford them are offered a slice of revisionist history where very little can go wrong and life is seen through rose-colored glasses. Unfortunately, in these two franchises, the real value of reading and all of the positives that it can bring to a child’s life are covered up by all of the merchandising. Children aren’t offered a real opportunity to enjoy the books and what they would offer by themselves because they are being bombarded with all of the things that will help them fit into the spending culture in this world.
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