How concerned are we about what fiction - TWILIGHT included - teaches kids?

[The Hodag]

I noticed that everyone's worried that Twilight's teaching girls bad lessons about standing idly by while men fight for them and possibly date-rape them. I submit that one of the functions of fiction is to allow us to experience irresponsibility vicariously. It's one of the things I love about watching Tarantino flicks, Breaking Bad, Entourage, etc.

But I dunno, I do think young kids playing Grand Theft Auto isn't such a great idea. And it sounds like the Twilight books do feature a pretty effed up take on empowerment, so if that's all teen girls are reading...also not so great.

What I'm most wondering is...as concerned as some people seem to be with Twilight's "bad lessons"...are they also concerned with all the other irresponsible or twisted fictions popular with kids? I get parents buying their 11 and 12 year olds buying Marvel Zombies in my store sometimes - izzat cool? And probably every male teen in America has played GTA - also good? I know I'm always seeing folks on this board talking about watching R movies from near-infancy without any bad side effects.

Why're we only thinking about the children now?

[Ryan A. Elliott]

Bad Lessons for kids-Twilight

Good Lessons for kids-Harry Potter

[Fake Pat]

What themes does Marvel Zombies contain that people should be concerned about?

[SgtPepper]

I think the difference between Twilight and GTA is the type of behavior depicted in the media.

Twilight perpetuates the idea of the damsel in distress and supports the idea of the man being dominant partner in the relationship. The U.S. is still very patriarchal despite the efforts of second and third wave feminists. Continuing the idea of women being passive beings makes it more difficult for them to get paid the same wage as a man and keeps alive the belief that women are stupider than men.

While Grand Theft Auto does feature behavior that could negatively influence a kid, such is behavior is quite visibly punished unlike the gender stereotypes that are present in Twilight.

At any rate a parent should probably be discussing why or why not these are acceptable ideas and beliefs if the parent allows the children exposure to the media.

[The Hodag]

Originally Posted by Fake Pat

What themes does Marvel Zombies contain that people should be concerned about?

Marvel Zombies gets off on taking the sacred (superheroes) and making it profane with black comedy. Probably no more twisted than an average horror movie, but I think it's a bit weird for kids to be reading. For a lot of them it seems to be among their first superhero comics. Should a kid's first superhero comic have Spidey eating MJ?

I wouldn't want to get hung up on a single example, though. What do you think about the broader question? Are you as concerned with, say, kids experiencing violent fictions through video games as you are with kids getting bad lessons from Twilight?

[The Hodag]

Originally Posted by Ryan A. Elliott

Bad Lessons for kids-Twilight

Good Lessons for kids-Harry Potter

What about Modern Warfare 2? I bet tens of thousands of kids are playing that this week, and I bet not many on the board would take a stance against that. But listening to friends talk about it...apparently there's a sequence where you play a guy undercover in a terrorist cell and you have to gun down innocents in an airport (or something) to maintain your cover.

Is that an okay fiction for kids to experience? Better or worse than Twilight?

[Dreaded Anomaly]

I'm concerned about people's general lack of ability to distinguish fantasy from reality. This is an ability that should be developed in childhood, and for many people it obviously isn't. Any time there's a work of fiction that portrays a negative theme as a positive one*, it's a cause for concern. Twilight, because of its popularity, is a prime example.

*I think this distinguishes, to some degree, between Twilight and stuff like GTA.

[The Hodag]

Originally Posted by Dreaded Anomaly

Any time there's a work of fiction that portrays a negative theme as a positive one*, it's a cause for concern. Twilight, because of its popularity, is a prime example.

*I think this distinguishes, to some degree, between Twilight and stuff like GTA.

Does GTA not portray negative themes in a positive (or at least vicariously thrilling) light? I've only ever dabbled in them at friends' places, but it seems like everyone was getting their kicks out of killings cops and becoming gangstas.

[Fake Pat]

Originally Posted by The Hodag

Marvel Zombies gets off on taking the sacred (superheroes) and making it profane with black comedy. Probably no more twisted than an average horror movie, but I think it's a bit weird for kids to be reading. For a lot of them it seems to be among their first superhero comics. Should a kid's first superhero comic have Spidey eating MJ?

I wouldn't want to get hung up on a single example, though. What do you think about the broader question? Are you as concerned with, say, kids experiencing violent fictions through video games as you are with kids getting bad lessons from Twilight?

Taking the sacred and making it profane is a GREAT thing for kids to be exposed to. Critical thought never hurt anyone.

And actually I am becoming increasingly concerned with the effect violent video games have on children.

[Dreaded Anomaly]

Originally Posted by The Hodag

Does GTA not portray negative themes in a positive (or at least vicariously thrilling) light? I've only ever dabbled in them at friends' places, but it seems like everyone was getting their kicks out of killings cops and becoming gangstas.

GTA allows you to do things like that, and some of the marketing encourages it, but it's far from the sole purpose of the game. And even when you're doing that, it's thrilling because you know it's illegal in real life. I don't think most people come away from that wishing real life was just like it, but girls do come away from Twilight thinking that's how romance and relationships should actually work.