Reading p the media: -RECENTLY I saw a televi- sion interview with leading pediatrician Dr.-Benjamin - Spock, The interviewer asked him a question along thelines of “What's the matter. with kids to- day?” i Dr. Spock is too intelligent to attribute all the trials and upheav-. als of children to.one factor. But: one reason he didigive: jumped out “atime: too many children are get- ting their values frorii television. ‘Anyone who reads this column : “regularly knows that, with two preschoolers, the media heroes _ around our house tend to be Barney the dinosaur, Mr., Dressup and Fred Penner. ‘ | have followed what is offered to’ children of school age only in > the’ most marginal, casual sense. Soin an effort to'get a treading on - the values the. media are pres- vu enting to kids, I trotted off to see “. Addams Family Values with my two stepsons-last weekend. _, The boys are‘It and 13 and are ~ what ' many adults would call “good kids,’*> Watching | this movie, plugeed { in “the ad as ‘a superior sequel,”’ offering “‘laughs a-plenty’’ and hilarious’ slapstick,’” was one of most depressing experiences “Dear Editor: _ AS the_ entire North Shore i sprucing : up: for” the. coming hristinas season, “and we in. West “Mailbox: policy. ‘LETT ERS: To: ‘“must © be: legible” (preferably typewritten} and include your ‘the - editor “name, full address and tele- phone number. 7 Due ‘ to... space. constraints the North-Shore News cannot . publish all ‘letters. Published - “‘etters*: may ~be ” edited for’ ‘brevity, clarity, accuracy, le- - ~gality:and taste. Letters can be faxed to 985-3227 but still must’ be signed and fully ad- 7 _Atessed.. “AMBLESIDE a TOYS ’N HOBBIES 1425 Marine Dr., West Van, 022-3512 I've had in recent memory, If Addams Family Values is what Hollywood ts offering to young people, then make no mistake about it -~ Hollywood is as cynical and rathless as ever. It's also as omnipotent as ever, sinee the two major movie chains in Canada (Cineplex Odeon and Famous Players) are now both 49% Atnericin-owned, Some would say, “Lighten up, Catherine, it's @ harmless spoof aibout the zany adventures of, ; America’ s best-loved monster family.” OK, keeping in mind (hat Esaw kids no older than eight in the theatre, let’s look at the two main story lines in the film. . : “+, The first one we're introduced to is the desire of the two older - Addams kids to kill their newly- arrived baby brother. That's not ‘give him away to: the neighbors,” not “take him back to the hospital,’? that’s ‘kill the baby.” And this baby, though he’s from a monster family, looks like any regular roly-poly, sweet little baby, So what are those cight-year- olds feeling when the two schem- _ing siblings throw the baby over a balcony or drop the guillotine on him? Probably nervousness, maybe confusion. (Interestingly, this baby is never saved by any of its own magical . powers — he’s always rescued ‘from death by sheer luck, such as an adult walking by to catch him . just before he hits the ground.) The second story line involves the attempts of a murderous, gold-digging nanny (she’s not a | monster in the literal sense of the word) to.marry the naive Uncle Fester Addams, murder him and . then make off with his money, ’ Looking like a Playboy cen- - trefold, barely succeeding in ’. keeping her clothes on, this nanny thrusts her breasts so far out . you'd expect them to whack every dad in the audience. Maybe some adults would find it amusing, but kids would cer- "Vancouver enjoy the pretty deco- rations everywhere, | wonder why the: big ‘majestic tree right ‘at the entrance of Ambleside: Park is’ : being left in the dark this year.: ‘After. contacting the Chamber of Commerce, who told me. flatly _ that there would be no lights this year, | phone around, but no one could give me a positive answer. Maybe by publishing this notice some reaction might develop, al- though the main problem seems to be money. Josee Van Stekelenburg West Vancouver tiinly be confused at the nanny’s response to the Addams baby's name, Puberts “1 like it, [t's filthy.” I won't go on about the gratu- itous humor and tacky monients: in chis film Qvhen (thought it couldn't get worse, they threw an Amy Fisher joke atus ... though why a teenage mistress attacking her fover's wife is amusing is beyond me). What concerned me was what this film had said to my two stepsons, or even if they'd enjoyed it as pure.entertaininent, They both said they didn’t think it was that great, which didn’t surprise me, because although the movie has strong superficial ap- peal to kids and adolescents, the story. lines and dialogue are mostly adult-oriented. I'm not going to spend the days ahead fuming about the Addams Family and their values — it’s just one movie in a huge, dazzling menu that’s offered up daily to young people. If you watch these films, televi- sion shows and videos, it’s clear that in too many of chem (mostly American productions) there is a very weak sense of responsibility about the values preiented to the younger viewer, The story line, as Addams Fanily Values illustrates $0 brilliantly, is secondary. As Martin Laba, an associate professor in media studies at Sion Fraser University, puts it, “the issue is to make a profit,” “Television and movies today are designed to train kids as con- summers,” says Laba, who is writ- ing a book entitled Manufacturing Youth, “The influence of media tic-ins ~— for example, merchandising ; through companies like McDonald's — is enormous, A. whole range of commercial pro- ducts are served up tied (o avehi-, cle, oftena movie.” : While Laba feels the various media must have some sense of responsibility to young people, he argues it is ‘myopic’ to see-media as the major contributor to prob- lems such as anti-social behavior in youth. a ; “*Media is the instant scapegoat because it’s so visible and per- vasive. But you have-to consider other factors such as poverty, ethnicity and marginalization.” Lata is against the kind of ollywood family values deregulation of the media that took place in the United States under Ronald Reagan, However, given the need for sone regulation, he feels the best way to keep our kids from gorging thentselves on video junk food is to develop their critical viewing skills, Laba believes schools should offer courses to develop ‘media smarts” in kids. “dt should become as important as English. e's af ‘form of reading.”’ : [ agree wholeheartedly with the idea of media literacy being taught inour schools... ° ‘The value of these courses is: that, rather than condemning various media as harmful, such . courses could build on the-interest young-people have in the media. and encourage lively, critical - discussion. tas But the schools can’ only be. 50° . effective. As parents, we have’ to be vigilant when it comes to oir’ children’s viewing habits. - ~ Because if #'¢ don't care, gnough - to talk about values, you'¢an bet your VCR that Hollywood will, move in and fill the gap.. .