tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15627892.post159943153199340248..comments2024-03-18T05:56:59.924-04:00Comments on Daled Amos: "Bling Bling", Barbies, And Teaching HashkafahDaled Amoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17646808702899584547noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15627892.post-64141817064894928562006-11-22T18:43:00.000-05:002006-11-22T18:43:00.000-05:00The girl in the show died--as part of the plot.
I...The girl in the show died--as part of the plot.<br /><br />I rewrote the end of the post to make that clear.Daled Amoshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10797432517780083437noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15627892.post-10310669960536627052006-11-22T16:19:00.000-05:002006-11-22T16:19:00.000-05:00"The girl died."
the girl in your class or the gi..."The girl died."<br /><br />the girl in your class or the girl in the show?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15627892.post-821696952450941352006-11-22T12:56:00.000-05:002006-11-22T12:56:00.000-05:00SJ,
I vaguely recall reading years ago about Barb...SJ,<br /><br />I vaguely recall reading years ago about Barbie dolls with tzenuah clothing made by a Jewish woman. More recently, I read about Muslims doing the same thing.<br /><br />The problem I have is that what was implicit in the doll is becoming explicit--that the packaging is describing a life-style and actively promoting it.<br /><br />Anything for a buck.Daled Amoshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17646808702899584547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15627892.post-27344462188353743602006-11-22T12:51:00.000-05:002006-11-22T12:51:00.000-05:00JA,
I'm with you until the last sentence. If the ...JA,<br /><br />I'm with you until the last sentence. If the "theory" (or attitude, position or philosophy) is silly, it is inherently so--regardless of whether you are dealing with people or not.<br /><br />I think when dealing with real-life situations (even a soap opera, where the kids really got into the plot), you take other factors into consideration--which is something that Halachah does as well, which is why a person is supposed to go to a posek and not rely on a sefer. <br /><br />It's just that my students were looking at subjective issues that they looked at emotionally instead of objectively.Daled Amoshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17646808702899584547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15627892.post-49388821205709775512006-11-22T12:36:00.000-05:002006-11-22T12:36:00.000-05:00I agree with you. After seeing what the doll looks...I agree with you. After seeing what the doll looks like, there is absolutely no way that I would allow it in my house. It would be better for a child to play with a stuffed pig.<br /><br />I have noticed that the little girls in the neighborhood who play with the Bratz dolls also try to emulate the Bratz style of dress. It starts very young and I think you were wise for saying no to your daughter.A Simple Jewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04158902792838896670noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15627892.post-60537293668884076202006-11-22T12:32:00.000-05:002006-11-22T12:32:00.000-05:00I think it's because theory is well and good until...I think it's because theory is well and good until you're dealing with real people. You see the same thing with gay rights. (Many) religious are completely against everything, but then they have a gay son or daughter or sister or brother or friend, and they don't have a problem with that actual person being gay or even getting married. You'll even find racists who have, e.g., black friends. They'll say things like, "Oh, I don't mean black people like <i>him</i>."<br /><br />In other words, it's easy to condemn behaviors in the abstract because you aren't harming anybody you'd feel empathy towards. When real people are involved, the theory turns out to be kind of silly.Jewish Atheisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04616617537150446818noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15627892.post-7850548319440188902006-11-22T11:29:00.000-05:002006-11-22T11:29:00.000-05:00I would generally agree that watching the Grinch w...I would generally agree that watching the Grinch would not impart a desire to become a Christian--just as I don't believe the TV shows on PBS will make my daughter share, respect her parents, etc.<br /><br />They impart information and a sense of familiarity which form the basis that can be built upon for other things.<br /><br />But in the case of the soap opera, it was in the other direction--not learning values but rather applying values to a specific situation. It's a common educational tool to show a situation and ask how one should react. Here, they took material discussed in theory and specifically said that in <i>this</i> case the values discussed did <b>not</b> apply--and the arguments used showed an emotional identification with the characters: not the kind that would lead them to emulate them, but enough to consider this a special case where the arguments they used in theory did not apply.<br /><br />As far as dolls go--it is not just a toy. Girls play dress-up and make believe. There is a sense of identification and an innate issue of emulation. My daughter wants to dress like her friends. I don't think it is a reach to expect she might want to dress like her Barbie doll, especially when it is marketed as being dressed in a "cool" way and having a cool lifestyle. <br /><br />You gotta see <a href="http://daledamos.blogspot.com/2006/10/revenge-of-birthday-gift.html">at the box it came in</a>.<br /><br />Look at what it said on the box:<br /><br /><i>Life doesn't get any better than this</i><br /><br /><i>Get in on this super fab lifestyle</i><br /><br />This is a problem.<br /><br />Sure enough, <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/06/11/1086749894412.html?from=storyrhs">Mattel came out with a line of clothes based on the doll.</a>:<br /><br /><i>The clothing range will be "unmistakably Barbie and uniquely Australian", according to US toy giant Mattel, which hopes the combination will be potent enough to persuade girls aged 12 to 14 to take their fashion cues from a toy.</i><br /><br />This is from 2004 in Australia, but the intent is clear.<br /><br />Just sayin'Daled Amoshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17646808702899584547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15627892.post-35697645700999803322006-11-22T10:48:00.000-05:002006-11-22T10:48:00.000-05:00I agree with Ezzie. I think most people instincti...I agree with Ezzie. I think most people instinctively maintain a basic separation between their actual hashkafa, and their involvement with various forms of entertainment, be it toys, books, movies, music, etc. <br /><br />I'm an "FFB" and I used to watch "How The Grinch Stole Christmas" every year as a kid. Never gave me the slightest thought of becoming a Christian. And I still love rock music, though most of the lyrics do not exactly set a model for a moral lifestyle. I just don't take them so seriously. And I think our kids can be trusted, within limits, to do the same. <br /><br />Your daughter can hopefully see the Barbie simply as a fun toy, without learning life-lessons from it. Perhaps that degree to which it clashes with her actual lifesytle and hashkafot is even part of the fun, like playing with a toy flying saucer.Eliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15979263918394127210noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15627892.post-28462426624540413792006-11-22T10:14:00.000-05:002006-11-22T10:14:00.000-05:00The way my daughter was close to tears, I think sh...The way my daughter was close to tears, I think she took the doll seriously.<br /><br />The students too, argued their case for the soap opera, that they two were "sooooooooo in love"--they so totally identified with the characters that for my students the two were as good as real.Daled Amoshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17646808702899584547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15627892.post-21035598020097223532006-11-22T09:32:00.000-05:002006-11-22T09:32:00.000-05:00Interesting... I wonder if it's the reverse: They ...Interesting... I wonder if it's the reverse: They understand the concepts, decide that it's not "real" (the dolls or TV shows), and therefore decide that the same rules just discussed don't apply...Ezziehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12494592434522239195noreply@blogger.com